Human Development Major

Program Director: Jennie Lee-Kim, Ph.D.

The field of Human Development is concerned with mechanisms of growth and change across the life course. Thus, Human Development Majors will explore the biological, social, emotional, and cognitive processes of development from conception to old age in diverse social and cultural contexts. Students in the Human Development Major will participate in an integrated set of educational experiences to acquire a comprehensive body of interdisciplinary scholarly knowledge in human development, learning, and research methodology. Introductory and advanced course work, as well as laboratory research apprenticeships or field experiences are essential components of the proposed curriculum. 

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Develop a comprehensive knowledge base in human development
2. Understand central questions in the field of human development and the major theoretical approaches to them
3. Describe the sequence of typical development and the underlying processes in the domains of cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development
4. Recognize the importance of biology and environment, including context and culture on children's development and learning
5. Understand how human development influences educational practice, and how different educational approaches affect learning and development
6. Appreciate how theory and scientific research are addressed in applied in issues relating to children, family, education, and public policy
7. Develop core critical thinking and scientific literacy skills
8. Formulate answerable questions about important issues in learning and development, as well as generate and evaluate methods for answering those questions
9. Critically evaluate and reason about empirical evidence relevant to important issues in learning and development, and make informed arguments and decisions on the basis of empirical evidence
10. Critically evaluate current policies and clinical/educational approaches that address important societal issues on the basis of evidence
11. Apply these critical thinking and scientific literacy skills across a wide range and intersection of disciplines in development and education, in both research and applied settings
12. Develop understanding of and value ethical and social responsibility
13. Understand and apply ethical standards in research and practice in human development
14. Show awareness of the diversity of race, cultures, and contexts in which humans develop and grow
15. Apply evidence from human development research to improve policy and practice that fosters ethical and social responsibility and promotes social justice
16. Develop key skills for communication and writing
17. Clearly summarize, assess, and cite empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives, including describing methodology, results, limitations, and implications for a broader audience
18. Formulate clear written arguments and substantively defend them with empirical evidence
19. Present clear evidence-based arguments orally in ways that facilitate communication across a range of academic and non-academic audiences
20. Develop key professional skills
21. Apply both specific knowledge in human development as well as general critical thinking, scientific literacy, and communication skills to career goals
22. Organize, execute, and manage complex, multi-step research and writing projects
23. Develop meaningful, purposeful, and realistic career goals for professional life post-graduation

¹

Any core course listed above for which core course credit was not given may serve as an elective. This set of courses should be chosen to align with the student’s individual program goals and could include extradepartmental course offerings.

²

Students may, at the invitation of individual faculty, substitute EDHD498, for three of the required 12 credit elective component. For situations in which students wish to pursue a double major, Family Science Majors may substitute FMSC302 for EDHD306, and Psychology Majors may substitute PSYC300 for EDHD306 and PSYC200 for EDMS451 in the Human Development major

³

Students may elect to substitute six credits of upper (400 level) electives in place of the internship experience, although internship experience is strongly recommended.

⁴

Students may complete EDHD489 in one semester or over two semesters. Students may also take EDHD489 for three credits and another 400-level elective for three credits in order to satisfy this requirement. 

Psychology Electives

Sociology Electives

Family Science Electives

Other Possible Electives

Electives approved by program advisor from the following departments to satisfy individual students' program goals:

• AASP – African American Studies
• AAST - Asian American Studies
• AMST – American Studies
• ANTH - Anthropology
• BMGT – Business and Management
• CCJS – Criminology and Criminal Justice
• ECON - Economics
• GVPT – Government and Politics
• HESP – Hearing and Speech Sciences
• HLTH - Health LING - Linguistics
• RELS – Religious Studies
• SLLC – School of Languages Literatures and Cultures
• SPHL – Public Health
• STAT – Statistics and Probability
• WMST – Women’s Studies 

Click here for roadmaps for four-year plans in the College of Education.

Additional information on developing a four-year academic plan can be found on the following pages:

• http://4yearplans.umd.edu
• the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog