The Human Development & Family Studies major focuses on human development from infancy through old age. Students will examine how family and community dynamics affect the development of individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and life experiences. Through fieldwork, program evaluation, and service learning, students become prepared to work with children, youth, families, and elders in education or social service programs.
To learn more about the major, visit the Liberal Studies Department.
AA-T and AS-T-certified students can earn a Human Development & Family Studies B.A. by completing the special requirements in the following programs:
All other HDFS majors, see below:
In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements.
Complete all of the following core courses:
Complete nine (9) units total from the Phase-specific coursework in List A and List B:
List A
List B
Complete a minimum of six (6) units from the following Development in Context coursework:
Complete a minimum of six (6) units from the following Family Studies coursework:
Complete one of the following Interdisciplinary Health Science courses:
Students explain, interpret, and compare theories, research methods, concepts, processes, and implications of family processes, and physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development across the lifespan.
Students apply HDFS Content Knowledge to interpret, compare, and analyze the diversity of lifespan development and family processes within real-life settings, and across local, national, and global contexts.
Students integrate and apply HDFS Content and Diversity Knowledge to examine and evaluate solutions to real-world issues that impact the development of children, youth, adults, and families in their real-life everyday settings and contexts.
Students evaluate, critically analyze, and apply HDFS Content and Diversity Knowledge to develop effective and ethical professional skills and practices to serve and advocate for individuals and families in diverse, multicultural communities.
This pathway is one example of how you might complete all the requirements for your degree in an order that makes sense given prerequisites. It is meant to give you a general sense of what your education will look like. Your own unique situation and a number of other factors may mean your actual pathway is different. Perhaps you'll need an extra math or language class, or one of the courses we've listed isn't offered in a particular semester. Not to worry - there is flexibility built into the curriculum.
You'll want to work closely with an advisor and use the academic advisement report to take all that into account and develop a pathway that's customized for you. In the meantime, use this example as a starting point for choosing classes or discussing your plans with an advisor.
Your advisor is your best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fit all the courses you need, in the right sequence, into your personal academic plan.
* This FYS class is just an example. The FYS class you choose might meet a different GE area, so you would have to adjust your actual pathway accordingly.
This pathway is one example of how you might complete all the requirements for your degree in an order that makes sense given prerequisites. It is meant to give you a general sense of what your education will look like. Your own unique situation and a number of other factors may mean your actual pathway is different. Perhaps you'll need an extra math or language class, or one of the courses we've listed isn't offered in a particular semester. Not to worry, there is flexibility built into the curriculum.
You'll want to work closely with an advisor and use the academic advisement report to take all that into account and develop a pathway that's customized for you. In the meantime, use this example as a starting point for choosing classes or discussing your plans with an advisor.
Your advisor is your best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fit all the courses you need, in the right sequence, into your personal academic plan.