Faculty and students study human development and adaptation, especially interrelated factors such as family relationships, schooling and society. They also develop prevention and intervention strategies for risky behaviors and address violence in homes, communities and schools.

The purpose of the HDFS graduate program is to nurture independent scholars who approach the study of development and behavior of human beings within social contexts from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The training of HDFS graduate students thus encompasses many approaches and paradigms, but is integrated through instruction in systems and bioecological perspectives, which emphasize that individuals are embedded in social contexts and cannot be fully understood out of context; and that human development and adaptation influence, and are influenced, by multiple interconnected sets of factors (e.g., genes, family relationships, school, community, society).

The HDFS program affirms the importance and value of diversity. Our research programs and curricula reflect our multicultural society and global economy.