Online Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Sciences (BSHHS)
Human Development and Family Science
Program Overview
Our online BS in Health and Human Sciences with a major in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) is about understanding people—how they grow, how families work, and how to support healthier and stronger communities. This program is flexible and designed to fit your unique interests and strengths, allowing you to shape your education in a way that works best for you. Additionally, three courses contain synchronous components providing real-time engagement with faculty and peers. Whether you’re learning in class or out in the field, you’ll gain practical skills and knowledge that you can use to work directly with individuals and families.
To be admitted to the BS in Health and Human Sciences with a major in Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) program, students must have at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA and one transferable credit hour from previous institutions.
Why Choose Human Development and Family Science?
Students in HDFS have career opportunities working with individuals and families across their lifespans, with various possibilities. This major is unique in that it provides opportunities to explore multiple interests with an array of populations, making students adaptable and marketable.
HDFS scholars and professionals are diverse, and so are their careers. Their knowledge and expertise in family science make them uniquely qualified for many jobs that seek to understand better, strengthen, and empower families, including research, teaching, policy work, and many professional practice roles.
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Featured Courses
The online Human Development and Family Science courses teach students to critically evaluate and apply concepts related to contemporary family processes and transitions in the context of marriage, relationships, and parenting.
Development from conception through middle childhood in various ecological contexts. Interrelationships among cognitive, emotional, social, and biological aspects of ontogeny. Normative and non-normative development. Includes observation.
Emerging and declining roles. Changing relationships among family members across the life cycle from various theoretical approaches. Impact of gender roles on marital relationships. Marital quality, power, decision-making, communications, conflict management, and combining work-family roles.
Sexuality through cultural, social, familial, and psychological factors.
Exploration of values and decision-making strategies in the management and allocation of human, economic, and environmental resources toward the attainment of family goals. Emphasis on family diversity and impact of life design on global sustainability.
