Program Overview

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Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Major (BS, HBS)

The Human Development and Family Sciences undergraduate major offers students the opportunity to explore how individuals develop and become resilient over time, particularly within the contexts of family, school, work, and society. This major is available at OSU-Cascades and via Ecampus.

Overview

HDFS majors discover how significant relationships with parents, partners, teachers, and friends can influence the ways in which we develop. They consider how difficult environments, such as living in poverty, can make lives and relationships more challenging. Finally, they learn to appreciate the diverse ways in which individuals and families thrive and survive.

Options

This major offers the following options:

• Child Development (Corvallis campus only)
• Early Childhood (Cascades campus only)
• General Human Development and Family Sciences (All campuses, including Ecampus)
• Human Services (Corvallis and Cascades)

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the program, students will be able to:

• Translate and apply relevant theory and research to culturally-responsive, evidence-based practices with individuals, families, and communities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ecological contexts in which individuals and families develop and how contexts reinforce systems of privilege and oppression.
• Demonstrate growth in a commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice in practice with individuals, families, and communities.
• Critically evaluate policies, programs, and practices with relevance to the wellbeing of all individuals and families.
• Understand the methods by which public health identifies potential causes of population health status, and identifies potential targets for intervention.
• Describe the fundamental roles of public health and how those roles are operationalized in public health organization, funding, workforce, and regulations.

Requirements

To graduate, students need 180 credits, 60 of which must be upper division. Credits include baccalaureate core courses, HDFS core courses, courses required for each option, and electives.

Course List

The following courses are required:

• COMM 218: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (3 credits)
• H 100: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH (4 credits)
• HDFS 240: HUMAN SEXUALITY (3 credits)
• HDFS 311: INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (4 credits)
• HDFS 313: ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT (4 credits)
• HDFS 314: ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING (4 credits)
• HDFS 341: FAMILY STUDIES (4 credits)
• HDFS 360: CRITICAL THINKING IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY SCIENCES (4 credits)
• HDFS 361: APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS (4 credits)
• NUTR 225: GENERAL HUMAN NUTRITION (3 credits)
• PSY 201: GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (4 credits)
• PSY 202: GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (4 credits)
• SOC 204: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (3 credits)
• WR 327: TECHNICAL WRITING (3 credits)
• Select one of the following: H 220, ST 201 & ST 202, or ST 351 (3-8 credits)

Additional Requirements

• Complete a minimum of one option (21-39 credits)
• Remaining Bacc Core and Electives (82-105 credits)
• Total Credits: 180

Major Code

The Major Code for this program is 447, and the Pre-Human Development and Family Sciences Major Code is 457.