# Child and Adolescent Development (Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T))

Santa Barbara City College · 2026-2027 Catalog · Department: Psychology

Source: https://catalog.sbcc.edu/academic-departments/psychology/child-and-adolescent-development-aat/

### Overview

Students who major in Child Development are interested in working directly with children and families, or they want to work indirectly for children in administrative, advocacy, helping, or researcher roles. A major in Child and Adolescent Development examines classical and contemporary research that promotes positive developmental outcomes spanning conception through emerging adulthood. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, writing, computer literacy, public speaking, and leadership skills, allowing majors to find jobs in many different areas.

The Associate in Arts for Transfer degree in Child and Adolescent Development provides students with the foundational knowledge necessary to make a successful transition into a Baccalaureate Degree at any of the CSU campuses.  The Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) is a special degree offered at California Community Colleges. Students who earn an AA-T or AS-T degree are guaranteed admission to a campus within the California State University (CSU) system in a similar major, although not necessarily to a specific campus. Students who complete an AA-T or AS-T are given priority consideration when applying to a particular program that is similar to the student’s community college major and will be given a special GPA advantage when applying to CSU impacted campuses or majors. Students who are planning to pursue an AA-T or AS-T are strongly advised to meet with a counselor for additional information about this transfer program. Visit https://adegreewithaguarantee.com/ for more information about these degrees.

The Associate in Arts for Transfer degree in Child and Adolescent Development, allows students to transfer to a CSU campus to finish a bachelor’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development or a related field. Depending on the CSU campus, this interdisciplinary degree allows students to specialize in a variety of emphases: Child Development, Child Adolescent and Family Studies, Family and Consumer Sciences, Human Development, Liberal Studies (Child Development). A bachelor’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development or a related field typically leads to careers working with children and families in hospitals, human services, counseling, education, child/youth/family advocacy, foster care, juvenile and family courts, social services agencies, schools or public and private service-oriented programs.

**Important note:** The AA-T in Child and Adolescent Development does not prepare students to teach preschool as it does not include the courses required for the Child Development Teaching Permit. Students who are interested in pursuing Early Childhood Education and preschool teaching should refer to the AS-T in Early Childhood Education. The focus of the AA-T in Child and Adolescent Development is to give students who may not be interested in a curricular or classroom focus an opportunity to transfer to a CSU to pursue another specialty in the interdisciplinary field of child and adolescent development and to follow alternative career paths.

### Requirements

**Associate Degree for Transfer Graduation Requirements**

Complete all of the following:

1.  All Major Requirements listed below with a “C” or better or "P" in each course.
2.  Cal-GETC pattern.
3.  At least 60 CSU transferable semester units.
4.  Achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all CSU transferable coursework.
5.  A minimum of 12 units through SBCC.

| Course | Title | Units |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Major Requirements** | |  |
| **Required Core:** | |  |
| ECE 120 | Child Growth and Development/Educators | 3 |
| PSY 150 | Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 4 |
| or SOC 125 | Introduction to Statistics in Sociology |  |
| or STAT C1000 | Introduction to Statistics |  |
| PSYC C1000 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| or PSYC C1000H | Introduction to Psychology - Honors |  |
| **List A - Complete 3 courses from 3 of the following four groups:** | | 9-14 |
| **Group 1** | |  |
| ↳ PSY 145 | Human Development |  |
| **Group 2** | |  |
| ↳ ANTH 103 | Introduction To Cultural Anthropology |  |
| ↳ ECE 102 | Child, Family and Community |  |
| ↳ ETHS/SOC 107 | Racism In America |  |
| ↳ SOC 101 | Introduction To Sociology |  |
| or ↳ SOC 101H | Introduction to Sociology, Honors |  |
| ↳ SOC 103 | Marriage, Family and Intimacy |  |
| **Group 3** | |  |
| ↳ BMS 128 | Human Nutrition |  |
| ↳ COMM 235 | Argumentation and Debate |  |
| ↳ ECE 103 | Foundations of ECE I Principles |  |
| ↳ ECE 104 | Foundations of ECE II Practicum |  |
| ↳ ECE 107 | Administration Of Child Development Programs I |  |
| ↳ ECE 108 | Creative Learning and Curriculum |  |
| ↳ ECE 115 | Children's Literature |  |
| ↳ ECE 121 | Health, Safety And Nutrition For Young Children |  |
| ↳ ECE 128 | Observation and Assessment |  |
| ↳ ECE 141 | Development And Caregiving Of Infants And Toddlers |  |
| ↳ ENG 111 | Critical Thinking and Composition Through Literature |  |
| or ↳ ENG 111H | Critical Thinking and Composition Through Literature, Honors |  |
| ↳ ENGL C1000 | Academic Reading and Writing |  |
| or ↳ ENGL C1000H | Academic Reading and Writing - Honors |  |
| ↳ HE 101 | Personal Health Awareness |  |
| ↳ MATH 108 | Mathematical Concepts for Elementary School Teachers-Number Systems |  |
| ↳ PHIL 111 | Critical Thinking and Writing in Philosophy |  |
| ↳ PSY 140 | Child Development |  |
| ↳ PSY 200 | Research Methods and Experimental Design in Psychology |  |
| **Group 4** | |  |
| ↳ ANTH 101 | Physical Anthropology |  |
| or ↳ ANTH 101H | Physical Anthropology, Honors |  |
| ↳ BIOL 100 | Concepts Of Biology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 101 | Plant Biology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 102 | Animal Biology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 110 | Natural Science |  |
| ↳ BIOL 112 | Evolution and Adaptation |  |
| ↳ BIOL 120 | Natural History |  |
| ↳ BIOL 122 | Ecology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 124 | Biological Oceanography |  |
| ↳ BIOL 125 | Marine Biology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 126 | Aquatic Ecosystems |  |
| ↳ BIOL 140 | Principles of Biology |  |
| ↳ BIOL 144 | Biogeography |  |
| ↳ BIOL 150 | Biodiversity |  |
| ↳ BIOL 161 | DNA and Society |  |
| ↳ BIOL 171 | Human Evolution |  |
| ↳ BIOL 172 | Symbiosis |  |
| ↳ BMS 100 | The Human Body |  |
| ↳ BMS 107 | Human Anatomy |  |
| ↳ BMS 108 | Human Physiology |  |
| ↳ BMS 118 | Human Microanatomy |  |
| ↳ BMS 127 | Medical Microbiology |  |
| ↳ BMS 136 | Biology Of Human Sexuality |  |
| ↳ BOT 100 | Concepts of Botany |  |
| ↳ BOT 121 | Plant Diversity |  |
| ↳ BOT 122 | Flowering Plant Identification |  |
| ↳ BOT 123 | Field Botany |  |
| ↳ EH 102 | Soils And Plant Nutrients |  |
| ↳ EH 110 | Introduction to Horticulture |  |
| ↳ EH 112 | Ecological Restoration I |  |
| ↳ ENVS 110 | Humans And The Biological Environment |  |
| ↳ ERTH 122 | Dinosaurs |  |
| ↳ PSY 110 | Introduction to Physiological Psychology |  |
| ↳ ZOOL 110 | Animal Physiology |  |
| ↳ ZOOL 122 | Animal Diversity |  |
| ↳ ZOOL 124 | Insect Biology |  |
| ↳ ZOOL 137 | Ornithology |  |
| ↳ ZOOL 140 | Animal Behavior |  |
| **Total Units** | | **19.00-24.00** |

Students are advised to consult the CSU ADT Major & Campus Search database to determine which bachelor's degree programs offered by the CSU campuses are deemed similar to the AA-T in Child and Adolescent Development.   Students are also advised to consult ASSIST (www.assist.org) and to meet with an academic counselor to discuss the best combination of courses to take for their AA-T to ensure they receive the admission benefits associated with it, and to meet the requirements of the transfer institution to which they are intending to transfer.

### Learning Outcomes

1.  Contrast and compare typical and atypical development of children and adolescents.
2.  Evaluate the role that context (i.e., family, peers, schools, communities, cultures) plays in development.
3.  Discuss knowledge of the theories, concepts, developmental processes and empirical approaches in the scientific study of child and adolescent development from diverse perspectives across the 6 domains.
4.  Plan developmentally appropriate differentiated instruction and curriculum based on formative assessment and needs of diverse learners.
5.  Locate, interpret, and critically evaluate scholarly articles in field.
6.  Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills in the discourse of the discipline.

### Recommended Sequence

Make an appointment with your SBCC academic counselor through Starfish to create a Student Education Plan that reflects a recommended course sequence for this program that is tailored to your individual needs.

How to schedule an Academic Counseling appointment.