MA, Child and Adolescent Development

Our MA in Child and Adolescent Development (ChAD) is designed for students who are passionate about studying development, from early childhood through emerging adulthood. 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

  • Official Title: MA, Child and Adolescent Development
  • Format: Late-afternoon and evening classes
  • Units: 30, including 9 units of electives
  • Start date: Fall only
  • Program length: 2 years
  • Application deadline: April 1, 2025 (or February 1, 2025 for early decision); letters of recommendation and transcripts accepted until April 20, 2025 (or February 20, 2025 for early decision)

Initial Eligibility and Requirements

A bachelor's degree from an approved institution

Preference is given to applicants with a background in Child & Adolescent Development or related field (e.g., Psychology, Sociology, Education, Social Work, Nursing). Applicants should have completed, or be in progress of completing, at least:

- One 3-unit course in an introductory developmental psychology or child development

- One 3-unit course in social science research methods

Both classes must be completed with a grade of B or higher. Applicants who have not taken these two courses may be admitted conditionally.

A minimum 3.0 grade point average (overall or last 60 units)

In computing the grade point average for admission to graduate school, we use the last 60 semester or 90 quarter units. All colleges and universities attended are considered in the calculations, beginning with the most recent and going backwards by semester. We calculate all courses in a semester if the 60th semester unit or 90th quarter units falls in a semester (ex: we might calculate 65 units instead of 60 to complete the semester). The GRE is not required.

TOEFL score of 550 and above (for international students only)

For more information about the TOEFL requirement, visit the SJSU Graduate Admissions website.

Curriculum and Roadmaps

Core Course Requirements | 6 courses, 18 units

Core Course Requirements

CHAD 260A: Seminar in Child and Adolescent Development: Research. This course meets the Graduate Studies writing requirement and must be taken in the first semester of enrollment.

CHAD 260B: Seminar in Child and Adolescent Development. Students should complete at least 3 of the other core courses before enrolling in this course.

CHAD 262: Culture and Diversity in Child & Adolescent Development

CHAD 266: U.S. Social Policy Affecting Children and Families

CHAD 268: Seminar in Social and Emotional Development

CHAD 270: Seminar in Cognitive and Language Development

Culminating Requirement | Select 1 plan, 3 units

Plan A (Thesis) - CHAD 299: Master's Thesis

Plan A requires a thesis and an oral examination. Thesis proposals must be approved by the graduate committee. Two advisors will be assigned to work with the candidate on the thesis, and the thesis committee must be a committee of three.

Plan B (Project) - CHAD 298: Special Studies in Child and Adolescent Development

Plan B requires satisfactory completion of a project or research paper.

Elective Requirements | 3 courses, 9 units

Electives may be taken at any time during the MA program. MA candidates are encouraged to select elective courses from the list below, but may petition to take an elective not on this list in consultation with the Graduate Program Coordinator.

ChAD MA candidates may select only one elective numbered 100-199 (undergraduate upper division level courses). The other two electives must be numbered 200-299 (graduate level courses).

Research Skills

EDTE 250 - Qualitative Research in Education

HS 269: Applied Data Analysis

JS 117 - Qualitative Research Methods

JS 207 - Seminar in Qualitative Research Methods

JS 266 - Applied Research Methods and Statistics

KIN 250: Fundamentals of Quantitative Research

KIN 251: Fundamentals of Qualitative Research

PH 197 - Quantitative Analysis

PH 215 - Qualitative Methods for Public Health Practice

PSYC 120: Advanced Research Methods and Design

SOCI 204 - Quantitative Data Analysis

SOCI 205 - Seminar in Qualitative Data Analysis

STAT 115: Intermediate Statistics

URBP 204 - Quantitative Methods

Social Policy/Community Development Issues

INFO 260A: Programming and Services for Children Ages 0-8

MAS 252: Comparative Ethnic Studies

MCOM 210: Media and Social Issues

NUFS 114B: Community Nutrition (non-majors)

PADM 213: Policy Analysis and Evaluation

PH 276: Community Organization and Health Promotion

RTVF 110: Media and Culture

SOCI 151: Violence in the Family

URBP 228: Urban Community Development

URBP 233: Social Issues in Planning

Social Work and Mental Health

JS 136: Family and Community Violence

JS 152: Juvenile Delinquency & Justice

JS 206: Seminar in Juvenile Justice

PH 145: Community Mental Health

PH 272: Health Promotion Planning and Evaluation

PSYC 110: Abnormal psychology

PSYC 142: Child Psychopathology

PSYC 153: Psychology in the Courtroom

SOCI 270: Seminar in Sociology of Family

Administration and Business

CHAD 161: Administration of Early Childhood Programs

COMM 210R: Seminar in Interpersonal Communication

COMM 244R: Seminar in Organizational Communication

PH 262: Health Services Organization

PH 277: Multicultural Communication for Health Professionals

RECL 152: Non-Profit Leadership & Management

RECL 153: Youth Development and Services

Education

ART 276: Artists Teaching Art

COMM 269R: Seminar in Contemporary Communication

EDSE 104: Atypical Development in Young Children

EDSE 192A: Including and Supporting Students

EDSE 218A: ASD: Moderate to Severe Disabilities

EDSE 218B: ASD: Mild to Moderate Disabilities

EDSE 218C: ASD: Collaboration and Implementation of Best Practices

EDTE 213: Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

EDTE 223: The Politics of Literacy

LLD 270: Second Language Acquisition

LLD 271: Intercultural Communication and Second Language Acquisition

PSYC 150: Educational Psychology

Health

CHAD/KIN 149: Child Health and Physical Activity

HPRF 135: Health Issues in a Multicultural Society

KIN/NUFS 163: Physical Fitness and Nutrition

KIN 164: Sociocultural Perspectives

KIN 168: Psychology of Coaching

KIN 169: Diversity, Stress and Health

KIN 264: Sport Sociology

KIN 267: Advanced Sport Psychology

NUFS 105: Current Issues in Nutrition

NUFS 125: Child Nutrition Program Administration

PH 271: Theoretical Foundations of Public Health

PH 277: Multicultural Communication for Health Professionals

PH 293: Public Health Leadership

Additional ChAD Courses

CHAD 102: Development of Self in a Culturally Diverse Society

CHAD 106: Concepts of Childhood

CHAD 151: Developing Literacy in a Diverse Society

For more details about each of these courses, visit the SJSU Catalog website. No substitutions or waivers are allowed unless previous coursework (no more than three units) is deemed equivalent and transferable. Requests for substitutions and waivers must be submitted in writing to the Graduate Program Coordinator and approved by the ChAD faculty.

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 Jose State University via CalState Apply

Step 2 | Apply to the ChAD Department

By April 1, 2025 (or by February 1, 2025 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 1-2 page statement describing your educational and professional background as well as your professional goals, and reflecting on how getting a masters degree in Child and Adolescent Development will further your these goals.
  • 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. Is it possible to “spoil” infants? Explain why or why not? Can parents or caregivers affect infants’ self-reliance and independence?
    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, 2025 (or by February 20, 2025 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.
  • 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.eduQuestions 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

Grade/GPA Requirements

To maintain enrollment in the ChAD MA program, students' overall minimum GPA across all 30 units required for the degree must be 3.0 with no single course grade below a B-. Students who earn less than a B- in any required course (ChAD 260A and B, 262, 266, 268, 270) must retake the course and earn a grade of B- or better.  For electives in which the earned grade was less than a B-, students have the option to retake the same course or to select a different elective.

Advancement to Candidacy

During the semester that the first nine units of course work will be completed, the MA candidate will need to submit a Departmental Request for Candidacy form. This form must be signed by the Graduate Program Coordinator and submitted to the SJSU Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations (GAPE) office by the appropriate deadline.

Check the Candidacy and Graduation Deadlines for submitting the Request for Candidacy form. Any changes made in the program degree academic plan as listed on the Request for Candidacy form need to be requested using the appropriate course substitution form. This form must be signed by the ChAD Graduate Program Coordinator prior to submission to GAPE.

Application for Award of Master's Degree

Apply for graduation online via the instructions on the GAPE website. Be sure to check the Candidacy and Graduation Deadlines for submitting the graduation application form. Watch the video for applying for graduation.

Additional Resources

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