Are you passionate about working with children and teenagers but currently have no plans to pursue a career as a teacher? Although the educational studies major at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota does not lead to teacher licensure, it prepares you for diverse and fulfilling roles in the field of education, working with children, families, and adults. 

This major offers three concentrations: adult education contexts, child and family contexts, and youth development and leadership. It also provides a potential pathway if you later decide to pursue a teaching licensure program.

In adult education contexts, you’ll be prepared to pursue a career as an adult education instructor by discovering various teaching and learning methods while focusing on the unique motives and needs of adult learners. Explore topics such as research methods, assessment, and developmental and abnormal psychology.

In our child and family contexts, you’ll focus on the larger contexts of schools, families, and society. You’ll study a variety of strategies for designing and assessing meaningful learning experiences provided by programs centered on the needs of caregivers and children. You’ll be prepared to pursue a career as a YMCA assistant manager, youth leadership family systems and support specialist, or make a difference in the alternative education system.

The youth development and leadership concentration prepares you for exciting roles such as a religious educator, youth athletics coach, or youth recreation specialist. Here, you’ll build a strong foundation of strategies to engage youth as they improve their daily lives.

Discover how to become an advocate for education and make a difference in the lives of those around you. Join us on our Winona Campus to begin your journey to help others reach their full potential in ways you’ve never imagined.