Human Development (BS)

College of Human Ecology

Program Website

Program Description

Our interdisciplinary unit studies human development across the lifespan and integrates lab-based and real-world research to enhance development and well-being in diverse environments and populations. Human development majors explore the psychological, social, cultural, and biological development of people from conception to old age, focusing on the processes and mechanisms of growth and change over the life course. An important emphasis is the role that social institutions such as schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods play in human development, as well as the influence that developing people have on their environments. The human development major provides an excellent foundation for many professional careers, such as law, medicine (pediatrics, geriatrics, neurology, and psychiatry), clinical psychology and other mental health professions, education, social work, other health-related professions, business, nonprofit management, and advocacy. Many human development graduates attend graduate school in the fields of human development, psychology, and sociology.

The faculty in the Department of Psychology come from multiple disciplines, including developmental psychology, neuroscience, clinical psychology, education, political science, and sociology. The research of the department's faculty is extensive and world renowned and addresses issues such as the neurobiological basis of personality, the role of childhood attachments in the development of adult romantic relationships, the acquisition of language in infants, the effects of environmental stressors on children's cognitive development, interventions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of child maltreatment, risk-taking during adolescence, risk and resilience factors across the life course, the epidemiology of elder mistreatment, memory and the legal system, health care decision making among older people, and strategies to prevent social isolation and promote social integration among older people.

Human Development is one of the most diverse majors in the College of Human Ecology. The major is flexible enough to give students ample opportunity to meet the requirements for admission to professional degree programs, including medical, dental, law, public health, social work, and business schools. Requirements specified by the College of Human Ecology make up part of each student's curriculum, and include classes in the social and natural sciences, statistics, humanities, and writing. To fulfill department and college requirements, Human Development (HD) majors must take at least one biology course.

Academic Standards

Program Policies

  • A maximum of 15 credits of AP credit and in absentia credit can count towards the 120 total credits. 
  • A maximum of 15 credits of Study Abroad/Exchange, Cornell-In-Washington or Capital Semester can count towards total electives.

Special Academic Options 

Beyond the required formal coursework, students in human development have many other opportunities that involve ongoing individual work with Cornell faculty or other professionals. Academic credit can be earned through all of them, up to the limit specified by the college (with some restrictions noted below).

Faculty research

Many human development students work for several semesters as research assistants on faculty projects. On these projects, students get further training in research techniques such as laboratory experiments, surveys, and scientific behavioral observation. Participation in faculty research provides the type of experience that many graduate and professional schools expect from their top applicants. Recent projects involving students have included

  • language acquisition among infants in bilingual households or settings,
  • experimental studies of risky decision making among teens, and
  • the impact of poverty on stress responses in children and teens.

Participation in faculty research for credit counts as elective credit toward graduation in the College of Human Ecology (up to the limit specified by the college). By the time they graduate, approximately 80% of human development undergraduates have had lab or community outreach research experience.

Field Placements

Human development majors can arrange internships with Urban Semester in New York City, Cornell in Washington, and Cornell Abroad programs. Students may also arrange internships during the fall and spring semesters in the Ithaca area. All such field placements are required to be under the supervision of a human development faculty member. In recent years, human development students have participated in projects with the Tompkins County Office on Aging, the Tompkins County Human Service Coalition, Kendal of Ithaca, local schools, the Tompkins County Youth Bureau, and the Law Guardian's Office of Tompkins County. Field Placement credits count as elective credits toward graduation (up to the limit specified by the college).

Undergraduate Teaching Assistantships

Advanced students can serve as undergraduate teaching assistants. The teaching assistantship requires work with the professor teaching the course as well as contact with students. Undergraduate teaching assistantships are for credit only. Teaching assistantship credits count as elective credits toward graduation (up to the limit specified by the college).

Honors Program

The honors program is intended for exceptional students majoring in Human Development who wish to pursue an intensive year-long program of research. It is designed to give talented Human Development undergraduate majors an opportunity to formulate and carry out independent research under the supervision of a member of the Department of Psychology faculty. This year-long program provides an excellent preparation for later graduate work in psychology, sociology, neuroscience, medicine, law, and related fields. See the honors program webpage for more information.