Eliot-Pearson's master's in Child Study and Human Development provides students with a strong theoretical foundation in child development, coursework in an area of specialization, research skills, and applied opportunities and fieldwork that prepare students for a career that directly impacts the lives of children, youth and families. Our goal is to train students to use applied work to understand theory and research and to understand how theory and research should impact the lives of children and families.Students will have knowledge of the major theoretical perspectives and knowledge base in the core domains of human development, as well as knowledge of the complexities of diverse realities and pathways towards healthy development.Students will be informed consumers of scholarship in the field of human development, i.e. will have experience in the process of reviewing, critically evaluating empirical research, policy reports, and synthesizing extant literature on a topic.Students will demonstrate an understanding of Research Practice Integration in the context of Prevention, Intervention, and Policies for children and families.Students will demonstrate cultural awareness and sensitivity in their professional roles as well as members of the community within and outside Tufts.Eliot-Pearson's location in the Boston area provides a wide variety of applied opportunities in teaching hospitals, clinics, therapeutic centers, schools, after-school programs, juvenile justice facilities, the Massachusetts state government, children's media, and hundreds of agencies and organizations serving children, adolescents, and families. Our faculty are extremely well connected with agencies in and around Boston, and offer students help obtaining internships. All students, whether on the applied or thesis track, have the opportunity to work in multiple settings for credit or just for experience. Moreover, students are not left out there in the field, rather their work is guided by faculty who meet with them regularly to oversee their applied work and support them in making the theory-research-application links that Eliot-Pearson so highly values.