Human Development

Types of Degrees Human Development Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many human development & family studies graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	15,810
Bachelor’s Degree	10,755
Associate Degree	8,216
Undergraduate Certificate	3,768
Master’s Degree	1,373
Graduate Certificate	176
Doctor’s Degree	165

What Human Development Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to human development were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Human Development Majors

Human Development majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills for Human Development Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to human development:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Human Development Majors

A major in human development will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Human Development Major?

People with a human development degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Childcare Workers	6.9%	$23,240
Community and Social Service Specialists	13.2%	$42,620
Farm and Home Management Advisors	7.7%	$49,840
Home Economics Professors	8.6%	$71,380
Nannies	6.9%	$23,240
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	10.5%	$29,780
Social and Human Service Assistants	16.4%	$33,750

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development?

Human Development & Family Studies runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #39 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 12,609 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 93% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of human development majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	507
Black or African American	1,187
Hispanic or Latino	2,224
White	5,977
International Students	117
Other Races/Ethnicities	743

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Human Development, too. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human Development

Some careers associated with human development require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to human development have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	25.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.1%
Some College Courses	6.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	11.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	14.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.1%
Master’s Degree	18.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.9%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	9.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Human Development Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	456	52
Certificate (2-4 Years)	12	0
Associate’s Degree	610	85
Bachelor’s Degree	54	19
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	132	32
Post-Master’s	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	43	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Human Development

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to human development.

Major	Number of Grads
Food, Nutrition & Related Services	4,014
Textile & Apparel Studies	2,961
General Family & Consumer Sciences	2,454
Family & Consumer Economics	1,208
Human Sciences Business Services	560
Housing	314
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences (Other)	142
Work and Family Studies	10

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Jsonin under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.