Rutgers-Camden Childhood Studies PhD

Rutgers-Camden Takes Global Approach to Childhood Studies

November 21, 2011

CAMDEN — Childhood studies students at Rutgers–Camden are striving to raise awareness of a global population whose distinctive experiences are often ignored or poorly understood.

“Children don’t always get a voice in our adult world,” says Neeta Goel, a childhood studies PhD student at Rutgers–Camden. “Childhood studies help us focus on a vulnerable part of our society. There are all sorts of issues impacting children and our program turns the lens specifically on these kids and considers them as central characters with a story to tell.”

Goel is one of 31 students currently enrolled in the PhD program in childhood studies at Rutgers–Camden. The discipline is widely recognized as an emerging academic field that is transforming research and scholarship on children.

Since Rutgers–Camden introduced the country’s first PhD program in childhood studies in 2007, the pioneering program has attracted graduate students like Goel from around the world. Additionally, Rutgers–Camden is home to 163 undergraduate childhood studies majors, eight master’s students, and some of the world’s top childhood studies scholars.