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Return
to Official Publications Blue Text Reflects Updates to the Printed Catalog Catalog Contents Introduction |
Department
of Human Development
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| Undergraduate Program | Curriculum Tables | Graduate Program | Course Descriptions | Faculty |
This department supervises the following degree programs:
The Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) offers a wide range of courses in the areas of early childhood, human development, interpersonal relations, and family studies. Graduates of the department may enter a variety of human services vocations and/or pursue graduate studies. Students interested only in selected aspects may elect to minor in the department curriculum or they may choose electives while pursuing another major course of study. A student may minor in HDFS by completing 18 hours of selected coursework. The specific courses for the HDFS minor are approved by Academic Advising Services in the College of Human Sciences.
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From a foundation of research and theory, this degree focuses on development across the life span (prenatal to late adulthood) in the context of couple, marriage, family, and peer relationships. This program focuses on intrapersonal (e.g., personality, cognition), interpersonal (e.g., relationship conflict, self-disclosure), and societal (e.g., race-ethnicity, class) forces as they affect personal and family well-being.
Many courses offer perspectives on interpersonal and family behavior through development of the infant, child, adolescent, young adult (courtship, early marriage), middle-aged adult (divorce-remarriage, parenthood), and the older adult (widowhood, grandparenthood). Some courses also focus on important social issues that affect individual and family functioning (e.g., violence). Courses at the upper-division level provide professional training for students seeking employment in such diverse occupations as family life educator, extension service specialist, probation officer, child development specialist, or child care administrator.
Service-research skills are also enhanced by opportunities to observe and interact with infants, toddlers, and young children in the Child Development Research Center. The center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Students will be required to pass a background check. Supervised experiences with community groups provide opportunities for interaction with older children, adolescents, couples, families, and the elderly. These experiences assist students in understanding developmental stages of human behavior and interpersonal relations as they occur in family or group care settings.
Undergraduate students may want to specialize in one or more of the areas in which courses are offered in the department. These areas include childhood, adolescence-adult development, family relationships, or application-research. Students may specialize in one or more of these areas by taking departmental elective courses from the desired areas.
Enrollment in the department is limited and based on a 2.5 GPA. To continue enrolling in human development and family studies courses, students must maintain a GPA that meets or exceeds this standard. In addition, transfer students must have a 2.5 GPA. Students with a lower GPA may be provisionally admitted or continue to enroll in courses if a petition is submitted to the department and approved by the admissions committee.
Core Curriculum. All students in the department must complete the university’s Core Curriculum requirements. In addition, students in the department must complete the following courses to fulfill the college’s core requirements:
Students majoring in human development and family studies must take the following core courses for a total of 27 credit hours:
Support Course Requirements. Students are required to take the following support courses for the major in human development and family studies: PSY 1300, General Psychology; SOC 1301 or 1320, Introduction to Sociology or Current Social Problems (also may be taken to fulfill the individual and group behavior requirement in the university Core Curriculum); ENGL 2311, Introduction to Technical Writing; CFAS 2300 Communication, Civility, and Ethics; and either MATH 2300 (Statistical Methods), PSY 3400 (Statistical Methods), or SOC 3391 (Introduction to Social Research I).
Specialization Areas. Students must select a total of 15 hours from A, B, and C in the following list:
A. Human Development and Family Studies Area – Choose 2 Courses (minimum 6 hrs.)
HDFS 2305 Developmental Assessment of Young Children
HDFS 2320 Basic Interpersonal Skills
HDFS 2322 Partnering: The Development of Intimate Relations
HDFS 3306 Child and Adolescent Guidance
HDFS 3310 Prenatal and Infant Development
HDFS 3411 Laboratory Experiences With Infants and Toddlers
HDFS 3312 Development During Childhood
HDFS 3413 Laboratory Experiences With Young Children
HDFS 3316 Development in Adolescence
HDFS 3317 Problems of Adolescence
HDFS 3318 Development in Young Adulthood
HDFS 3319 Development in Middle Adulthood
HDFS 3321 Human Sexuality Through Family Life Cycle
HDFS 3322 Family in the Community
HDFS 3326 Families in Crisis
HDFS 3331 Parenting
HDFS 3332 Aging in the Family
HDFS 4306 Preparing Environments for Children
B. Application/Research Area – Choose one course for 3 hrs.
HDFS 3360 Family Life Education and Ethics
HDFS 4000 Individual Study
HDFS 4310 Managing Early Childhood Programs
HDFS 4314 Community Practicum in HDFS
HDFS 4320 Research in HDFS
HDFS 4343 Advanced Topics in HDFS
HDFS 4390 Program Development and Evaluation
C. Department Electives – Choose 6 credit hours of electives from A or B.
Bachelor of Science: Human Development and Family Studies
Bachelor of Science: Early ChildhoodTeacher Certification
in Early Childhood to 4th Grade
These programs have prepared students for careers as university faculty, full-time researchers, medical school faculty, and human service providers.
The M.S. and Ph.D. programs in human development and family studies focus on families and individuals within families as they develop across the life span. Both degree programs offer flexibility in study that encourages students to pursue research in early childhood, adolescent development, adult development, and gerontology as well as in related substantive issues, including risk-taking behaviors, dating relationships, gender issues, program planning and evaluation, addictions, marriage, parenting, family violence, divorce, and blended families.
Graduate minors are also available in women’s studies and adolescent and young adult risk-taking, which are interdisciplinary programs coordinated by graduate faculty within the department.
The M.S. degree requires a minimum of 30 hours of graduate coursework and 6 hours of thesis research. The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 70 hours of graduate coursework—12 hours of which are leveling requirements—plus at least 12 hours of dissertation research. Up to 30 transfer hours may be applied toward doctoral program requirements upon the approval of the student’s committee and the Graduate School.
Applicants should contact the department concerning admission requirements, programs of study, and financial assistance. Admission to a graduate degree program requires the recommendation of the department and the Graduate School.
GP–IDEA Gerontology Concentration. In collaboration with the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GP–IDEA), the department offers an online specialization in gerontology within the M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies and a postbaccalaureate certificate program in gerontology. The master’s concentration requires a total of 36 hours comprised of eight core courses and four elective courses. The certificate requires 21 hours comprised of five core courses and two elective courses. The gerontology offerings are designed to prepare professionals who are either working directly with older persons or are involved in education and research related to older populations. The programs have been designed to provide students with the core competencies identified by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
Students are admitted to either the concentration or certificate program based on the same admission requirements and process as other department concentrations. Students may take required and elective online courses from Texas Tech (home institution) and from offerings of other collaborating institutions (host). Universities collaborating on the gerontology program are Colorado State University, Iowa State Universit
, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, and Texas Tech University.
The master’s program consists of eight required three-credit courses (listed below) plus 12 credits of electives. The certificate program consists of five required three-credit courses, indicated by an asterisk (*) in the listing below. The remaining six credits can be taken from other core courses or from gerontology electives. Up to three credits of practicum experience may be included in either the master’s or the certificate program.
Click on the link below to view course offerings.
Click here to view alphabetical listing of all TTU faculty and their academic credentials.
Anisa H. Zvonkovic, Ph.D., Chairperson
Professors: Bell, Caldera, Feng, Fischer, Haley, Hart, O’Boyle, Reifman, Scott, Zvonkovic
Associate Professors: Colwell, Crawford, Fitzpatrick, McCarty, Mulsow, Sorell
Assistant Professors: Behrens, Kulkofsky, Niehuis, Sharp, Trejos
Instructors: Johnson, Powell
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