BA in Human Development

Help build an individual’s life skills for a prosperous life.

Social challenges are constantly evolving as the traditional roles, lifestyles, and conceptions of identity change alongside public policy. Learn to address the changing social structures of contemporary society and their impact on the growth of individuals and families in various cultural contexts. By understanding human development and how it is affected by cultural perspectives, you will be prepared to empower infants, children, adolescents, adults, and elders with the life skills necessary to navigate our constantly evolving society.

This degree is offered by AU Online.

Program Overview

This major seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the processes that underlie human development and the way these issues are created and addressed so that their attendant problems can be effectively remediated.

With growing numbers of older adults, single or working parents, and children of all ages in need of services, the Human Development curriculum is for those whose professional concerns will contribute to the development of life skills in the individual. The program emphasizes development as essential to understanding human behavior and for addressing the dynamics and demands that will arise within the context of the human lifespan.

Courses are focused on the various stages of development from birth through the end of life by focusing on family relationships and peer interactions through various cultural perspectives. The courses also address how to apply a deeper knowledge of human growth and maturation to formulate various interventions designed to improve people’s lives.

Degree Requirements

Program Length:

The length of time it will take a student to complete a degree depends upon (1) the number of credits transferred into the program and (2) the number of credit hours taken each term.

Requirements:

Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree through Antioch University Online include a minimum of 120 semester credit hours. A minimum of 45 semester credits must be completed with Antioch University.  All majors contain both Interdisciplinary Core and Major Requirements.

Interdisciplinary Core Courses:

• Experience and Expression
• Modes and Methods of Learning
• Literary Analysis and Argumentation
• Culture, Conflict, and Social Research
• Foundations of Civilization
• Ecology, Technology, and Society
• Leadership

Human Development Major Core Requirements

• Child and Adolescent Development
• Adult Development
• Gender & Multicultural Issues in Healthcare in American Society
• Behavioral Physiology
• Contemporary Family Patterns
• Ecology of Human Development
• Senior Project

Major Focus Areas (Students must choose one Focus Area)

• Clinical Mental Health Counseling:
  • Career and Lifestyle Counseling
  • Counseling Theories Models & Approaches
  • Human Development: Lifespan & Systems
  • Social & Cultural Diversity
  • Human Sexuality and Sex Therapy
• Adult Development and Aging Services:
  • Caring for the Aging
  • Economics, Politics, and Access in Healthcare
  • Dying as a Stage of Life
  • Lives in Transition
  • Long Term Care and Advance Directives

Career Outlook

Graduates of this program may find themselves working in health care professions, social work, or other human services agencies that offer professional support to individuals or families.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this major, each student should be able to:

1. Identify the general dynamics of individual, family, group, and cultural development.
2. Describe the core processes that lead individuals, families, and groups through important life events and transitional moments.
3. Articulate how the concept of self develops and evolves in different periods of life, and under different circumstances.
4. Describe the basic principles concerning the physiology of human development.
5. Articulate the manner in which conceptions of development are socially and culturally constructed.