Explore Our Department
Welcome to the MSU Department of Human Development and Family Studies, we’re glad you’re here. Whether you’re considering an HDFS or child development major, advancing your career with a master's or Ph.D., hoping to join our world-class faculty or staying in touch after graduation, we hope you’ll find the connections you’re looking for.
Discover Your Purpose
With a degree from the MSU Department of Human Development and Family Studies, your career will make a difference in the lives of individuals, couples and families.
Undergraduates
Your journey starts here. Find out about our majors, minors,
ways to get involved and if human development and family studies is a good fit
for you.
Graduate Program
Our award-winning faculty provides cutting-edge graduate
education in an inclusive, supportive, and interdisciplinary environment that
spans the areas of child development, couple and family therapy, and diversity,
youth, and family development.
Outreach Programs
Get started with childcare at our Child Development Laboratories
or therapy with our Couple and Family Therapy Clinic.
Featured News
March 27, 2025
Michigan State University Child Development Program Helps to Address Michigan’s Early Childhood Educator Staffing Shortage
An MSU undergraduate engages with children at the MSU Child Development Laboratories' East Lansing location playground. Photo credit: Jacqueline Hawthorne, MSU College of Social Science. According to the Michigan Department of Lifelong…
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