Program Overview
The Human Development and Family Science major focuses on the development of the individual in the context of family and society with particular attention to interpersonal interaction. Key content areas include human development (child development through aging), sexuality, interpersonal relationships, courtship and marriage, parenting, internal dynamics of families, ethics, family diversity, family resource management, family services, and family life education. In addition, courses in methods of social research, statistics, community services, and family life education provide the knowledge and skills necessary to either seek employment immediately following graduation or to continue study in graduate school.
Human development and family science majors focus on the study of relationships, particularly those within families. HDFS students adopt a family systems understanding (one affects the whole and vice versa), a family strengths philosophy (as opposed to pathology, deviance, and anomaly), and lifespan and ecosystems perspectives (individual and family life cycle). HDFS is an application-based discipline which emphasizes practical skill development via internships, service-learning, and other forms of experiential education. Human development and family science students learn a variety of professional skills including, but not limited to, child observation, listening, interviewing, genogram construction, agency analysis, family life education assessment and program development, as well as conducting and writing literature reviews and research reports. While HDFS prepares students for intervention jobs which help individuals and families deal with crises and hardships after things happen, a major thrust of HDFS is prevention. Thus, throughout the curriculum, students learn how to provide information and skills to individuals and families during critical transitions across the life cycle so that they can avoid crises and the need for intervention.
Human development and family science majors may choose from a wide range of minors within the department such as children and youth services, disability and family wellness, gerontology, multicultural families, and pre-counseling and therapy, or minors outside the department such as Bible, business, communication, early childhood education, music, criminal justice, foods and nutrition, and Christian ministries. Students are encouraged to participate in off-campus practica or internships and will find opportunities for professionally supervised participation in family agencies, community mental health centers, adoption and foster care agencies, retirement facilities, hospitals, prisons, crisis pregnancy centers, schools, drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, and other service agencies in the area.
Career Opportunities
Students graduating with a major in human development and family science who do not go on to graduate school typically seek employment as youth services workers, program directors, family life educators, child life specialists, foster care or adoption case managers, activities therapists, residential counselors, family services coordinators, family preservation workers, crisis intervention specialists, parent mentors, therapeutic support specialists, preschool teachers, and counselors in public and private agencies dealing with family issues. For more career information, visit http://www.messiah.edu/info/20406/our_alumni.
With careful planning, graduates of the Human Development and Family Science Major, can meet all the standards and criteria needed for the Provisional Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) designation from the National Council on Family Relations, the premier professional organization for family scientists and practitioners. Professionals certified as Family Life Educators are nationally recognized as having knowledge and skills in each of the ten family life substance areas (e.g., ethics, internal dynamics of families, family life education methodology). See www.ncfr.org/cfle-certification.