It is rare for undergraduate students to have the opportunity to study Children’s Literature in a sustained way at the university level. Our program was pioneering in this respect. We evolved from the Carnegie Library’s flagship training school for children’s librarians and offered classes on the subject as early as 1933.
We have evolved with the times and now offer a rich interdisciplinary curriculum, whereby students take three core courses in English and another three courses across the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Recently developed elective courses include Harry Potter, Writing Youth Literature, Youth Film, Children and Media, Childhood Games, and Children in Pittsburgh.
Our certificate provides students with a springboard for many areas of professional work and study—and students can tailor their courses to meet their interests and goals. Recently, our certificate students have gotten internships and jobs at:
Sesame Street Productions
The Fred Rogers Company
Walt Disney
Random House
Penguin Young Readers
Kumon Publishing
Scholastic Press
The Harvey Klinger Literary Agency
Heinz History Center
Many other students go to graduate programs in education, library science, law, medicine, and English.
Our faculty members are constantly innovating and seeking out new opportunities to further develop the program to better benefit and prepare our students. For example:
- We recently developed a new course, Englit 0762: Childhood Games, which examines key moments in the history of children's games from early optical toys and Victorian board games to video games and interactive technology like computer games, console games, and online game creation platforms. Students will play select games to gain perspective on how they shape attention, strategy, and relationships to other players, knowledge that reveals how the cultural shaping of childhoods was likely experienced and enacted. Students will also gain perspective on the changing positioning and construction of children by adopting the roles of game producers, using theoretical and historical knowledge to inform game design.
- We have an ongoing collaboration with global partners at Newcastle University, Ocean University of China, Catholic University of Chile, and the University of Antwerp, featuring programming on social justice for children in a global context.