Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science with a concentration in Youth Development

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This online Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science with a concentration in Youth Development program offers an interdisciplinary lifespan approach to the study of children, youth, and families. It encompasses specialty areas in preschool teaching, childcare, administration, youth development, family services, child life, consumer economics, human sciences teacher education and extension.

Program Highlights:

The Youth Development curriculum prepares students to understand and work effectively with children and adolescents, ages 10-18, in a variety of settings.
The program provides students with a comprehensive view of the needs and developmental characteristics of youths, as well as the challenges facing today's youths.
Emphasis is placed on understanding how youth development does not occur in isolation but is situated in, and affected by, contexts such as relationships, family, neighborhood/community, school, culture, the economy, and society.
Youth Development students gain valuable real-world experience through a required field experience course and an internship
Students are also able to develop specific areas of specialization to fit their career interest by choosing from a generous variety of focus area courses.

What are some potential careers?

The coursework for this program opens doors to many career opportunities in a variety of fields, including recreation and sports, juvenile justice, Extension (4-H and Family & Consumer Sciences), human services, out-of-school programming, military family support services, and youth ministry. Graduates enter diverse public, private, and non-profit sectors which focus on enabling youth and families to function effectively in today's complex society. The Human Development and Family Science undergraduate program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) as meeting the Standards and Criteria for the Provisional Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE).

Who should pursue this degree?

This program is ideal for individuals who are interested in pursuing an online degree that will equip them with the skills and knowledge to work effectively with youth in a variety of settings, including: (1) recent high school graduates who are unable to enroll on campus, (2) professionals in the area of youth programming or youth services who desire a degree in Youth Development to maintain or enhance employment, (3) active duty military personnel, (4) law enforcement officers, and (5) individuals at a distance from the University campus that are currently employed and desire to earn a degree in HDFS with a concentration in Youth Development from MSU.

Program Structure

Degree Requirements

To graduate with the Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science with a concentration in Youth Development degree:

Students must complete a minimum of 124 hours
- Up to 62 hours may be transferred from an accredited community college
- Students will take a total of 33 hours in General Education courses
- Students will take a total of 29 hours in major core courses
- Students will take at least 62 in the Youth Development concentration
Students must have a GPA of 2.0 on all college work prior to entering the major.
A grade of C or better must be earned in all HS and HDFS courses.
Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 to graduate.

Program Information

Core Curriculum

All students who enter MSU must meet the common core curriculum requirements as set by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi to qualify for any bachelor's degree.

English Composition (6 hours)
Mathematics (3 hours)
Fine Arts (3 hours)
Natural Sciences (9 hours)
Humanities (6 hours)
Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)
- 3 hours must be HDFS 1813 for all HDFS students

Major Required Courses:

Course Number	Course Title	Hours
HS 1701	Survey of Human Sciences	1
HDFS 2813	Child Development	3
HDFS 3303	Family Resource Management	3
HDFS 4333	Families, Legislation and Public Policy	3
HDFS 4424	Teaching Methods in Agricultural and Human Sciences	4
HDFS 4701	Internship Placement	1
HDFS 4702	Research and Application in Human Sciences	2
HDFS 4803	Parenting	3
HDFS 4843	Family Interaction	3
HDFS 4883	Risk, Resilience and Preventive Interventions	3
AELC 3203 or EDF 3413 or EPY 3513 or MGT 3213	Writing competency requirement	3
Total Hours:		29

Youth Development Concentration Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Hours
HDFS 3000	Field Experience	3
HDFS 3813	Lifespan Theory	3
HDFS 4780	Youth Development Internship	12
HDFS 4873	Positive Youth Development	3
HDFS 4893	Adolescent Development	3
PSY 4223 or SW 4533	Drug Use and Abuse or Substance Abuse & Addictions	3
CO 1003 or CO 1013	Fundamentals of Public Speaking or Introduction to Communication	3
Restricted Electives	Choose three of the following: AELC 4403 Development of Youth Programs PSY 3413 Human Sexual Behavior EDX 3213 Psy & Ed of Exc Child & Youth COE 4013 Facilitative Skills Dev EPY 3543 Psychology of Adolescence	9
Focus Area Courses	Choose 15 hours from the following: HDFS 2023* Trauma-Informed Practice Certificate Course HDFS 2123* Perspectives on Child Maltreatment HDFS 3123* Global Child Advocacy Issues HDFS 3833 Human Dev. in the Context of Leisure & Rec. HDFS 3673 Environments for Special Needs EDX 4423 Teaching the Disadvantaged Child EPY 3503 Principles of Educational Psychology EPY 3553 Giftedness/Creativity SO 4233 Juvenile Delinquency SO 3313 Deviant Behavior SO 3503 Violence in the U.S. SO 3603 Criminology SO 4333 Sociology of Sport SO 3213 Intro to Social Research SO 2203 Cultural and Racial Minorities PE 3033 Basketball/Football Officiating PE 3133 Adaptive Physical Education PE 3533 Coaching Sports Kl 2213 Emergency Healthcare PE 3433 General Safety Methods MGT 3213 Organizational Communications MGT 3113 Prin of Mgt MGT 3513 Intro to Human Res Mgt MGT 38 I3 Organizational Behavior MGT 4563 Staffing in Organizations MKT 3013 Principles in Marketing MKT 3213 Retailing MKT 4113 Personal Selling MKT4123 Advertising *Meets Requirements for Trauma Informed Child Advocacy Certificate	15
Free Electives		8
Total Hours		62

New Admissions

If you have never attended Mississippi State University, please complete the online Undergraduate Admissions Application.

You will choose Human Development and Family Sci/ Child Development (BS) as your major and Youth Development as your concentration and Online Education as your campus.
Request that official ACT or SAT scores be sent to MSU.
Request that your high school send your official transcript. Faxed transcripts will not be accepted.
Submit a separate official final transcript from each college or university attended; faxed transcripts will not be accepted. An applicant may not ignore previous college attendance and must list all colleges attended on the application for admission. You must be in good standing at the last college or university attended.
If you are unable to submit official transcripts and other documentation electronically, you may send them via U.S. Postal Service to:
Office of Admissions & Scholarships
P.O. Box 6334
Mississippi State, MS 39762-5507
All new admits will pay a non-refundable application fee online.

Readmission

If you have previously attended MSU, you will need to apply for Readmission.

Once you are readmitted, if you are not a former Human Development and Family Science BS student, please contact your advisor so he or she may change your major and campus as well as advise you for the upcoming semester.
Submit a separate official final transcript from each college or university attended; faxed transcripts will not be accepted. An applicant may not ignore previous college attendance and must list all colleges attended on the application for admission. You must be in good standing at the last college or university attended.
If you are unable to submit official transcripts and other documentation electronically, you may send them via U.S. Postal Service to:
Office of Admissions & Scholarships
P.O. Box 6334
Mississippi State, MS 39762

There is no fee for readmission applications.

Courses

HS 1701 Survey of Human Sciences: 1 hour.
One hour lecture. Introduction to the field of Human Sciences through a study of its history and the variety of professional careers available.

HDFS 2813 Child Development: 3 hours
. (Prerequisite: HDFS 1813 or consent of instructor). Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Developmental characteristics of children with emphasis on the early years; implications for care and guidance.

HDFS 1813 Individual and Family Development through the Lifespan: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Introduction to individual and family development through the lifespan, conception to death, focusing on social and emotional development, contextual influences on development, and application.

HDFS 2023 Trauma Informed Practice: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. This course prepares students to recognize signs of trauma and apply trauma-informed practices when working with children and families. The course is designed for students majoring in HDFS, psychology, and other disciplines where knowledge of the impact of trauma on children and families is pertinent.

HDFS 2123 Perspectives on Child Maltreatment and Child Advocacy: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. This course is the introductory course for child advocacy studies. This course covers the history, comparative perspectives, legal framework, reporting, identification and effects of child maltreatment and professional/community responses to child maltreatment.

HDFS 3000 Field Experience: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor). Supervised field experience for Human Development and Family Science students in approved settings; pre-internship learning experience.

HDFS 3813 Lifespan Theory: 3 hours.
(Prerequisites: HDFS 2813 or HDFS 1813). Three hours lecture.An intensified exploration of human development theory, research and methodology used in the study of individuals across the lifespan.

HDFS 4313 Family Resource Management: 3 hours.Three hours lecture.
Decision-making in the family and operation of the household as affected by family values, philosophies, resources, and socio-economic conditions.

HDFS 4333 Families, Legislation and Public Policy: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Junior/senior writing or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. An examination of the impact of legislation and public policy on the well-being of the family with emphasis on policy and family change

HDFS 4424 Teaching Methods in Agricultural and Human Sciences: 4 hours.
(Prerequisite: College of Ag and Life Science major and junior standing). Three hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Planning instruction; selection teaching techniques; developing teaching plans; teaching agricultural/human science topics; using instructional technologies; and evaluating learner progress (Same as HS 4424/6424).

HDFS 4701 Internship Placement: 1 hour.
(Prerequisite: Junior standing and consent of instructor). One hour lecture. Preparation for an internship in a chosen specialization.

HS 4702 Research and Application in Human Sciences: 2 hours.
(Prerequisite: Senior standing in FDM or HDFS). Two hours lecture. Focus on conducting original research to integrate fundamental Human Sciences principles. Emphasis on professional development and effectiveness in Human Sciences professions. (Same as FDM 4702 and HDFS 4702).

HDFS 4780 Youth Development Internship: 12 hours.
(Prerequisite: Successful completion of all academic coursework and consent of instructor.) Individual work experience in an approved youth development setting under supervision of Mississippi State University faculty.

HDFS 4873 Positive Youth Development: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: HDFS 1813 and junior/senior writing class or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Examines theoretical and empirical foundations of the growing field of Positive Youth Development; examines school and community-based programs that foster PYD.

HDFS 4893 Adolescent Development: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: Junior/Senior/Graduate student status; or consent of instructor). Theory and research relevant to understanding the developmental processes and changes of adolescence from a contextual and systemic perspective.

HDFS 4803 Parenting: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: HDFS 1813 and junior/senior writing, or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Study of the child as a part of the family in a dynamic human ecological system.

HDFS 4843 Family Interaction: 3 hours.
Three hours lecture. Interaction within functional families; focus on the family as a system, on diversity and roles, and on effective interactions.

HDFS 4883 Risk, Resilience and Preventive Interventions: 3 hours.
(Prerequisite: HDFS 1813 and junior/senior writing; or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Theory and research relevant to understanding risk and resilience in human development and family studies application of risk/resilience framework to individual and family preventive interventions.

*For non-HDFS and HS course descriptions, please see the MSU undergraduate catalog http://www.catalog.msstate.edu/undergraduate/.

Academic Advising

After gaining admission to the university, you must contact one of your advisors to determine the courses that are most appropriate for you to take. Approximately two months prior to the upcoming semester, your advisor will send an email to your MSU email account, making course recommendations based on your program of study.

Mississippi State University uses email as its official means of communication with all MSU students. Please check your MSU email account (NetID@msstate.edu) daily. Information on setting up your MSU email can be found at the link for student services.

Dr. Tommy Phillips

Human Development and Family Science

Associate Professor

tom.phillips@msstate.edu 662-325-0655

Program Reminders

If you want to deviate from the program of study recommended for you, check with your advisor
If you take courses not on your recommended program of study, there is a risk that the classes will not count toward your BS degree
You must get a grade of "C" in all classes required in the History Major Core

All programs of study are subject to review by the Registrar's Office for graduation, even from a signed program of study. Courses that do not equal MSU courses exactly may or may not apply to your program as core courses. You can see these course translations through the CAPP report found at my.msstate.edu. To access the report, log into your myState account and click on the "hamburger" icon in the top left corner in order to access the Banner tab; click or hover over the myBanner for Students tab in order to view the Academic Records column where you can click on the CAPP Compliances link.