Our graduate programs are based on the model of the empirically-based professional or social scientist. Graduate students learn to conduct research on human development, family science in accordance with established standards of scientific inquiry and evaluation. Human Development and Family Science graduate programs seek to produce researchers, scholars, and educators who are capable of independent investigation of family and developmental processes. Students also receive training in how to conduct scientifically-based assessments of prevention and intervention strategies. Many opportunities exist for HDFS graduate students to become involved in research on children, youth, and families. The central premise of graduate programs in HDFS is the idea that scientific inquiry provides the most effective means to improve the welfare of children, youth and families.
A cornerstone idea for HDFS graduate programs is development in context, or the perspective that human development is best understood in terms of interconnections among families, neighborhoods, schools, communities, cultures, and international environments. A more specific focus within this development in context perspective is an emphasis on children, youth, and families at risk. Together, these two themes, development in context and children, youth, and families at risk, are the foundations upon which our graduate curriculum options are structured.
