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Bachelor of Science in Human Developmental Sciences with a Specialization in Healthy Aging

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Human Developmental Sciences with a Specialization in Healthy Aging is intended to equip students with the knowledge to work specifically with the aging population in medicine, research, industry, with families, and within our communities.

The specialization mirrors the traditional B.S., with 3 of the 13 upper division courses focused specifically on issues of Aging. 

Please note that all classes taken for this Bachelor of Science specialization must be taken for letter grades.

Lower-Division ("Major-Prep") Requirements

8 courses (32 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 (2 Courses)

Two courses selected from the following approved list:

Biological Sciences (2 Courses)

Two courses selected from the following approved list:

Social Sciences (2 Courses)

Two courses selected from the following approved list:

Upper-Division Requirements

13 courses (56 units)
3 courses (of which one must be a practicum) focus on content related to Healthy Aging

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 and Linguistic Basis of Human Development (two required, one from each area):

Domain 3 - The Socio-cultural Basis of Human Development (one required):

Development Courses (3 Courses)

Three courses - one course from each domain is required.

Domain 1 - Biological Development:

Domain 2 - Cognitive and Language Development:

Domain 3 - Socio-Cultural Development:

In Addison to the 3 domain requirements above, Two additional developmental specialization courses in Healthy Aging are required. See the next section for course options.

Methods of Research (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 181 and 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
  • HDS 191 can be used to complete the Healthy Aging Practicum requirement when students choose an approved field site focusing on Aging populations (see next section).  Healthy Aging Practicum credit for an HDS 191 project is subject to approval.

Healthy Aging Coursework (3 Courses total)

For the Healthy Aging specialization,  three major courses must focus specifically on issues of Aging.
One of those three courses must be a practicum (see next section).

NON-Practicum coursework:

Two courses - must complete two classes from the list below

Healthy Aging Practicum/Methods Elective (1 Course)

The Healthy Aging Practicum requirement can be completed through one of two ways:

  1. Through an approved Healthy Aging project for the Methods Elective requirement for the BS.
  2. With an approved site placement in HDS 191 that focuses on aging populations.

Students who use their the Methods Elective requirement to complete the Healthy Aging practicum can do so through one of the following courses:

Note: Students who choose to complete the Healthy Aging practicum requirement with HDS 191 rather than one of the above courses must still complete a Methods Elective for their BS degree. This can be completed with ANY of the courses listed for the traditional BS degree, including the following non-specialization options:
  • HDS 193 Advanced Research in Human Development - (Prerequisite: Approved Research Proposal).
  • HDS 194B Honors Thesis - (Prerequisite: Approved Honors Proposal).
  • COGS 120 - Interaction Design (COGS 108 or CSE 12 or DSC 30 and COGS 1 or COGS 10 or DSGN 1 or ENG 100D.).
  • COMM 102C - Practicum in New Media and Community Life
  • EDS 130 - Introduction to Academic Mentoring of Elementary/School Students
    (Prerequisite: EDS department approval. Two units of EDS 139 is a corequisite, for a total of 6 units). 
  • EDS 131 - Early Childhood Development and Education 
    (Prerequisite: EDS department approval. Two units of EDS 139 is a corequisite, for a total of 6 units). 
  • EDS 136 - Introduction to Academic Tutoring of Secondary School Students
    (Prerequisite: EDS department approval. Two units of EDS 139 is a corequisite, for a total of 6 units). 
  • FMPH 102 - Biostatistics in Public Health (Prerequisite: FPMH 40; PSYC 60 or MATH 11).
  • SOCI 110 - Qualitative Research in Educational Settings

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).

  • Must be an approved HDS major with senior standing. Priority given to graduating seniors in their final quarter.