Department of Human Development

The family and consumer science education program meets the requirements for teacher certification in home and family life education for grades four through twelve.
• Offered at WSU: Bachelor of arts in human development with teaching certification in family and consumer sciences education
• Available at: Pullman

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Bachelor of Arts in Human Development with teacher certification endorsement in Family and Consumer Sciences Education

In addition to human development coursework, students in this program complete courses in Human Nutrition; Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles; Teaching and Learning; Educational Psychology; and Agricultural Education.

Family and Consumer Sciences is one of the Career and TEchnical Education areas in the public schools. In Washington, Family and Consumer Sciences teachers earn and maintain two certificates- the Residency/Professional certification and Career and Technical Education certification. Family and Consumer Sciences students are also required to validate at least 2000 hours of work experience (in the past six years), a necessary part of their Career and Technical Education certification.

REQUIREMENTS FOR JOINING PROGRAM
Students can certify as a human development major after taking 24 credit hours and earning at least a 2.0 GPA. Upon completing a set of prerequisite courses with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, students can apply for admission to the teacher education program (see human development website for details).

REQUIRED HUMAN DEVELOPMENT COURSES
HD 201—Prenatal Through Age 8
HD 202—Middle Childhood Through Adolescence
HD 203—Adulthood Through Older Years
HD 204—Family Systems: Understanding Family Interaction
HD 320—Resource Management and Problem Solving
HD 410—Public Policy Issues Impacting Families and Individuals

In addition to the required Human Development courses, students take the following Human Development courses:
HD 302—Parent-Child relationships
HD 350—Diversity in Contemporary Families
HD 406—Work and Family
HD 407—Student Teaching for Family and Consumer Sciences
HD 409—Current Consumer Issues
HD 479—Program Planning for Family and Consumer Sciences
HD 480—Instructional Strategies

NOTE: Students should consult the General Catalog for course planning and must meet course requirements as outlined in the General Catalog in order to graduate.

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Human Development graduates with a family and consumer sciences certification are employed primarily as family and consumer sciences teachers in public and private junior, and senior high schools. Related areas of employment include community youth organizations, community action agencies, better business bureaus, and some university extension positions.

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• Desire to strengthen individuals, families, and communities
• Interest in current social issues and policies that impact families or individual family members
• Sensitivity to the valuable contributions and unique needs of all people
• Desire to learn about the development of individuals, families, and communities
• Desire to learn how a variety of educational approaches, social policies, and prevention/intervention strategies can influence the development of children, youth, and families

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Each year the HD Department selects an Outstanding Freshman, Junior and campus and DDP Senior of the Year.  In addition the HD Department awards 15-20 scholarships, for a total of about $18,000, to certified Human Development majors. These scholarships are merit based (minimum overall GPA, 3.0) and are not dependent on your financial circumstances. They are typically awarded for the full academic year (split between fall and spring semesters), but in special requested circumstances may be awarded for a single semester or summer.

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