Human Development and Family Relations, BS

Although everyone wants to make a living doing a job they enjoy, some people want more than just a job. They want to make a difference in the world, helping people who need it the most. If you are looking for a degree where you can utilize your passion for helping diverse individuals, families and communities and your skills as a critical thinker, an online Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Relations (HDFR) may be the perfect match. Through this fully online program, you will be trained to serve culturally and linguistically diverse families and individuals from a strengths-based perspective in a variety of contexts. 

Whether you are starting college for the first time, transferring from another institution or returning to the university setting after years away, you will find a community in the HDFR program. Our program is designed on the premise that our students’ success is dependent on our faculty’s involvement in their scholastic and personal development. We foster a closely-knit, dedicated community of students, each of whom is mentored by professors who care. We walk alongside you from your first class to your last, supporting you each step of the way, including valuable experiences such as partnering in undergraduate research projects and service-learning activities. 

A major focus of our program is making sure that our students gain valuable experience in the community and around the globe. We emphasize experiential education in both our online and face-to-face programs. We help our students to find sites for service learning that allow them to work with diverse populations in a variety of contexts, including global sites through our study abroad programs. Many of our courses have service-learning requirements built into the curriculum. We find that the experience of working with diverse people helps our students to develop a global perspective that will serve them well in any career.

This program is also the first bilingual (Spanish) Human Development and Family Relations program in the country. While you can take your courses entirely in English, we also offer you the opportunity to take some of your online courses in Spanish/English bilingual format. The bilingual courses are uniquely constructed so that you do not need to speak Spanish in order to participate. This exposure to another language can provide you with both the competencies you need to truly be an advocate for Spanish language speakers in your community, as well as a competitive edge over graduates of other programs as it relates to gainful employment and graduate school applications.