This interdisciplinary major prepares students to become professionals who work within agencies that help children, adolescents, and their families. The major recognizes that these individuals need both broad-based coursework and experiences in a variety of settings. Understanding human development and the social context of development are emphasized.  At the core of the major are courses that focus on learning, developmental difference, and social and cultural factors that influence development.

The interdisciplinary experience supports the University’s mission to foster critical thinking, positive action, and ethical sensitivity so that students may lead vocationally productive, personally satisfying, and socially responsible lives.