Current & Prospective Students

Undergraduate Program

Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) is an interdisciplinary program focusing on the development of families and individuals across the life span. Students learn to identify factors that influence cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and later adulthood in the contexts of culture and family.

Graduates from the program work in a variety of human service settings. These include youth services organizations; early childhood, elementary and parent education programs; health care settings; juvenile and adult corrections; family and community services; and long-term care facilities. Graduates are also well prepared to pursue an advanced degree in the behavioral and social sciences, or other professional programs.

Graduate Programs: Master's & Doctoral

HDFS has several opportunities for graduate study. At the Master's level, the Department offers a Master of Science degree in HDFS, with two different tracks. The Family and Developmental Studies program focuses on normative development of individuals and families from birth through old age. It prepares students for careers ranging from Child Life Specialists working with ill children, to research and program evaluation, to teaching at the community college level, to creation and evaluation of preventive intervention programs. The Marriage & Family Therapy program, which is accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Marriage & Family Therapy Education, provides a specific professional curriculum that prepares graduates for licensure as Couple and Family Therapists.

At the doctoral level, we are now accepting applications to the PhD in Applied Developmental Science (ADS). The graduate program in ADS at Colorado State University offers graduate training in research and its application to issues that affect the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities. HDFS offers an interdisciplinary approach to development across the lifespan leading to the Ph.D. degree in ADS.

Please see the Doctoral Program section of our website for a description of the plan of study as well as the application form.

We welcome you to explore these various options. We encourage prospective students to also visit the “Research in HDFS” section of our website and learn about the research that our faculty engages in, to learn about ongoing research projects, and to learn about opportunities for working with various faculty members.