HANDBOOK FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS & ADVISORS
The HCD Graduate Handbook details our departmental policies regarding student admissions, advising, degree requirements, employment, and evaluation of progress. We encourage students and advisers to consult this handbook for answers to common questions, when preparing to take qualifying and preliminary exams, and when preparing to submit theses or dissertations.
In addition to the below HCD Handbook, students and advisers are encouraged to consult the Graduate College Handbook, which describes University policy and procedures that apply to all graduate students, including those that govern assistantships. Also, the department has elected to use the Graduate College policy for formal grievances (informal grievances should be brought to the attention of the Graduate Program Director).
Admissions Procedures
Non-Degree Admissions
Annual Review of Graduate Students Overview
Click here for CV template
Click here for Annual Review Form to be filled out by adviser
Joint Degree (MS/MSW) Program Overview
Click here for degree checklist
Click here if you have a statistics deficiency
The Master's Thesis
How to Remedy a Statistics Deficiency (does not apply to students entering Fall 2011 or later)
The Doctoral Degree Overview
The Qualifying Exam (aka "critical analysis paper") new policy effective 4/8/08
The Dissertation
"Applied Option" for HCD Doctoral Students
Additional information about the applied option added 1/9/09
Supplemental MS Degree in Applied Statistics
Recommended Timeline for HCD Doctoral Students
A proposal that will combine our CSO and HDFS concentrations into one HDFS concentration is pending approval. We expect it to be approved before Fall 2011, and thus all students entering our doctoral program in Fall 2011 or later will follow the newly revised curriculum. Click here for a copy of the new degree checklist. Current students should continue to follow their respective degree concentrations in HDFS or CSO as detailed below:
HCD Core
All HCD doctoral students are required to take the following:
One advanced quantitative methods course
One advanced qualitative methods course
Two advanced statistics courses. Click here for list of choices.
Please note the the specific courses taken to meet these core requirements may vary by concentration.
In addition to the core, all HCD doctoral students must complete the course requirements of a CSO or HDFS concentration.
CSO Concentration
In addition to their HCD core, CSO students must take Community Theories in their first semester in the program. Further, they must take at least three of the following substantive courses:
Community in American Society
Neighborhood Effects on Human Development
Community Development
Community Mobilization
Education and Human Capital
Experiential Learning
Click here for the CSO degree checklist. The checklist details how to proceed depending upon whether or not one has entered with a Master's degree.
HDFS Concentration
In addition to their HCD core, HDFS students must take both Human Development Theories and Family Theories in their first year. Further, they must take 2 Human Development substantive courses and 2 Family Studies substantive courses.
Human Development courses include:
Social and Emotional Development of Children
Advanced Adolescence
Family Studies courses include:
Ethnic Families
Family Interactions
Family Resliency
Intimate Partner Violence
Gender and Sexuality
Gender in International Development
Parenting
Please note that some of the above courses are 2-hour and some are 4-hour. When meeting HDFS concentration requirements, what matters is the number of courses rather than the number of hours. See the below checklist for further information.
Click here for the HDFS degree checklist. The checklist details how to proceed depending upon whether or not one has entered with a Master's degree.
If you have any additional questions, please contact the Graduate Secretary or the Director of Graduate Programs.
Here is a list of elective courses that can supplement your coursework in HCD. These are drawn from across the Urbana-Champaign campus and organized by research topic: List of Elective courses.