Human Development and Family Studies Major, B.A.

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

• Degree and Certificate Requirements 
• General Studies Requirements 
• Multicultural Graduation Requirements 
• Senior Experience Graduation Requirements 

• A total of 120 semester hours are required for graduation. 
• A grade of “D-” or better is required for each course in this program to count toward the bachelor’s degree. Students should note that programs differ in the minimum grade required. 
• HDFS majors must have a GPA of 2.00 in their major and an overall GPA of 2.00 to graduate. 
• A minor is required for this program.  
• All students must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours of upper-division in the HDFS major. 
• In meeting the requirements for the HDFS major, transfer students must take a minimum of 15 semester hours of HDFS major coursework at MSU Denver, of which at least 9 must be upper-division credits. 
• The Department of Psychological Sciences does not accept correspondence study courses toward the total number of semester hours required for a major or minor. 
• Transfer students must have completed both semesters of a two-semester introductory psychology course for equivalence to exist. Three semester hours will count toward the major or minor; three semester hours will count as general electives (i.e., PSY8888) to graduate. If a student has taken only one semester of a two-semester introductory course and takes PSY 1001 at MSU Denver, the transfer introductory credits will not count toward the degree.

Students should consult the General Studies Requirements for a list of courses that fulfill the General Studies Requirements for degree completion.  

• Written Communication (6 credits) 
• Oral Communication (3 credits) 
• Quantitative Literacy (3 credits) 
• Arts and Humanities (6 credits) 
• Historical (3 credits) 
• Natural and Physical Sciences (6 credits) 
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits) 
• Global Diversity (0 or 3 credits**)

** Students will fulfill the global diversity requirement by taking an approved course within one of the following categories: arts and humanities; historical; natural and physical sciences; or social and behavioral sciences. 

• Students should consult the Multicultural Graduation Requirements for a list of courses that fulfill the Multicultural Requirement for degree completion.  
• Two Psychology courses may be used to fulfill the Multicultural Requirement. These are: 
  • PSY 3030 - Multicultural Psychology 
  • PSY 3700 - Psychology of Group Prejudice 

Students must take all of the following core classes: 

• Students should choose their breadth courses in consultation with a HDFS advisor to ensure these courses best prepare them for their future career and/or graduate school goals.
• The following courses can be taken twice but no more than 6 hours may be used as part of the major: PSY 3370 - Undergraduate Research Assistant, PSY 3390 - Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Training,   PSY 3980 - Internship in Psychology and/or PSY 4650 - Advanced Internship in Psychology, combined, and PSY 4980 - Independent Study. To enroll in any of these specialty classes, please consult with an advisor. 

Required courses for the major may also count for General Studies and Multicultural requirements, so the total credits listed may be greater than the number required to complete the degree. Therefore, it is important that you work with your advisor to make sure you are meeting requirements for your degree.