The Human Development Department at WSU examines the development of individuals and families from an interdisciplinary perspective with a talented faculty who are trained in a range of disciplines and professional areas. The academic mission of this department is to train professionals who, in a variety of settings, will facilitate the development of individuals, families and communities. Courses focus on theory, research, and practice in such areas as parent-child relations, adolescent development, family violence, family social policy, early childhood education, family resource management, and family and consumer science education. Graduates of our Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Development have a variety of challenging careers in communities, human service agencies, and schools both in Washington State and around the nation. Graduates who specialized in Family Studies are working in community action centers, Head Start family services, domestic violence programs, and family support centers.
Students can study for leadership positions in nonprofit human and public service agencies.
Those with a human development emphasis are working in child-care centers, residential treatment centers, programs for the elderly, juvenile correction programs, and youth programs. Human development training is excellent undergraduate preparation for those who are interested in graduate training to become family therapists and human development researchers. Those who major in Human Development with interests in early childhood or family and consumer sciences education can choose to earn a teaching certificate which qualifies them for jobs as teachers at the preschool, elementary, middle school, junior high or high school levels. The Department of Human Development provides hands-on experience with young children in the Child Development Center preschool laboratory, housed on campus in a newly renovated facility, that will be ready in the Fall of 2001. A computer laboratory in Hulbert Hall provides student access to computer resources such as word processing, printing, internet web browsing, and email.