Introduction

Please click here to see School of Education & Human Development information.

The Human Development and Family Relations (HDFR) Bachelor of Science program prepares students to effectively serve individuals and families in a wide variety of environments. HDFR is committed to a curriculum rich in family diversity and social justice. This 120 credit-hour interdisciplinary program explores family systems and the ecological development of individuals across their life span. The HDFR program leads to certification in the field.

This program is a rural partnership with Trinidad State College (TSC) in Trinidad, Colorado.  Students complete the first two years of the program at TSC in an Associate of Applied Science degree in Human Services and then transfer to CU Denver to complete their final two years in online HDFR coursework for the BS in HDFR degree.  Advising is provided during all four years of the program, whether students are TSC or CU Denver students.

Program Delivery

• The courses in the first two years of the program are offered on campus in Trinidad at TSC and the last two years of the BS degree are offered in an online format.  High touch distance and local advising support is offered to students in the program.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

HDFR Policies

Transfer Credit

HDFR is a transfer-friendly major. HDFR will accept between 18- 27 transfer elective credits that must be approved by the Registrar and the HDFR Academic Advisor. If a student is transferring from a Non-HDFR/HDFS major they are allowed to petition for an additional 6 credits. All transfer credits must be approved by the HDFR Academic Advisor and HDFR Program Chair. If a student is transferring from an HDFR/HDFS program from another university, they can petition for additional credits to count towards the HDFR major credit. The credits must be a match to be considered for official transfer.  

HDFR Passing-Grade Requirements

HDFR courses (for majors/minors) must be passed with a C. C- does not constitute a passing grade; C- may be approved if overall GPA is 2.0 or above with HDFR Program Chair review and approval (an exception may be made in only one course, and this is handled on a case-by-case basis).

HDFR Professional Internship Contact Hours, HDFR 4930

Students are required to complete 200 hours on-site. This is in addition to completing the HDFR 4930 Human Development and Family Relations Internship course (equivalent: 45 contact hours)

• On-Site Hours can be completed in 1 semester, 2 semesters or 1 semester and a summer session. Students can register for variable credits from 1-5 for a total of 5 credits.

Contact Hours:

Contact Hours

Credit	On-site Hours
1.0	40
2.0	80
3.0	120
4.0	160
5.0	200

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.   

• CU Denver Graduation Requirements
• CU Denver Undergraduate Core Curriculum
• School of Education & Human Development Graduation Requirements
• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum total of 120 semester hours for the Human Development and Family Relations BS.
2. A minimum GPA of 2.0, C or better grade, is required for all courses applying to Human Development and Family Relations major requirements.
3. Courses can be "double dipped" - i.e., used to satisfy both a general education requirement and a major course. If double dipping courses, additional courses will have to be taken to get to the 120 major required credits.
4. Transfer courses must be approved by faculty and/or advisor to apply to the major.

Take all courses with a grade of C or better:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Major Courses
HDFR 1010	Life Span Development in Ecological Settings	3
HDFR 2000	Introduction to Family and Community Services	3
HDFR 2080	Sex, Human Development and Family Systems	3
HDFR 2200	Love, Family and Human Development	3
HDFR 3002	Preparing to be a HDFR Professional	3
HDFR 3020	Black and Latino Children in Families and Schools	3
HDFR 3250	Families in Global Perspectives	3
HDFR 3400	Love, Couples and Family	3
HDFR 4001	Families and Parenting	3
HDFR 4002	Family Life and Community Programming I	3
HDFR 4003	Leadership and Organizations	3
HDFR 4004	Family and Comm. Prog. II Grant Writing/Fundraising	3
HDFR 4010	Family and Cultural Diversity	3
HDFR 4075	Family Policy & Law	3
HDFR 4080	Global Family Resource Management	3
HDFR 4260	Family Systems and Social Justice	3
HDFR 4930	Human Development and Family Relations Internship	5
Research & Statistics for HDFR
A grade of C or better is required:
RSEM 4100	Research and Statistics in Families and Human Development	3
RSEM 4120	Introduction to Research Methods	3
HDFR Family Diversity
Select one of the following (a grade of C or better is required):		3
HDFR 1080	Lifespan Issues in Family Violence
HDFR 3800	Leadership for Racial Justice in School and Community Settings
HDFR 4040	Latino Families in School and Communities
HDFR 4045	Abuelos (Grandparents) Latino Families
HDFR 4850	Family Systems Therapy, Religion and Spirituality
HDFR Human Development and Learning
Select one of the following (a grade of C or better is required):		3
HDFR 1000	Global Human Development & Learning
HDFR 2110	Child Ecology
HDFR 3050	Children's Thinking and Assessment
HDFR 3100	Adolescent Ecology
HDFR 4200	Adult Ecology
HDFR 4300	Families in Later Life
HDFR Elective
Select one of the following (a grade of C or better is required):		3
HDFR 2083	Family and Personal Finance
HDFR 4040	Latino Families in School and Communities
HDFR 4045	Abuelos (Grandparents) Latino Families
HDFR 4090	Helping Profession Skills in HDFR
HDFR 4300	Families in Later Life
HDFR 4850	Family Systems Therapy, Religion and Spirituality
HDFR 4860	Trauma Informed Care for Diverse Populations and Co-occurring Disorders
HDFR 4888	LGBTQ Family Systems
Total Hours		68

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.