Human Development and Family Science with Child Life (B.A.)

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.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates from Messiah’s Human Development and Family Science program can:

  1. Articulate foundational concepts and apply theory related to:
    1. Families in Society
    2. Internal Dynamics of Families
    3. Human Growth & Development over the Life Span
    4. Human Sexuality
    5. Interpersonal Relationships
    6. Family Resource Management
    7. Parent Education and Guidance
    8. Family Law & Public Policy
    9. Professional Ethics and Practice
    10. Family Life Education Methodology
  2. Conduct, analyze and apply empirically based research.

  3. Reflect on how personal attributes and Christian convictions impact vocational pursuits.
  4. Engage in experiential learning opportunities with individuals, couples and/or families.
  5. Demonstrate awareness and knowledge related to multicultural and diverse individual, couple and family experiences (e.g., socioeconomic, rural-urban, various family structures).

Major Requirements

Complete the following for your major:

HDFS 101Foundations of Marriage & Family

3

HDFS 142Introduction to Interpersonal Relations

3

HDFS 210Child Development

3

HDFS 218Death, Grief and Caring

3

HDFS 244Human Sexuality

3

HDFS 253Community Services for Individuals and Families

3

HDFS 272Research Methods and Analysis in HDFS

3

HDFS 311Adolescent Development

3

HDFS 312Adult Development

3

HDFS 320Play and Development

3

HDFS 339Dynamics of Family Interaction

3

HDFS 345Parenting

3

HDFS 355Marital and Couple Relationships

3

HDFS 361Introduction to Child Life

2

HDFS 362Child Life Field Experience

1

HDFS 386Family Ethnicity & Human Services

3

HDFS 396/EDSP 396Infants, Toddlers & Families

3

HDFS 442Strategies of Family Life Education

3

HDFS 494Human Development & Family Science Seminar

3

STAT 269Introductory Statistics

3

Choose one of the following selectives:

ATHT 203Medical Terminology & Topics

2

BIOL 185Human Anatomy and Physiology I

4

 

General Education Requirements

Experiential Learning requirement   0
General Education requirements   Credits
First Year Seminar IDFY 101/102H  3
Written Communication ENGL 110/110H 3
Oral Communication COMM 105 3
Mathematical and Scientific Ways of Knowing Mathematics (STAT 269) met/major
Science with Lab (NUTR 110 or BIOL 158 recommended) 3 or 4
Social Scientific Ways of Knowing
Social Science (HDFS 101) met/major
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing 24GE History 3
Literary & Aesthetic Ways of Knowing
Literature or Arts 3
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing
Philosophy or Religion 3
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing 1st and 2nd Level Language 6
Intercultural Perspectives Intercultural Global or International Cross-cultural or 3rd Level Language 3
Bible
24GE Bible 3
Christian Beliefs
24GE Christian Beliefs 3
Holistic Wellness
WELL 1xx 1
Ethics and the Common Good
24GE Ethics and the Common Good (IDEG 300 Ethics and families recommended) 3
Intercultural Perspectives
Intercultural U.S. (HDFS 386or Domestic Cross-cultural met/major
Common Learning
Experiential Learning  
General Education requirements   40-41
Major requirements (inclusive of concentration)   59-61
Free Electives    21-24
Total credits   123