Human Development and Family Studies

Penn State’s Human Development and Family Studies program is designed to help you learn about the intricacies of individual and family development across the lifespan and the foundations of working in a wide range of human services with many different groups of people.

It enables students to prepare for professional, managerial, or scientific roles in health and human services professions, in public and nonprofit agencies, and in business and industry, as well as for advanced professional or graduate study. 

What to expect

Life Span Human Services option

This option focuses on the acquisition and application of scientific knowledge about development and family functioning across the life span for the purposes of enhancing personal and family development. 

Through HDFS’s interdisciplinary approach, you will explore the biological, psychological, and the sociological facets of life in order to help others live healthy, successful lives. 

Courses emphasize biological, psychological, social/cultural, and economic aspects of development, including: 

• Child and adolescent development
• Adult development and aging
• Family studies
• Approaches to interventions and helping
• How individuals progress and change from birth to old age
• How families and communities influence these processes
• How to apply this knowledge in order to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions designed to improve people’s lives
• Basic theoretical and methodological issues
• Developing applied skills in intervention and evaluation, prevention, and in the formulation of social policy

Field experience

An approved field experience in a setting that serves children, youth, adults, or the aged is required for this option.

Typical employment settings include:

• Preschools
• Daycare centers
• Hospital programs for children, youth, and families
• Institutional and community mental health programs for individuals and families
• Programs for abused or neglected children and adolescents
• Women's resource centers
• Human resources programs
• Employee assistance programs
• Nursing homes
• Area agencies on aging and other community settings for older adults
• Public welfare and family service agencies

Typical postgraduate pursuits of students completing this option include graduate study in human development, family studies, psychology, or sociology, or advanced professional training in psychology, law, behavioral health, counseling or social work.

Certified Family Life Educator credential 

Certified Family Life Educators typically provide information to families through an educational approach, often in a classroom-type setting or through educational materials.

Attainment of the CFLE certification can be embedded within the four year HDFS degree and does not require additional classes or semesters. However, it does require careful and specific scheduling of classes with an academic adviser. 

Learn more on the Certified Family Life Educator page. 

You might like this program if...

• You have always been curious about human behavior and family relationships, and how people relate to one another
• You are passionate about pursuing a career in which you develop, implement or evaluate interventions designed to improve the lives of individuals and families
• You plan to pursue one of the many careers in which an understanding of individual and family development across the lifespan would be useful (e.g., counseling, education, health professions, business, policy/advocacy)