About the Human Development and Family Studies Bachelor’s Program
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, social 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 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.
With respect to certifications, students may choose courses in HDFS for career certifications such as Child Life Specialist, Certified Family Life Educator, FCSE Post- Baccalaureate Teacher Certification, etc. See an advisor for specific courses.
Service and research skills are also enhanced by opportunities to observe and interact with infants, toddlers, and young children in the Child Development Research Center and TTU Early Head Start. The centers are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Students are required to pass a background check before working in these areas. Supervised experiences with community groups provide opportunities for interaction with older children, adolescents, couples, families, and elderly adults. These experiences assist students in understanding developmental stages of human behavior and interpersonal relations as they occur in family or group care settings.
Enrollment in the department is 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 chairperson’s office.
Communication Literacy (CL) Plan. Students attending Texas Tech University for the first time in the Fall 2017 term or later will complete a Communication Literacy requirement in their program(s) of study.
Texas Tech University’s transition from the Writing Intensive requirement to the Communication Literacy requirement signals the university’s awareness that in addition to the fundamental role that writing plays in enabling students to explore, develop, focus, and organize a message, other types of communication must also be taught as appropriate for a student’s discipline. Throughout each program of study, then, students must be given ample opportunity to develop their skills in forms of communication central to that program.
Human Development and Family Studies, as both a scientific discipline and one inherently interested in relationships among people, entails many different forms of communication. What makes for productive and satisfying communication between spouses or between parents and children? How does one communicate effectively in larger settings, such as a teacher with a classroom of young children or a leader in a community program for families? Finally, how do scientific researchers of family and developmental processes communicate their findings in ways that are meaningful and accessible to both experts and laypersons? The HDFS Communication Literacy courses are developed to fulfill all of the above needs. The CL courses for the B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies are HDFS 3301 (scientific/graphical), HDFS 3320 (interpersonal/dyadic/small group), and HDFS 3350 (community/organizational/spoken).
Undergraduate students may want to focus in one or more of the following areas:
Intimate and Family Relationships
