Overview

Why choose this Parenting and Child Development MSc programme at Leiden University?

Everyone will agree that it is highly important to promote optimal child development from the very start of life. Parents and professional caregivers have a profound influence on the socioemotional and cognitive development of children through their caregiving. The Parenting and Child Development focuses on understanding the exact nature of this influence and on preventing child and family problems by fostering optimal caregiving.

By focusing on prevention, it differs from the clinically oriented master’s specialisations that concentrate on how to reduce problems in children and caregiving after the problems have developed. Focusing on prevention is extremely relevant and beneficial in today’s society where waiting lists for treatment as well as health care costs continue to grow. If you want to take a pro-active approach towards child and family problems by promoting a healthy caregiving environment, the master’s specialisation Parenting and Child Development is the ideal choice for you.

The courses cover both normative and problematic caregiving, ranging from sensitive and warm parenting to abuse and neglect, and from stable family circumstances to divorce and temporary foster care. An important part of the curriculum is the study of evidence based prevention and intervention programmes to improve caregiving qualities of parents and professional caregivers.

Programme Structure

The programme of Parenting and Child Development consists of four substantive courses devoted to the following subjects:

Attachment, parenting and development
Child care, experts and parents
Prevention and intervention programmes in families
Digital media in the family

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 12 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-09-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-05-15 00:00:00 , National
Starting 2027-02-03 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-11-15 00:00:00 , EEA/EU
- Apply before 2026-10-15 00:00:00 , International
Starting 2027-09-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-04-01 00:00:00 , International

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

90

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IELTS

6.5

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Credits

60 ECTS

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Leiden, Netherlands

Disciplines

Family & Consumer Science Childhood Studies View 6 other Masters in Childhood Studies in Netherlands

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

90

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Holders of one of the following degrees may be admitted to one of the specialisations of the programme:

a Bachelor’s degree Pedagogische Wetenschappen from Leiden University;
a research (i.e. not a professional) Bachelor’s degree programme in the field of Education and Child Studies, provided this programme contains (1) at least 20 ec in research methods and statistics of social and behavioral sciences and the use of data analyse software, and (2) at least 60 ec in Education and Child or Education and Child Studies relevant subjects.
Also admitted may be those who have successfully completed the Pre-master’s programme Pedagogische Wetenschappen (taught in Dutch) from Leiden University.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

21600 EUR / year

≈ 21600 EUR / year
EU/EEA Applies to you

Applies to you

EU/EEA Nationals

2601 EUR / year

≈ 2601 EUR / year

Living costs

Leiden

Netherlands

850 - 1250 EUR / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Master's scholarship opportunities for Parenting and Child Development.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

On this page

About

Overview

Why choose this Parenting and Child Development MSc programme at Leiden University?

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

EU/EEA Applies to you

Living costs

Leiden

Funding

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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