Human Development, B.A.

The Human Development (HD) Program offers an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree that focuses on human growth and development across the life course, the underlying processes and structures that support that development, and the relationships between the individual and the complex familial, social, and cultural environments in which development is situated. 

The Human Development Program has two components. Pre-Human Development is not impacted and is not a degree-granting program. Pre-Human Development is open to all SSU undergraduates. Students must be in Pre-Human Development and complete the Pre-Human Development curriculum before they can apply to Human Development, which is an impacted major. Being Pre-Human Development does not guarantee admission into the Human Development major. Pre-Human Development students who complete the curriculum will be ranked by GPA when they apply to the major. Students who are interested in the Human Development major should declare Pre-Human Development as early as possible and use the sample four-year plan as a guide for completing the Pre-Human Development curriculum and the Human Development major.

Program Learning Outcomes

Human Development Majors will master the following learning outcomes by the time they graduate:

1. Recognize the way in which the life course comes to be culturally shaped as well as inflected by social positions such as gender, race, sexuality and class.
2. Evaluate the variety of concepts and theories that shape scholarship and practice in human development, including from biological, social, cultural and psychological perspectives.
3. Experience designing, undertaking, and presenting research that is empirically rigrous as well as ethically and methodologically sound.
4. Identify the way that human development knowledge informs practices in applied settings focused on issues such as learning and education, health and wellness, social justice and community advocacy, and the social contexts of disability.
5. Critically reflect on how human development knowledge can be used to facilitate positive change in the life course, especially in contexts of inequality and structural violence.

Learn more about the Human Development Program

Pre-Human Development

Students must declare Pre-Human Development and complete the following requirements before being accepted into the Human Development major:

1. 2.5 overall and SSU GPA.
2. Completion of 30 units of GE coursework including:

Complete the following with a C- or better:

• A1 (3 units)
• A2 (3 units)
• A3 (3 units)

Complete the following with a C or better:

• B2 (3-4 units)
• B4 with MATH 165  Elementary Statistics or equivalent from another institution (4 units)
• D1 with ANTH 203  Introduction to Cultural Anthropology or PSY 250   Introduction to Psychology or SOCI 201  Introduction to Sociology or equivalent from another institution (3 units)
• D5 with ANTH 200  Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (3 units) or equivalent from another institution (recommended). Students may complete this requirement with ENGL 203  Introduction to Linguistic Studies (4 units), but ENGL 203 fulfills the D1 GE area. Students who wish to complete the most GE areas while completing the Pre-Human Development curriculum should take ANTH 200.
• Additional lower division GE coursework (e.g., B1, D3, D4, science lab) with a passing grade to reach 30 units. Beginning Fall 2020, Pre-Human Development majors looking for a GE area E course are encouraged to consider HD 200 (Introduction to Human Aging; GE-E), which fulfills the Adulthood and Lifespan Topical Area for the Human Development major.