Chair’s Welcome and Department Overview
Welcome to the Department of Human Development and Family Studies Web page at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, abbreviated HDFS at UNCG.
Our department has three main missions: (a) to educate and provide professional training in human development and family studies, (b) to generate new knowledge, and (c) to contribute to the well-being of individuals and families in North Carolina and beyond. The department offers bachelor, masters and doctoral level HDFS degrees plus two joint masters programs: the B-K:ISED (birth to kindergarten education) degree with UNCG’s Department of Specialized Educational Services and the family life and parent education (FLPE) degree with North Carolina State University. The doctoral level degree is the only one of its kind in the state of North Carolina. The Wake County undergraduate B-K and the FLPE degrees mix traditional classes with online courses. In addition to offering a B-K degree, the Wake County program accepts individuals who wish to do the coursework necessary for a license to be a birth through kindergarten educator but who don’t want to get a degree. Finally, the Department offers a post-baccalaureate certificate in early care and education leadership for individuals for whom 18 hours of graduate level coursework would be useful for advancing their careers in early care and education settings (e.g., community colleges).
In terms of scholarly activities, the department has several well-funded research programs including the Star, Right Track and North Carolina Rated License Assessment projects plus the Family Research Center. The Rated License project evaluates the quality of child care facilities throughout the state. We are honored that the editorial office of family studies’ leading journal, the Journal of Marriage and the Family, is affiliated with the department.
Through scholarship, consulting, and professional activities, our faculty and graduates extend knowledge to policymakers, employers, and other professionals as well as contribute to the well-being of people’s daily lives. The Department’s Child Care Education Program provides a year-round high quality child care and education setting for young children that also serves as a laboratory learning context for university students.
As part of the School of Human Environmental Sciences, the department has a diverse group of faculty and graduate students who examine individual level, dyadic level and especially social and cultural influences on families, children, and elders. We are committed to the School’s three Is: Interdisciplinarity, Internationalism and Innovation.
The department has a long history. The Child Care Education program has celebrated its 75th anniversary. In 1963, Nancy White was the first (and only) doctoral graduate of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina.
Today, with over 400 undergraduate majors, 50 graduate students and in excess of 4 million dollars per year of research funding, the department is one of the largest and most productive at UNCG. Our department, including our doctoral program, is recognized as among the best in the United States for the study of children and families. We are proud that the Princeton Review has recently stated UNCG’s HDFS programs receive “enthusiastic praise from current students.” We are equally proud of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s classification of UNCG as a Research University with High Research Activity. Retaining our student-centered tradition and producing high quality scholarship are two key objectives of the Department as it moves forward.
We invite you to explore our webpages, learn more about who we are and what we do, and be in touch with us if there are ways we might beneficially serve you or partner together.
Dan Perlman
Department Chair, UNCG HDFS Department