Child Policy Research Certificate
Program Code: U-CPRS-C
Plan Type: Certificate
Department: Child Policy Research
Website: childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/education/child-policy-research-certificate
Program Summary
The goal of the certificate in child policy research is to provide undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary inquiry to solve problems facing today’s children and families. Because of the complexity of these problems, the certificate allows students the opportunity to study issues by incorporating the perspectives of numerous disciplines, including psychology, sociology, public policy, economics, and education. The certificate emphasizes engagement in empirical research; each student will work closely with a faculty member to produce an original research paper. Examples of research topics that may be pursued with this certificate include social and economic inequalities in schooling, the pervasiveness of gang violence in high schools, or the long-term consequences of childhood obesity. The certificate program culminates in a capstone seminar, in which students build upon the research experience by exploring real-world implications and translating their scholarship to policy solutions.
Go to Programs by Department to view all related programs.
Academic Requirements
In order to complete the certificate, students must take six courses:
the cornerstone course Child Policy Research 250S
the capstone course Child Policy Research 495S (Multidisciplinary Approaches to Contemporary Children’s Issues)
two electives
one research course
one methods course
The research course is an independent study: students may register for Child Policy Research 393 or for an independent study in public policy or another department. The research course requirement also may be fulfilled through completion of an honors thesis in the student’s home department. The methods course can either be Child Policy Research 590S (Research Methods in Education Policy) cross-listed with Public Policy 590S or a methods course in the student’s home department. Both the research course and the methods course must be approved by the certificate director. The two electives may be drawn from a list of pre-approved electives. Two courses that are counted toward this certificate may also be used to satisfy the requirements of any major, minor, or other certificate program. Three of the courses that count toward the certificate may originate in a single department or program. More information is available at childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/students/child-policy-research-certificate. The certificate director is available to provide additional information and guidance. Contact katie.rosanbalm@duke.edu.
Electives
Students will choose two electives from the following list of pre-approved courses. Updated electives list are posted on the certificate's quick links each semester. If a student wishes to take a course for certificate credit that is not on the pre-approved list, then the certificate director will decide on the appropriateness of that course on a case-by-case basis.
African & African American Studies
549S. Schooling and Social Stratification
Documentary Studies
202S. Children and the Experience of Illness
Education
240. Educational Psychology
243S. Children, Schools, and Society
321S. Infancy, Early Childhood, and Educational Programs
542S. Schooling and Social Stratification
Psychology
207. Child Clinical Psychology
239. Adolescence
240. Educational Psychology
304. Child Observation
325. Social Development from Childhood to Early Adulthood
436S. Clinical Interventions with Children and Families
438S. Children’s Peer Relations
Public Policy
243S. Children, Schools, and Society
245. Promising Paradigms: Issues and Innovations in American Classrooms
395S. Children and the Experience of Illness
490S. Applied Collaborative Research on Early Childhood
542S. Schooling and Social Stratification
544S. Schools and Social Policy
563S. Making Social Policy
608. Economics of the Family
Sociology
210. Contemporary Social Problems
219. Juvenile Delinquency
225. Intimate Inequalities: The State of American Families
634S. Making Social Policy
Visual and Media Studies
211S. Children and the Experience of Illness