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HDFS Handbook
Introduction: What is Human Development and Family Studies?
Careers in Human Development and Family Studies
Program Goals and Objectives
Program requirements
Advising information
Postgraduate education
Student organizations
HDFS faculty
Appendices
Table of Contents
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Program Requirements
- Degree requirement
To earn a degree from Penn State one must do three things: (1) complete a minimum of 120 credits; (2) have a 2.0 average overall, and in the major; (3) complete the requirements for the major and the degree. It is possible to take many more than 120 credits, but if one has not completed all the requirements for a major, no degree will be rewarded.
To enter the 4-year HDFS major at Penn State Altoona one must have completed 28 credits, and have a grade point average of 2.0. Some students enter the major as soon as they have 28 credits; others wait and go through the Entrance to Major process in the spring term of their second year (4th term). To complete the degree one must have taken a minimum of 120 credits, with an overall grade point average of 2.0, as well as a grade point average in the major of 2.0. For an HDFS major, all HDFS courses must have a grade of C, or better.
Acquiring a degree means taking all the courses mandated for the degree. To assist you in doing this you will find a Checklist for the Major in Appendix A. Most students learn how to use a Degree Audit to help them see what requirements they have completed. You can get a degree audit by going on e-lion.
- Special Information about Courses and Opportunities
- Statistics
STAT 200 – Elementary Statistics
The purpose of STAT 200 is to provide an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics, which are crucial for evaluating knowledge claims in the behavioral and social sciences. The course will help you to become a knowledgeable consumer of behavioral research and to appreciate the role statistics plays in everyday life. STAT 200 (or ED PSY 101) is a required course for the major, and you must have received a 'C' in it before you take HDFS 312W, thus it is important to have completed this course within your first three semesters.
- Research methods
HDFS312W – Empirical Inquiry in Human Development
The purpose of HDFS 312W is to build your critical thinking skills, and more specifically, teach you skills relating to designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting empirical research in Human Development or Family Studies. The course will also prepare students to conduct their own research. Because the analysis of empirical research presumes a basic knowledge of statistics, students are expected to have already completed the basic statistics course, either STAT 200, or ED PSY 101, with a grade of 'C' or better. HDFS 312W is a prerequisite for all the 400-level courses in the department, and so it is expected that you will have taken this by the end of the fourth semester.
- Internships and the Capstone course
Every student in this major, regardless of the degree they are pursuing, must do an internship.
For the BS degree the internship has a 3 course sequence, beginning with HDFS 401 (Program Planning and Implementation). As part of this course students put together resumes, learn about interviewing, and take care of all the paperwork that needs to be done prior to starting an internship. The internship itself (HDFS 495C) is usually taken for 8 credits, and is accompanied by HDFS 402, a professional seminar. Taken together, the two courses form a pre-professional term, where the student's time and effort are focused on the internship. HDFS 401 would usually be taken during the 6th or 7th semester, and the internship and capstone in the 8th semester.
To enroll in HDFS 401 (which is offered only in the fall) a student must have completed or be taking the immediate prerequisite, HDFS 411.
To be eligible to take the two internship courses a student must have received a grade of C or better in each of the following required courses: HDFS 129, 301, 311, 312W, 315Y, 411, 414, 418, 455, 401, and STAT 200. Students who have received a D (or an F) in any of these courses must make up that course, and earn a C, before they may do the internship.
At present we are offering HGFS 402 and HDFS 495C only in the spring and summer.
All Penn State Altoona 4-year degrees have a Capstone course. The goal of any Capstone course is to integrate and connect everything the student has learned, in both general education courses, and courses for the major. It should foster a synthesis of understanding of material in the major, and in our case also serves to link the world of work to the empirical and theoretical knowledge of the academy. Our Capstone course is HDFS 402.
Regardless of the degree you are pursuing, it is imperative that from the day you enter the major, you begin to think about what you want to do when you finish the degree, and how an internship can help you achieve that goal.
You might wish to become acquainted with both the requirements for internships, and the resources available to you in preparing for them. The Altoona College has an Academic Internship Office. It's website it is http://www.altoona.psu.edu/internships/.
Information specific to the HDFS internship can be found at http://www.altoona.psu.edu/internships/hdfs1.asp.
- International experiences
Penn State University is committed to increasing the number of students who go abroad as part of their college experience. Here at Altoona we take that seriously, and no department takes it more seriously than HDFS. We offer the following experiences regularly.
The HDFS Summer Study Abroad program in Rome, Italy. This program, which lasts for about 8 weeks, allows you to earn 9 credits while you are living in Rome. Six of those credits are 400-level HDFS courses. The other 3 credits are a 200-level course in Architectural History. Go to
http://www/altoona.psu.edu/hdfs/abroad for more information.
The Spring Break Orphanage Outreach program in the Dominican Republic is a service learning experience which you can do just for the experience, or for credit. Although you are abroad only for 10 days this program has proved to be both satisfying and inspiring to it participants. And of course, it is not very expensive. For more information contact Lee Ann De Reus (lad12@psu.edu).
Travel and study associated with a course offered at Penn State Altoona is another model that we utilize. What this involves is taking one credit more than a course is usually worth, and spending one week overseas engaged in activities that earn you the credit. Students who take HDFS 311 are invited to participate in such a program at the end of spring term.
For more information about study abroad programs go to
http://www.altoona.psu.edu/studyabroad/ or to
http://www.international.psu.edu/
- Course Descriptions
A complete list of HDFS courses, and their descriptions can be found at
http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/courses/hd_fs.htm
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