Undergraduate Academic Information

The bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees offered through the Department of Human Development are designed to prepare students for careers working with people, communities and organizations where they will address complex social problems such as poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, victimization, equity and justice. Students design their own plans of interdisciplinary study within the general program requirements based on their individual goals. The two degrees differ only in the number of liberal arts credits required - 90 for the bachelor of arts and 60 for the bachelor of science.

Undergraduate Degree requirements

To qualify for a baccalaureate degree from the Department of Human Development in the College of Community of Public Affairs, students must meet the following conditions:

• Earn a minimum 124 credit-hours, including transfer credits (with a maximum of two credits of physical education), with an average of at least C overall (2.0 GPA) and a minimum of a C average in the major program.
• Be subject to the General Education requirements when matriculated.
• Complete the specified requirements in the major program in which they are candidates for a degree.
• Complete a minimum of 40 credit-hours of upper-level (junior and senior) courses in the department
• Earn a minimum number of credit-hours in the liberal arts and sciences: 90 for the BA and 60 for the BS
• Satisfactorily complete at least ten courses (40 credit-hours) in the Department of Human Development. (To maintain flexibility, these courses need not be the last ten taken toward the degree, nor do they need to be taken when the student has matriculated status.)
• Apply no more than eight credit-hours in internships/independent study toward the 124 credit-hours required for a degree.
• Not be on probation or under disciplinary action
• Have paid or made satisfactory adjustment of all tuition, fees or other bills incident to their attendance at Binghamton University
• Be recommended by the faculty of the College of Community and Public Affairs
• Be admitted by formal action to the degree by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.

The University reserves the right to make changes in the requirements listed above for graduation, except that no increase in total credit-hours required for graduation shall retroactively affect any student already matriculated in the College of Community and Public Affairs when the change is made.

Major course requirements

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science

• Three lower-level social science courses: an introductory course in psychology, an introductory course in sociology and at least one other lower-level social science course outside of psychology or sociology.
• Required Course Courses
  • HDEV 200 - Introduction to Human Development (must be taken within the first 12 credits)
  • HDEV 300 - Social Science Research Methods (must be taken within the first 16 credits)
  • HDEV 400 - Social Justice (must be taken within the first 20 credits)
  • HDEV 475 - Practicum in Human Development
• Two upper-level courses within the Department of Human Development in each of the three curriculum areas:
  1. Theories of Human Development: HDEV courses numbered 301-339.
     • These courses draw on interdisciplinary theories to study development across the lifespan. They focus on a broad range of contexts and social positions including aspects of individual and family development.
  2. Social Action and Policy: HDEV courses numbered 340-379.
     • The courses in this area examine various social, political, economic and global frameworks within which individuals and social groups are situated.
  3. Working with Individuals and Groups: HDEV courses numbered 401-479.
     • These courses examine socio-historical influences on policy making, program development, barriers to service delivery and outcomes of intervention in an array of service-oriented institutions and organizations. Service systems may range from local to global.

Human Development Minor in Immigration Studies

The Department of Human Development in the College of Community and Public Affairs offers a minor in Immigration Studies. The objective of this interdisciplinary minor is to grapple with the complex and multiple ways in which citizenship is defined and experienced at global, societal, institutional, community, and individual levels. The key focus is on the effect of contemporary conceptualizations of citizenship and their translation into policies and actual everyday practices on the lives of those deemed as immigrants, refugees, or the displaced. The minor applies a social justice and rights-based philosophy to an examination of citizenship, immigration, emigration, and immigrant lives in transnational, national, and local contexts. A key emphasis of the minor is to explore the intersectionality of discourses on belonging, justice, and displacement in a variety of global, national, and localized contexts.

The requirements for the Human Development minor in Immigration Studies are as follows:

• A minimum of six courses including four core courses and two elective courses.

• The four core courses will be taken within the Department of Human Development:

1. HDEV 361. Global Migration Flows and Processes
2. HDEV 379. Migration, Citizenship, and Social Justice
3. HDEV 465. Researching Immigrant Lives
4. HDEV 475. Practicum in Human Development (This is the capstone course for the minor)

• The two elective courses may be taken outside the Department of Human Development.

• The two electives may be selected from courses that focus on immigration and immigrant related issues offered across BU in different departments. These courses must be approved by the Human Development department chair.

1. The first elective course will focus on immigration/immigrants with a historical emphasis (e.g., courses in History; Sociology; Geography; English; Africana Studies; Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies; and Asian and Asian American Studies have been identified)
2. The second elective will be a course that focuses in-depth on one specific immigrant community, population, or context (e.g., courses in History; Sociology; Geography; English; Africana Studies; Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies; and Asian and Asian American Studies have been identified)

• For participation in the Human Development minor in Immigration Studies, a student must have declared a major (HDEV or other) and completed at least 60 credits.

• For human development students, at least four of six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be in addition to courses counted toward fulfillment of the human development major.

• For students outside of human development, at least four of the six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be in addition to courses counted toward the fulfillment of the student’s major.

• At least four of the six courses for the Immigration Studies minor must be completed at Binghamton University.

• Courses for the minor in Immigration Studies must be completed with a grade of C or better. These courses may not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.