2025-2026 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
The Department of Human Development and Family Science offers an undergraduate degree in Human Development. To earn this degree, students can major in Human Development or Early Childhood Development and Education (formerly Childhood Pre-Education). Human Development focuses on family relationships and human development across the lifespan, human service skills, and public policies and issues that impact individuals and families. Early Childhood Development and Education (formerly Childhood Pre-Education) helps students prepare for careers involving young children. The department's mission is to understand and improve the lives of people of all ages in relationships, families, organizations, and communities.
The program participates in the University Honors Program.
The department offers graduate programs leading to an M.S. or Ph.D. with content options related to adult development and aging, child and adolescent development, family studies, and marriage and family therapy. Graduate students can earn the Graduate Certificate in Gerontology along with their degree or as Commonwealth Campus students (for more information, contact the Center for Gerontology, 237 Wallace Hall, (540) 231-7657). Graduate students can also earn the Graduate Certificate in Human Sexuality Studies along with their degree or as Commonwealth Campus students (for more information, contact the HDFS Department, 366 Wallace Hall, (540) 231-4794). (See the Graduate Catalog)
The degree in human development is for students interested in a wide variety of careers and graduate school programs. The option provides undergraduate majors with a theoretical and experiential grounding in child and adult development and in family and relational dynamics. Course work includes emphases on how individuals and families develop over the life cycle, on the critical issues and events that influence families, and on family transitions and dynamics. The curriculum also focuses on family diversity and social and public policies that affect individuals and their families. Through course work and field placement experiences, human development and family science students develop and practice skills and communication techniques for working with individuals, families and groups. In addition to course work within the Department of Human Development and Family Science, students take courses in related fields in order to gain a broad perspective on issues that affect human development and families. Students may tailor their studies to their particular professional goals and interests through the use of free electives. The experiential field study requirement, which integrates theory, research, and practice, is pivotal to students' career development. It increases students' professional communication and human service practice skills and helps narrow career interests.
Careers open to human development and family science graduates include: early childhood education, employment and job training services, health and wellness programs, housing services, income programs, mental health services, nutrition and meals programs, protective services, recreation programs, respite services, social services, substance use disorder programs, volunteer programs, and child care services. Graduate and professional options that human development and family science graduates may consider include business, community health and public health, law, education, family studies, gerontology, marriage and family therapy, medicine and nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology and sociology, public administration, rehabilitation, speech therapy, and social work.
Students are encouraged to consider the wide array of courses across the university curriculum as potential choices for electives to support their major. In consultation with an academic advisor, each student should confirm that prerequisite requirements have been met before enrolling in elective courses.
A student will be considered to have made satisfactory progress toward the degree when he/she has successfully completed the Pathways General Education requirements for Concepts 1F, 4, and one course for Concept 5F as well as HD 1004 Childhood and Adolescence, by the time the student has attempted 72 semester credits.
Department Head: Paul Springer
Alumni Distinguished Professor: R. Blieszner
Professors: M. Dolbin-McNab, B. Katz, K. A. Roberto, L. Sands, T. Savla, C. L. Smith, and P. Teaster
Associate Professors: E. Grafsky, B. Howell, K.J. Kim, and J.M. Russon
Assistant Professors: K. Choi, C. B. Hornburg, T. Rice, C. Sanner, and R. Wesche
Associate Clinical Professor: J. Case Pease
Research Scientist: I. Bradburn
Senior Instructor: K. Gallagher and A. Gardner
Advanced Instructor: J. Culligan, M. Komelski, V. Lael, and I. Schepisi
Undergraduate Academic Coordinator: A. Lemon
Graduate Academic Coordinator: M. Wyatt
CLAHS Academic Advisor for HD majors: C. Ballard
CLAHS Academic Advisor for CPED and ECDE majors: S. Jarrett
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