The two new degree options are developmental science for health professions and human development and family science.
The developmental science for health professions option is designed for students preparing for graduate study in health professions, including medicine, second degree nursing and occupational therapy. This option has the flexibility for students to complete the pre-health requirements for their desired graduate programs alongside core HDFS coursework and opportunities for credit-earning experiential learning.
“The developmental science for health professions option is built on the premise that patients are people and health professionals benefit from both a broad understanding of healthy human development and basic helping and interpersonal skills,” said H. Harrington “Bo” Cleveland, professor of human development and family studies and professor-in-charge of the department’s undergraduate program. “Only focusing on the mechanics of health doesn’t always prepare students to enter helping roles in the health care field. This option allows people to enter advanced training programs in the health field prepared to understand issues of health and medicine, and the societal and family contexts in which those issues emerge.”
With the developmental science for health professions option, students combine coursework that prepares them for health professions with a new understanding of how social, emotional, cognitive and physical development interact, as well as how environments — from genes and biology to families, communities and social policies — influence developmental outcomes. Students also develop core skills in communication, ethics, intervention science and research methods.
The second new degree option, human development and family science, prepares students for a wide range of careers in nonprofit and for-profit settings that promote the well-being of individuals, families and communities. This kind of work includes child, youth and family services, early childhood education and intervention, foster care and adoption, services for older adults and individuals with disabilities, and program administration and coordination.
Students pursuing this option learn how social systems function and evidence-based ways to intervene to promote well-being. They also explore research that helps understand how healthy development happens, the causes of developmental challenges and the science of intervention.
The degree requirements across both options integrate opportunities for hands-on learning — both on campus and in the community — supported by designated internship coordinators and expert faculty.
“Because HDFS is organized around internships and experiential learning, our faculty are well prepared to support students in integrating classroom experiences and co-curricular opportunities,” Cleveland said.
These experiences — an internship, research experience or combination — allow students to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom to real-world scenarios, as well as build a resume and further specialize their plan of study to their career and personal interests.
“HDFS is an ideal place for students to prepare to positively impact individuals and society,” Cleveland said. “With these new degree and option requirements, students still benefit from the established evidence-based knowledge and applied skills focus of our curriculum, while having new flexibility to tailor their courses for their professional and personal goals.”
Students entering the human development and family science major prior to fall 2024 will continue to progress through the degree according to the previous degree requirements. Students can review the previous degree requirements on the archived University Bulletin.
Learn more about the human development and family studies undergraduate degree and the updated degree requirements.