MA, Child and Adolescent Development

Our online MA in Child and Adolescent Development (ChAD) is designed for students who are passionate about studying development from early childhood through emerging adulthood. The ChAD MA is intended to provide an opportunity for individuals to better understand how they can grow to be leaders in the next stages of their work with children, adolescents, and families. The degree prepares graduates for a wide range of career paths, including:

• Early Childhood Education, Care, and Administration
• Parent Educators and Youth Advocates
• Community College Instruction
• Community Programming and Outreach
• Pediatric and Public Health Professionals
• Academic Research and Program Evaluation
• Doctoral Study

If you have any questions about our MA program, email our Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Kim Tsai at kim.tsai@sjsu.edu.

• Program Overview
• Program Learning Outcomes
• Initial Eligibility and Requirements
• Curriculum and Roadmaps
• Steps to Apply
• Complete the MA Requirements
• Additional Student Resources

Program Overview

• Official Title: MA, Child and Adolescent Development
• Format: Online, including asynchronous and synchronous classes
• Units: 30, including 9 units of electives
• Start date: Fall only
• Program length: 2 years
• Application deadline: April 20, 2026 (or February 20, 2026 for early decision); letters of recommendation and transcripts accepted until April 20, 2026 (or February 20, 2026 for early decision)

Initial Eligibility and Requirements

Curriculum and Roadmaps

Steps To Apply

International students only: Take the TOEFL test and have ETS send your official TOEFL transcript to SJSU.

Step 1 | Begin your Cal State Apply application

Follow the instructions provided SJSU Graduate Admissions Office to apply for admission to San José State University via CalState Apply. 

Step 2 | Apply to the ChAD Department

By April 20, 2026 (or by February 20, 2026 for early decision), complete the ChAD Department Application Form (note: this site requires Google sign-in) to apply for admission to the Department of Child and Adolescent Development. Required attachments include:

• A 250-word Statement of Interest addressing the following prompt:

  We have designed the coursework in our program for individuals to gain in-depth training on specialized topics relevant to long-standing and current issues relevant to children, adolescents, and families. Upon reviewing our curriculum and reflecting on your own experiences, please respond to the following question in 250 words or less:

  What topic/area of child and adolescent development are you currently interested in, excited about, and/or curious about? Tell us about a specific experience (e.g., personal, school, or work) that motivated you to learn more about that topic/area and why.

• A 250-word Statement of Leadership addressing the following prompt:

  The ChAD MA is intended to provide an opportunity for individuals to better understand how they can grow to be leaders in the next stages of their work with children, adolescents, and families. If you are unsure about a future career path with a ChAD MA or would like to learn more, please review the list of career paths on the top of our ChAD MA webpage. Please respond to the following question in 250 words or less:

  Please describe a time when you saw the importance of leadership* when working with children, adolescents, or families (e.g., personal, work, community). Tell us about how that time impacted what you want to do in your future work.
  *We encourage you to define ‘leadership’ from your perspective.

• A writing sample of 250-500 words that responds to one of the four following prompts:
  1. Explain the conditions that lead to aggression or prosocial behavior during toddlerhood, childhood, and/or adolescence.
  2. How and to what extent do parents or caregivers affect children’s cognitive development and/or academic achievement?
  3. In what ways does the community context (e.g., school, neighborhood, community resources) in which children and adolescents grow up affect their developmental outcomes. Select any aspect of community to focus on.
  4. Explain the processes by which cultural norms and values may affect children’s development (e.g., cognitive development, academic achievement, inter-group relations, self-esteem, mental health, motivation). Select one aspect of development.

Step 3 | Request recommendations

• By April 20, 2026 (or by February 20, 2026 for early decision), submit at least two letters of recommendation from current or former professors and/or employers from within the past 5 years who can describe your ability to successfully pursue an advanced academic degree.

• Recommendation letters should be submitted directly from your recommender via the ChAD MA Letter of Recommendation Form (note: this site requires a Google sign-in).

• In order for a letter to be uploaded, the letter must meet the following requirements:
  • File must be in a PDF format.
  • File size cannot exceed 1 MB.
  • File cannot be encrypted or password protected.
  • Filename cannot contain the following special characters such as | * ? :
  • Page size must be 8.5 x 11 inches.

It is recommended that letters are written on a professional letterhead and signed by the author. Before uploading a letter, carefully review the letter for accuracy and grammatical errors. Letters of recommendation should be signed by the author and include a date. Letters can also be emailed directly from the recommender to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Step 4 | Submit your transcripts

Obtain one official sealed transcript from each college/university where you studied and submit the official sealed transcript(s) to:

Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations
San Jose State University 
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0017

If the college/university provides official electronic transcripts, the institution can email the transcripts to etranscript@sjsu.edu. Questions pertaining to transcripts, GPA calculations, and application fees should be directed to grad-admissions@sjsu.edu.

Next Steps | Application Review

Applicants will receive a letter from the Department of Child & Adolescent Development regarding their status (i.e., acceptance) by early May (or by early March for early decision). Applicants will also receive a letter from GAPE regarding their status after the department has made its decision. The letter from GAPE will provide information about how to register for classes.

Admission for Conditional Standing

Students who are admitted conditionally will be required to take additional courses in addition to the required master's courses. These students admitted based on conditional status can gain classified standing when the student completes these additional courses in a timely manner with a grade of B or better in the additional required courses. The Graduate Program Coordinator will specify these conditions in the admit letter. Students who have no conditions on their admission have classified standing.

Complete the MA Requirements

Additional Resources

For information about academic advising, financial aid opportunities, and more, visit our Student Resources webpage.