Child and Family Studies
www.linnbenton.edu/cfs
The Child and Family Studies Program offers a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree (AAS) and a one-year certificate preparing students for employment in the field of early childhood education. Additionally, an Entrepreneurship and Small Business Pathways Certificate, a 16-credit Childhood Care and Education Pathways Certificate, a 12-credit Working with Families Pathways Certificate, and a 12- or 13-credit Child Care Directors Pathways Certificate are also offered.
The program emphasizes concepts in growth and development, curriculum design, healthy relationships, positive guidance, and cultural sensitivity. The program provides opportunities to apply knowledge and skills with children birth to five years of age in the program’s on-campus lab school or a community early education setting. You must have current inoculations and complete the Central Registry background check before working directly with children.
If you are interested in related areas of study, see the following sections of this catalog: child care — see child care provider training; elementary school teaching — see Education; Human Development and Family Sciences programs — see Human Services; parent education — see Parenting Education.
Some financial assistance is available for Child and Family Studies majors. See the CFS Program Chair for more information.
Associate of Applied Science Degree in Child and Family Studies
Graduates with two-year degrees become preschool or infant toddler teachers in child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start programs, or parent cooperatives. Students plan and implement developmentally appropriate learning experiences to foster young children’s physical, social-emotional, cognitive, and language development. They may design indoor and outdoor environments, document, and confer with parents.
See an advisor if you are interested in a Bachelor’s degree in this field. LBCC has articulation agreements with Southern Oregon University (SOU) and Oregon State University (OSU). Students may pursue an AAOT with emphasis in Child & Family Studies or complete the Child & Family Studies AAS degree requirements plus 30 specialized general education credits and transfer to SOU. The AS in Human Development & Family Sciences, Child Development option transfers to OSU with specified general education and program courses.
The AAS degree in Child and Family Studies is designed to be completed in two years, but this assumes that entering students are prepared to take college-level writing and math. If students do not place into WR 121 and MTH 105 on the writing and math portions of the Computerized Placement Test (CPT), students may be required to take pre-college courses that extend completion to beyond two years. Research has shown that students who get started on this work during their first few quarters of college are more likely to finish their degrees than those who postpone it. Linn-Benton offers a summer term that will allow you to gain these skills and stay on track to complete.