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Human Developmental Sciences HDS
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Bachelor of Arts in Human Developmental Sciences

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Human Developmental Sciences provides broad-based preparation for many fields with solid grounding in both theory and methodology in the discipline of human development, while providing a great deal of curricular flexibility. Please note the following:

  • All classes taken for the Bachelor of Arts must be taken for letter grades. 
  • All coursework must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Note: Courses are displayed in TSS with leading zeros--they are still the same class! Please note the zeros and hyphen when searching for classes. Examples:

  • HDS 1 appears as HDS-001 in TSS
  • HDS 60 appears as HDS-060 in TSS
  • HDS 191 appears as HDS-191 in TSS

Lower-Division ("Major-Prep") Course Requirements

7 courses (28 units)

Introduction to Human Developmental Sciences (1 Course)

HDS 1 - Introduction to Human Developmental Sciences

(offered fall and spring)

Statistics (1 Course)

For students who declared the HDS major Fall 2021 or later:


For students who declared the HDS major prior to Fall 2021:
One course selected from the following approved list:

Formal Skills (1 Course)

One course selected from the following approved list:

Biological Sciences (2 Courses)

Social Sciences (2 Courses)

Two courses selected from the following approved list:

Upper-Division Course Requirements

12 courses (52 units)

Core Series (4 Courses)

A total of 4 courses with at least 1 course from each Domain is required.

Domain 1 - The Biological Basis of Human Development (one required):

Domain 2 - The Cognitive & Linguistic Basis of Human Development (two required, one from each area):
  • 2B. Language Development (one required)
    • HDS 120 - Language Development (Prerequisites: HDS 1 or LING 4 or equivalent).
    • COGS 156 - Language Development (Prerequisites: Upper-division standing. background in developmental psyc and/or linguistics is recommended).
    • LIGN 171 - Child Language Acquisition (Prerequisite: LIGN 101 or Upper division standing or consent of instructor).
Domain 3 - The Socio-cultural Basis of Human Development (one required):

Development Courses (5 Courses)

A total of 5 courses is required, with no overlaps:
At least one course from each domain, plus two electives. 

 

Domain 1 - Biological Development:
(At least one of the 5 classes must be from this area. Courses cannot double-count for 2 areas)

Domain 2 - Cognitive and Language Development:
(At least one of the 5 classes must be from this area. Courses cannot double-count for 2 areas)
Domain 3 - Socio-Cultural Development:
(At least one of the 5 classes must be from this area. Courses cannot double-count for 2 areas)

Methods of Research Courses (2 Courses)

These courses are designed to introduce students to the philosophy and methods of developmental research in both laboratory and real-world settings (must be taken in residence).

HDS 181 - Experimental Projects in Human Development Research (Prerequisites: HDS 1, Statistics,  and a minimum of three upper-division HDS major courses, at least one in each domain. Department approval required to enroll. HDS majors only).

HDS 191 - Field Research in Human Development (Prerequisites: HDS 1 & HDS 181. Department approval required to enroll. HDS majors only)  Students must submit the pre-enrollment questionnaire one academic year prior to enrollment. See the HDS 191 Page for details

Special note: Beginning Fall 2026, BA students may substitute HDS 191 with one of the following Qualitative methods options:

Qualitative Methods Options (incorporates fieldwork, volunteering, or interviewing)

Senior Seminar Capstone (1 Course)

The Senior Seminar Capstone is a special topics seminar that provides advanced-level study on subfields of human development (must be taken in-residence). 

HDS 150 - Senior Seminar (Prerequisites: HDS 181, Senior Standing, and Department Approval. Priority given to graduating seniors in their final term).