Welcome to Erikson Institute, the nation’s premier graduate school in child development. We are the best place to learn how to give children the best start in life—and we’re much more.

We are a research center that answers questions and guides early childhood policy. We’re an active partner working to transform schools and enhance programs that serve young children and families. We work directly with children and families who need assessment, therapeutic services, or referral. And we do all this while we prepare talented professionals to work with children and for them, supporting every aspect of children’s development from birth to age eight and then creating systems that expand that support in classrooms, agencies, and clinical settings.

Erikson is growing and changing as quickly and dramatically as the young children we study and serve. We just moved into a new campus that doubles our physical space and expands our capacity to serve more children, families, and professionals. We’re developing more on-line education options and exploring international programs to reach audiences far beyond Chicago.

New research projects are studying unmet needs and the impact of early childhood programs and policies. Based on these findings, we’re starting national conversations about which policies work best and are most desirable. In addition, we’re about to launch an early intervention and mental health treatment program—the Center for Children and Families.

We’ve redesigned this web site to make it easier for you to learn about our offerings and our work. I hope you will explore the site and join us in helping us reach our goal: a healthy, productive life for every child.


Samuel J. Meisels
President