PhD in Child Development

This degree does not lead to licensure. For clinical licensure, please review our MSW program.

We are not a clinical psychology program and do not seek accreditation from the American Psychological Association.

Erikson awards a limited number of competitive doctoral scholarships and assistantships each year. These are awarded to new doctoral students at the time of admission to the program on the basis of academic promise, experience, and research interest.

Other types of financial assistance for doctoral students, such as federal or private student loans, are handled through Loyola University Chicago. Learn more about your eligibility for, and availability of, student loans from Loyola University of Chicago.

Yes. Most of our students work part-time as assistants on faculty projects or teach as adjuncts.

Some continue to work full-time in their positions as they complete coursework. Students should consider carefully their own organizational and time-management skills when making decisions about employment, given the demands of doctoral coursework.

The staff in our Field Education and Career Services Office will work with you to prepare you for seeking positions while you’re enrolled at Erikson and upon graduating from the program. You’ll receive feedback on your resume and cover letters, and we also maintain a job board on our campus portal where employers list part-time and full-time positions for which they’re hiring.

The Career Services team also plans an annual social work, early education, and child development job fair for Erikson students and alumni. In concert with the job fair, you can submit your resume to be included in an annual Resume Book that we distribute to organizations and managers who are interested in hiring Erikson students and alumni.

Erikson students live in a wide range of neighborhoods in Chicago and in the suburbs. We do not offer campus housing. While we can’t make specific recommendations about where you should live, we encourage you to find a neighborhood that suits your style, taste, and budget. To help you in your housing search, we work closely with StudentSpace, a free apartment-finding service that specializes in helping graduate students find housing in Chicago.

Because of Erikson’s small size, you’ll have access to a wide range of both informal and formal student support services. These include:

• The Field Education and Career Services team will help you identify and apply for your internship placement. Erikson has hundreds of pre-approved internship sites, so you don’t have to worry about finding a placement site on your own.
• Advising about your financial aid options, including personal financial education, is coordinated through the Financial Aid Office.
• Academic advising is facilitated through your faculty advisor and program director.
• The Academic Success Center provides services to help you with the academic reading and writing expectations of your program. The Center also sponsors discussion groups for selected master’s program courses.
• The Director of Disability Services provides advising and support for students with disabilities and students who need accommodations for their academic work.
• WorkLifeMatters is a confidential student assistance program offered to all Erikson students through Guardian and Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH). You have unlimited access to consult with a professional counselor via telephone. Face-to-face counseling sessions are available, if needed, with an IBH network provider — and up to eight sessions are free of charge as part of WorkLifeMatters.
• Validated parking at a reduced rate is provided to Erikson students in three nearby parking garages. You will also have access to deeply discounted public transportation through the CTA U-Pass program.