Human Development & Family Studies

The HDFS graduate program expects all students to demonstrate mastery of required coursework by maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. All students will successfully complete the HDFS Graduate Program Learning Outcomes (Table 1) including a demonstration of current knowledge of theory, research, research methodology, and ethical issues relative to the discipline.

	Outcome	Department Level Assessment*
1.	Understand, critically evaluate, and draw applications from selected theories in human development and family studies for research, policy, and/or professional practice.	Graduate exit survey Alumni surveys every 5 - 7 years *
2.	Demonstrate understanding of research ethics in research practices.	Graduate exit survey
3.	Understand and use quantitative and qualitative strategies for analyzing data in human development and family studies.	Graduate exit survey Publications, Professional presentations****
4.	Make concise written/oral presentation of a problem in human development and family studies.	Professional Presentations
5.	Design a study as well as analyze and interpret data in a problem of human development and family studies.	Publications, Grant proposals
6.	In oral and written form, prepare an analysis, synthesis, and criticism of current research and theory in an area of human development and family studies.	Thesis or dissertation proposal to POS committee For doctoral students, analyze prelim pass/failure rates and prelim scores
7.	Assessment of progress in degree program	Time to graduation measures; annual graduate student review

*Department assessments will be shared by the Department Chair and DOGE with the HDFS graduate faculty for purposes of improving student learning.

**Student exit survey given (after final orals) to all graduating student's conducted by the DOGE to assess how each student's program experience affected his/her learning and professional preparation. Survey will be based on learning outcomes.

*** Alumni Surveys will be conducted every 5-7 years in parallel with HDFS Department Program Reviews Survey will include information provided by graduates regarding the effectiveness of the graduate program in preparing them for their professional careers.

**** As part of the HDFS annual review of graduate students, data will be collected regarding the number of professional presentations, journal publications, and grant proposals that are part of each student's record.

	Outcome	Assessment	Activity in Master's program	Activity in Doctoral program
1.	Understand and draw applications from selected theories in human development and family studies for research, policy, and/or professional practice.	Exam	HD FS 510 or HD FS 511	HD FS 510 & HD FS 511 & prelims
2.	Demonstrate understanding of research ethics in research practices.	Exam	HD FS 503	HD FS 503 & either HD FS 603 or 604
3.	Understand and use quantitative strategies for analyzing data in human development and family studies.	Exam	Stat 401 or HD FS 503	Stat 401 & Stat 402, 403, or 404 & prelims
4.	Make a concise oral presentation of a problem in human development and family studies.	Presentation	HD FS 503 & 510 or 511	HD FS 503 & 510, 511 & prelims
5.	Collaborate to design a study as well as analyze and interpret data in a problem of human development and family studies.	Research paper	HD FS 503	HD FS 503
6.	Use statistical software to analyze data in human development and family studies.	Exam	HD FS 503	HD FS 503
7.	In oral and written form, prepare an analysis, synthesis, and criticism of current research and theory in an area of human development and family studies.	Thesis or dissertation proposal to POS committee	Thesis proposal (HD FS 699)	Prelims & dissertation proposal (HD FS 699)
8.	Design a study to answer a research question in human development and family studies.	Thesis or dissertation proposal to POS committee	Thesis proposal (HD FS 699)	Dissertation proposal (HD FS 699)
9.	In oral and written form, interpret data to answer a research question in human development and family studies and draw implications for future research, policy, professional practice, and/or future theories.	Thesis or dissertation defense	Thesis defense (HD FS 699)	Dissertation defense & prelims (HD FS 699)

Course Description

HD FS 510	Theories of Human Development -Theoretical approaches and current research in child, adolescent, and adult development. Individual life span perspectives. Policy implications.
HD FS 511	Family Theory - Theoretical approaches and current research in family development. Review the nature and value of theory to the study of the family and evaluate the use of theory in empirical research. Policy implications.
HD FS 503	Research Methods in Human Development & Family Studies - Concepts, methods, and strategies for research in human development and family studies. Topics include the nature of scientific research, measurement, types of research in human development and family studies, validity of research designs, methods of data gathering, strategies for and issues in the study of change.
HD FS 603	Advanced Quantitative Methods - Methodological and analytical issues in research in human development and family studies. Advanced research design and measurement, selection of statistical techniques, and issues in the interpretation of findings.
HD FS 604	Advanced Qualitative Research -Qualitative methods and related theory in human development and family studies. Research procedures, including phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case studies. Methods of data collection and analysis.
HD FS 699	Research - Independent and dissertation research.
Statistics 401	Statistical Methods for Research Workers - Graduate students without an equivalent course should contact the department. Methods of analyzing and interpreting experimental and survey data. Statistical concepts and models; estimation; hypothesis tests with continuous and discrete data; simple and multiple linear regression and correlation; introduction to analysis of variance and blocking. Nonmajor graduate credit.
Statistics 402	Statistical Design & the Analysis of Experiments - The role of statistics in research and the principles of experimental design. Experimental units, randomization, replication, blocking, subdividing and repeatedly measuring experimental units; factorial treatment designs and confounding; extensions of the analysis of variance to cover general crossed and nested classifications and models that include both classificatory and continuous factors. Determining sample size. Nonmajor graduate credit.
Statistics 403	Distribution Free and Nonparametric Statistical Methods
Statistics 404	Regression for Social and Behavioral Research - Applications of generalized linear regression models to social science data. Assumptions of regression; diagnostics and transformations; analysis of variance and covariance; path analysis. Nonmajor graduate credit.