Thank you for visiting. Who are we?

Welcome to the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware. We are a faculty and staff who offer both graduate and undergraduate degrees, conduct research in the areas of human development, family studies and counseling, and provide service throughout the region, country and world.

We offer undergraduate degrees in Human Services and Early Childhood Education with many opportunities for hands on experiences working with children, youth, adults and families. Our graduate programs (M.S. Human Development and Family Studies, M.A. College Counseling and Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education) provide applied instruction in counseling, human services management and leadership, youth development, and early childhood education. Our Ph.D. program focuses on young children and youth within the context of their families.

Our mission: The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is an interdisciplinary, applied academic unit that prepares undergraduates for practice or graduate studies in early childhood education, family studies, and human services, broadly defined. We educate graduate students to be scholarly and professional leaders who study critical child, youth, and family issues in the community, and build quality institutions of higher education that support college student learning.  Our faculty and students integrate theory, research, practice, policy and service into all our work. We value diversity, inclusion and the promotion of positive human development within the rapidly changing global context in which we live.

The Department of Human Development and Family Studies accomplishes this mission by:

1) Preparing scholarly and professional leaders and practitioners who design, implement and evaluate practices, programs and policies that enhance the development of all children, youth, adults, and their families;

2) Providing leadership in developing educational approaches and programs that emphasize new and emerging models to teaching, learning and service which serve as examples to others;

3) Incorporating contemporary problems and issues for children, adults and families in our research and teaching, and translating our research into practice.

4) Sensitizing and preparing students for the rapid globalization of our world, enhancing their awareness and sensitivity, and providing tools for our graduates to effectively interact with an increasingly diverse American population and with the cultures and diversity of other nations.

In other words, we help, educate, and support children, adolescents, adults and their families.

• The department has an interdisciplinary faculty, has collaborative relations with many training units on campus, as well as community agencies and child care programs and schools, and provides 350 students with the academic preparation to teach, support, research, and intervene in the lives of children, youth, and their families, all within a comprehensive developmental framework for understanding children, youth, adults and families. Faculty work closely with students and help ensure that their programs of study meet their needs.
• We prepare students to support and educate children and their families in settings that make a difference for children and families. These settings include schools, nonprofit organizations, the legal system, the public sector / government, and for profit human resource departments.
• We teach students to minimize risk, promote resiliency, work with a very diverse population, and to optimize the development of individuals and families across the life span.
• Our undergraduate majors have opportunities to observe and participate in field placements with children, youth, adults, and their families early in their academic careers. Service learning is an integral aspect of their undergraduate education. We even have study abroad experiences in South Africa and Barbados that are tailored to the needs of our majors. The department also sponsors clubs that help students get to know each other, and get greater experiences in the field.
• Our graduate students have opportunities to conduct research, and participate in various assistantships and service learning experiences. They work closely with faculty conducting research on-campus and in various communities and countries, and receive supervision in their practicum and field placements.

Contact us: Throughout this web site you will find specific information about our programs, faculty, and research. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me, Donald G. Unger, Ph.D., Chair, (unger@udel.edu) or Bahira Sherif Trask, Ph.D., Associate Chair (bstrask@udel.edu) at (302) 831-6500. We look forward to hearing your questions and comments.

Directions to the Department of Human Development and Family Studies

From the north: Take I-95 South to Delaware Exit 1-B; Route 896 North, which becomes South College Avenue at the intersection of Route 4. Continue straight approximately 2 miles on South College Avenue.  Once you cross go over the bridge after the Chrysler plant, you will come to a red light at East Park Place.  Turn right onto East Park Place.  At the next light, turn left onto Academy.   The Perkins Parking Garage will be on your right in the second block, after the Bank of America Career Services Center.   

From Kirkwood Highway (Rte 2):  Follow Kirkwood Highway, Rte 2, onto Main Street in Newark.  Turn left onto Academy Street.  Follow Academy Street to the Perkins Parking Garage which will be on your left before the Bank of America Career Services Center.   

Directions to the building (Alison West):  When you exit the parking garage and are facing Academy Street, turn right.  Crossover Academy Street after the Perkins Student Center and continue walking on to campus.  Bear to the right on the walkway and follow the walkway to the first building Alison Hall.  Enter the building at the curved stairs.  Continue through the lobby, turn right and continue down the hall and around the corner, Room 111 is on your left.

Additional Directions   http://primus.nss.udel.edu/buildings/displayBuilding.action?building.code=NC18