Human Development and Psychology

Curriculum

2012-13 Requirements

The following HDP program requirements are for the 2012-2013 academic year only. 

HDP students must complete 8 courses before graduation, as outlined below:

• One Culture and Social Development course (courses listed below)
• One Cognitive and Language Development course (courses listed below)
• One Research Methods and Data Analysis course (courses listed below)
• Three additional courses which focus on Human Development and Psychology
• Two elective courses (either at HGSE or at another Harvard or MIT school through cross-registration)

Note: Courses on the Culture and Social Development and Cognitive and Language Development course lists are suitable additional HDP courses or electives, but cannot be counted toward more than one requirement.

Culture and Social Development courses (1 course) 

• AH-103 Educational Outcomes in Cross-National and Cross-Cultural Perspectives (spring, Harris)
• AH-600 Parenting, Schools, and Achievement (not offered 2012-13)
• H-137 Emotion in Development and Learning: Usable Knowledge, Variability and Context (spring, Rappolt-Schlictmann)
• H-175 Good Work in Education: When Excellence, Engagement, and Ethics Meet  (fall, Gardner)
• H-236 Adolescent Development (fall, Hill)
• H-250 Developmental Psychology (fall, Harris)
• H-331 Risk and Resilience in Social Contexts from Birth to Young Adulthood: Strategies of Prevention and Intervention (year-long, Jones)
• H-370 The Promotion of Social Development in Students and a Sense of Community in Classrooms (not offered 2012-13)
• H-382 The Problems Kids Have: Developmental, Cultural, and Contextual  Perspectives on Risk and Resilience (fall, Lem)
• H-392* Childhood Trauma: Dynamics, Interventions, and Cross-Cultural Perspective (fall, Groves)
• H-525 Immigration, Education, and Identities in the United States (fall, Louie)
• H-607 Ethnicity, Context, and Family Dynamics (fall, Hill)
• H-611A and H-611B Moral Adults: Moral Children (spring, Weissbourd)
• HT-100 Cognitive Development, Education, and the Brain: Theory and Practice (spring, Fischer)
• HT-500 Growing up in a Media World (fall, Blatt)
• S-504 Introduction to Qualitative Research (fall, Duransingh)
• T-006 Adult Development (spring, McGarvey)

Cognitive and Language Development courses  (1 course)

• AH-103 Educational Outcomes in Cross-National and Cross-Cultural Perspectives  (spring, Harris)
• AH-125* The Science of Learning, Behavior, and Health: Implications for Early-Childhood Policy (not offered 2012-13)
• AH-600 Parenting, Schools, and Achievement (not offered 2012-13)
• H-107 Introduction to Education Neuroscience  (fall, T. Rose)
• H-112 Cognitive Neuroscience and Education (spring, Luk)
• H-137 Emotion in Development and Learning: Usable Knowledge, Variability and Context (spring, Rappolt-Schlictmann)
• H-180* Cognitive Development and Trust in Testimony (spring, Harris)
• H-250 Developmental Psychology (fall, Harris)
• H-382* The Problems Kids Have: Developmental, Cultural, and Contextual Perspectives on Risk and Resilience (fall, Lem)
• H-700 From Language to Literacy (fall, Snow)
• HT-100 Cognitive Development, Education, and the Brain: Theory and Practice (spring, Fischer)
• HT-123 Informal Learning for Children (winter, Blatt)
• T-006 Adult Development (spring, McGarvey)
• T-440 Teaching and Learning: "The Having of Wonderful Ideas" (fall, Schneier)
• T-560 Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Challenge of Individual Differences (spring, D. Rose)

Research Methods and Data Analysis courses (1 course)

• S-005 Introduction to Educational Research (fall, Tivnan)
• S-012 Empirical Methods: Introduction to Statistics for Research (fall, Tivnan)
• S-030 Intermediate Statistics: Applied Regression and Data Analysis (spring, Bein)
• S-040 Introduction to Applied Data Analysis (fall, Masyn)
• S-052 Applied Data Analysis (spring, Ho)
• S-504 Introduction to Qualitative Research (fall, Duransingh)  

**For students who have already had some exposure to statistics.

*Limited enrollment course

Three additional courses which focus on Human Development and Psychology

Two elective courses  (HGSE or cross-registered)

It is important to note that the HDP master's program does not lead directly to teacher certification or counseling licensure, e.g., school adjustment counseling, guidance counseling, psychological counseling, although some courses offered in HDP may serve to fulfill partial requirements for these professional tracks. The requirements for certification vary across states and professional organizations, and students should check carefully with the appropriate agencies about their eligibility and the requirements for certification. Students who need further information about programs leading directly to certification should refer to the Prevention Science and Practice Program, Teacher Education Program, the Language and Literacy Program for Reading Specialists (Initial Teacher Licensure), or other programs at HGSE.

Cross Registration

Many HGSE students choose to take courses at other Harvard graduate schools (aka, cross registering), including the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). For more information about cross registering at other Harvard schools, please visit the Cross Registration website.

HGSE Course Catalog

For more information about HGSE course offerings, view the entire HGSE course catalogue