Even though you are thinking about HDFS as a major, or may even have entered the major, you may still find yourself trying to answer the question, “What is HDFS?” The simplest answer to that question is that this is a major with a professional focus that prepares people to work in human services. For this reason it is multidisciplinary. The body of knowledge for the field comes from psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, neurology, history, and political science, to name a few. Two things make it different from a major in any of those other fields. First, and obviously, in HDFS you study all those fields. Secondly, you study them in order to apply them in such a way as to optimize the development of individuals, and the families they live in.

Specifically, in this major you will study the life-span from conception to death, and learn about theories of human development and family relationships; you will look at social policy, and ethics, and examine family development and family dynamics. You will study diversity at several levels from differences among individuals to differences among nations. You will learn professional communications skills, and become adept at using technology to acquire and disseminate information. You will study statistics and research design, and learn about program evaluation. At the end of your program you will do an internship in a professional setting.