Skip to main content

Minor in Human Developmental Sciences

A total of 7 courses (1 lower-division, 6 upper-division) are required to complete any minor in Human Developmental Sciences. Two upper division courses may overlap with a major, and the one lower division course--HDS 1--may overlap with any requirement.

HDS Minors Available

HDS has three minors available: our traditional HDS Minor, outlined here, as well as minor specializations in Healthy Aging and Equity and Diversity

How to Declare the HDS Minor

The below information outlines the general process for declaring a minor.  You do not need to meet for an advising session prior to declaring the HDS minor; however, if the below information does not answer all of your questions, please reach out via VAC or schedule an appointment to discuss our HDS minors in more detail.

  • Please note that only 2 upper-division courses can overlap between the Human Developmental Sciences minor and your major
  • HDS requires four upper-division courses be from a different subject code than your major (regardless of overlap).

Application process for the HDS minor

To declare any minor, you use the same application process regardless of minor choice, submitting it via the minor application in your TritonLink account. All minors will ask you to list 7 courses. The two HDS minor specializations in Healthy Aging and Equity and Diversity have specific coursework. The traditional minor has the most flexibility in course choice, which includes HDS 1, and six upper division courses of your choosing from our development series (at least one needs to be from each of our 3 domains: Biological, Cognitive, and Socio-Cultural). Course options are at the bottom of this page.

If you are pursuing the traditional minor but do not know all of the courses you will take yet (or just prefer to keep your options open), then you can simply list the minor category itself, such as "biological development course" or "development elective" in place of the course name, if you prefer. You do not need to list specific classes, except in the follwing instances:

Overlap Limitations
A maximum of TWO upper-division courses can overlap between the minor and your major (HDS 1 can overlap with any requirement).  Please specify overlapping courses on the application.

Disciplinary Breadth
A maximum of TWO upper division courses in your HDS minor can be from the same subject code as your major--even if you have decided not to overlap them.  So for example: if you are a Bio major, four of your upper division HDS minor courses should NOT be Bio.

Both major-minor overlap courses, and/or any courses chosen from the major subject code, should be specified on the application. For most applicants, these courses are one in the same.

Sample Application
An example application, with only overlap & major subject courses specified (using HDS with a Bio Major as an example), should look like this:

Lower-Division Courses

 Subject Code 

 Course No.

 Title

 Institution 

 Units 

 Grade Options 

 HDS

 1

 Introduction to Human Development 

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter


Upper-Division Courses

 Subject Code 

 Course No. 

 Title

 Institution 

 Units 

 Grade Options 

 BICD

 100

 Genetics  (overlap w/major)

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter

 XXXX

 XXX

 Cognitive & Language Course

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter

 XXXX

 XXX

 Soc-Cultural Development Course

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter

 BIPN

 144

 Developmental Neurobio (overlap w/major) 

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter

 XXXX

 XXX

 Development Elective

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter

 XXXX

 XXX

 Development Elective

 UCSD

 4.00

 Letter




Requirements for a Minor in Human Development Sciences

  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade; pass/no pass grades are not accepted (with an exception: courses taken in Spring 2020 through Spring 2021 will be accepted with pass grades).
  • All coursework must be completed with a grade of C- or better.
  • At least one course must be completed from each of the three Domains: Biological, Cognitive, and Socio-Cultural Development.
  • Two upper-division courses may overlap between a student's major and the HDS minor.
  • Four upper division courses for the HDS minor should not be from the student's major subject.
  • Please check with your college regarding overlaps allowed between upper-division minor courses and general education requirements.

 

Lower-Division Requirement

1 lower-division course is required to complete a minor in Human Developmental Sciences

HDS 1 - Introduction to Human Developmental Sciences
(Must be taken in residence. Offered fall and spring).

Upper-Division Requirements

A total of 6 upper-division courses must be taken. At least 1 course must be completed from each Domain: Biological, Cognitive, and Socio-Cultural Development. The last three courses may be selected from the remaining options below, according to academic and professional interests.

Biological Development

At least 1 course selected from the following approved list:
  • HDS 110 - Brain and Behavioral Development
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or PSYC 101.
  • HDS 111 - Evolutionary Principles of Development
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or ANTH 2 or BILD 3.
  • ANBI 116 - Evolution of Primate Reproduction 
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • ANBI 130 - Biology of Inequality
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing
  • ANBI 140 - The Evolution of the Human Brain
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • ANBI 159 - Biological and Cultural Perspectives on Intelligence 
    Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
  • ANBI 173 - How Monkeys See the World  
    Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
  • ANTH 102 - Humans are Cultural Animals 
    Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
  • BICD 100 - Genetics 
    Prerequisites: BILD 1 and BILD 3.
  • BICD 112 - Stem Cells and Regeneration
    Prerequisites: BIMM 100.
  • BICD 130 - Embryos, Genes, and Development
    Prerequisites: BICD 100, BIBC 100 or BIBC 102 or CHEM 114A or CHEM 114B.
  • BIPN 134 - Human Reproduction
    Prerequisites: BIPN 100.
  • BIPN 144 - Developmental Neurobiology 
    Prerequisites: Upper division standing. Students should have a strong background in biology.
  • BIPN 148 - Cellular Basis of Learning and Memory 
    Prerequisites: BIPN 100.
  • COGS 115 - Neurological Development and Cognitive Change 
    Prerequisites: BILD 10 or 12 or COGS 17 or HDS 110.
  • COGS 184 - Modeling the Evolution of Cognition 
    Prerequisites: COGS 17 or BILD 12.
  • PSYC 132 - Hormones and Behavior
    Prerequisites: Upper Division standing.
  • PSYC 168 - Psychological Disorders of Childhood 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 171 - Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
    Prerequisite: PSYC 2 or 106 or 181, upper-division standing.

Cognitive & Language Development

At least 1 course selected from the following approved list:
  • HDS 120 - Language Development
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or LIGN 4 or equivalent.
  • HDS 121 - The Developing Mind
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or COGS 1.
  • HDS 122 - Development of Social Cognition
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or equivalent.
  • COGS 154 - Communication Disorders in Children and Adults 
    Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
  • COMM 100A - Communication, the Person, and Everyday Life
    Prerequisite: COMM 10 or consent of instructor.
  • COMM 168 - Bilingual Communication 
    Prerequisite:COMM 10 and one from COMM 100A, 100B, 100C.
  • LIGN 119/EDS 119 - First and Second Language Learning - From Childhood Through Adolescence 
    Prerequisite: Upper Division Standing or consent of instructor.
  • LIGN 179 - Second Language Acquisition 
    Prerequisite: LIGN 101 or Upper division standing or consent of instructor.
  • PSYC 101 - Introduction to Developmental Psychology 
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • PSYC 130 - Delay of Gratification
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • PSYC 132 - Delay of Gratification
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • PSYC 136 - Cognitive Development 
    Prerequisites: PSYC 101, or PSYC 105.
  • PSYC 141 - Evolution and Human Nature
    Prerequisites: Upper Division standing
  • PSYC 146 - Language and Conceptual Development 
    Prerequisites: Upper Division standing
  • PSYC 156 - Cognitive Development in Infancy 
    Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or HDS 1.
  • PSYC 168 - Psychological Disorders of Childhood 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 172 - Psychology of Human Sexuality 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 173 - Psychology of Food and Behavior
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 180 - Adolescence 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 187 - Development of Social Cognition 
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing. PSYC 101 recommended.
  • PSYC 190 - Parenting 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

Socio-Cultural Development

At least 1 course selected from the following approved list:
  • HDS 133 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Developmental Science
    Prerequisite: HDS 1 or PSYC 1.
  • HDS 171 - Diversity in Human Development
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • HDS 173 - Race, Media, and Identity Across the Lifespan
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • HDS 175 - Power, Wealth, and Inequality in Human Development
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • ANBI 159 - Biological and Cultural Perspectives on Intelligence 
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • ANSC 101 - Aging: Culture and Health in Late Life Human Development
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • ANSC 125 - Gender, Sexuality, and Society 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • ANSC 126 - Childhood and Adolescence 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • ANSC 127 - Discourse, interaction and Social life 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • COMM 102C - Practicum in New Media and Community Life
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • COMM 126 - Children and Media 
    Prerequisite:COMM 10 and one from COMM 100A, 100B, 100C.
  • EDS 115 - Cognitive Development and Education
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing.
  • EDS 117/SOCI 117 - Language, Culture and Education
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • EDS 118 - Adolescent Development and Education
    Prerequisite: Upper division standing
  • FMPH 110 - Health Behavior and Chronic Diseases
    Prerequisite: FMPH 40 and upper-division standing.
  • FMPH 120 - Health Policies for Healthy Lifestyles
    Prerequisite: FMPH 40 and upper-division standing.
  • LTWL 114 - Children's Literature
  • LTWL 116 - Adolescent Literature
  • LTWL 177 - Literature and Aging
  • PSYC 180 - Adolescence
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • PSYC 190 - Parenting 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 116/LIGN 174 - Gender and Language in Society
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 129 - The Family
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 131 - Sociology of Youth
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 143 - Suicide
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 159 - Special Topics in Organizations and Institutions
    - NOTE: ONLY WHEN TOPIC IS APPROVED FOR HDP MAJOR 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 161 - Sociology of The Life course 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • SOCI 184 - Gender and Film 
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • USP 134 - Community Youth Development
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • USP 145 - Aging - Social and Health Policy Issues
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
  • USP 147 - Case Studies in Health-Care Programs/Poor and Underserved Population
    Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.