HDFS Suggested Courses (2025)

Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) NSO Enrollment Guide

Advising

Center for Student Advising and Engagement
5 Henderson Building
University Park, PA

Find your adviser and schedule an appointment through Starfish: http://starfish.psu.edu Links to an external site.

Important Websites

Entrance to Major Requirements

  • 29.1 or more earned credits
  • 2.0 cumulative GPA

Course Recommendations

  • Summer: Choose 2 courses (6–7 credits overall) *
    • Consider taking one of the HDFS Leap Prides: HDFS 101n & CAS 100A or HDFS 249n & CAS 100A 
    • *LEAP Students: Be sure not to choose courses for the fall that you are taking this summer.
  • Fall: Choose 5–6 courses (15–17 credits overall)
    • Recommended combination: 2 HDFS classes, PSU 14 (if required), and 3 Gen Eds

Major (2)

Choose HDFS 129 or HDFS 101n, and one more HDFS class.

  • HDFS 101n: Introduction to Social Problems and How to Help – suggested pairing with PSU 14
  • HDFS 108N: Art & Science of Human Flourishing
  • HDFS 129: Introduction to Human Development and Family Studies
  • HDFS 229: Infant and Child Development
  • HDFS 239: Adolescent Development
  • HDFS 249N: Adult Development and Aging
  • HDFS 254N: Reading Our Lives: Understanding Diversity and Human Development Through Memoirs
  • HDFS/CMAS 258N: Intro to Child Maltreatment & Advocacy Studies

First-Year Seminar

First year students who did not complete the LEAP or Aurora programs must take PSU14 paired with one of the HHD courses listed below, typically the course from their intended major.

  • Suggested for HDFS students: PSU 14: First-Year Seminar (1 credit) + HDFS 101n (3 credits)
  • We encourage you to select HDFS 101N, but students can pair PSU 14 with any of following: BBH 123S (1), CSD 297(1), HPA 123S (1), HM 297(1), HDFS 101S (3), KINES 123S (1), NUTR 123S (1) or RPTM 120S (3). Several of these other courses are fewer credits and will not fill requirements in the HDFS major.
  • For varsity athletes only: BBH 102S (to be registered later, 3 credits, fulfills FYS requirement)

Tip: Select 3 classes from the below categories. Do not take more than one course in any of the categories.

Writing/Speaking (GWS) (select 1)

Most commonly, students choose from:

  • ENGL 15, ENGL 15A, ENGL 30 or ESL 15: Rhetoric and Composition
  • CAS 100A, B, or C: Effective Speech

Quantification (GQ) (select 1)

  • Use score from ALEKS placement test to select an appropriate math class.
  • Required for the Major – HDFS 200: Quantitative Skills for Human Services or Stat 200: Elementary Statistics or EDPSY101: Analysis and Interpretation of Statistical Data in Education.
    • Note: if planning graduate school, select Stat 200

Arts (GA) (select 1)

Tip: Students hoping to study abroad later should not take a GA in their first year.

  • Any GA that is a single domain (no “n” after the course number).

Humanities (GH) (select 1)

Tip: Students hoping to study abroad later should not take a GH in their first year.

Any GH that is a single domain (no “N” after course number). Courses to consider:

  • ENGL 228 – Intro to Disability Studies
  • SOC/WMNST 103 – Racism & Sexism
  • LTNST 100 – Intro to Latina/o Studies
  • PHIL 4 – The Human Condition
  • PHIL 8 – Gender Matters
  • PHIL 9 – Race, Racism, & Diversity

Natural Science (GN) (select 1)

Tip: Students planning to attend graduate school in a health-related field should begin taking that field’s science pre-requisites in their first semester and should sign-up to work with pre-health advising. Common courses: BIOL 161 & 162, CHEM 110 & 111.

  • BIOL 155: Biology of Aging
  • Biol 161 & 162: Anatomy and Physiology ** especially for pre-health students
  • BISC 2, 3, or 4
  • EARTH 2: The Earth System & Global Change
  • EGEE 101: Energy and the Environment
  • GEOG 6n: Maps and the Geospatial Revolution
  • Geosci 10: Geology of the National Parks

Integrative Studies (“N” Interdomain) (select 1, can be HDFS, see list above)

Other courses to consider:

  • AA 120N - Intro to Art Therapy
  • “AFAM” 100-level “N” designated courses (e.g. Black Freedom Struggles, African American Women...)
  • ANTH 45N – Cultural Diversity: A Global Perspective
  • “SOC” 100-level “N” designated courses (e.g. Race, Ethnicity, & Culture; State, Society & Public Policy)
  • PSYCH 120N – Knowing Right from Wrong

Social/Behavioral Science (GS) (select 1, cannot be HDFS)

Tip: This a good opportunity to explore the introductory course for a potential minor.

GS Courses to consider:

  • PSYCH 100: Introductory Psychology
  • RHS 100: Introduction to Disability Culture
  • LHR 100: Exploring work and employment
  • From SOC: SOC 1 – Introductory Sociology; SOC 5 – Social Problems; SOC 13 – Juvenile Delinquency; SOC 210 – Social Determinants of Health
  • PLSC 1: American Politics: Principles, processes, and power

Health and Wellness (GHW) (select any 1 that does not have an N suffix)

GHW Courses to consider:

  • BBH 119: Behavior, health, and disease
  • BBH 130: Strategies for addressing the obesity and diabetes epidemic
  • BBH 143: Drugs, behaviors, and health
  • HPA 57: Consumer Choices in Health Care
  • KINES 13: First Aid & CPR
  • KINES 81: Wellness Theory
  • KINES 82: Action Methods for Stress Management
  • RHS 226: College Student Mental Health and Wellness

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