Program Quickview
The master’s programs described below are designed to provide a foundation in human development and related disciplines.
- Completion of a bachelor's degree with a major in one of the following areas: development, psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, public health, education, gerontology, social work, art therapy, music therapy, or a field that is related to any of these aforementioned areas of study.
- Research experience is highly desirable, but not required.
- University of Rochester undergraduates can apply early to our program as juniors or seniors.
- Cutting-Edge Curriculum: Interdisciplinary coursework covering contemporary topics, such as emerging knowledge concerning conditions that foster healthy development of minority youth; current knowledge in our understanding of the diversity of factors that promote wellness in older populations; the interplay between mind, body and society in determining developmental trajectories; the deleterious effects of chronic stress; and fostering “engaged scholarship” that encourages the development of thriving communities.
- Customizable: A number of concentrations are available focusing on subject matter that occupies the forefront of human development research; each option includes 12 credits of electives.
- Unique Apprenticeship Opportunities: Research apprenticeship opportunities are available in a wide array of settings. Students have the opportunity to become a part of a research team led by a human development faculty member or may explore opportunities to apprentice at the University of Rochester Medical Center or other units across the university.
- Option to Add Specializations: By strategically choosing electives, you can add an advanced certificate for little or no additional credits. Students may also elect to take courses that can count toward a NYS license in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
- Diverse, Dynamic Faculty: Faculty offer a rich diversity of expertise in areas, such as community engagement, minority youth development, gerontology, Applied Behavior Analysis, social determinants of healthy development, self-determination theory, college student development, and inclusive learning environments.
- Flexible: Program can be started in any semester and can be completed in only one year of full-time study, or two years of part-time study for those balancing work and study.
- Combined Program Option: Students adding at least one advanced certificate may enroll in a “combined program” that will help secure the appropriate visa for international students and extend loan eligibility for domestic students.
Warner Master's Programs in Human Development
- General (HD1): Our most flexible and customizable option.
- With Concentration in Early Childhood (HD5)
- With Concentration in Developmental Differences (HD6)
- With Concentration in Family Studies (HD7)
- With Concentration in Gerontology (HD8)
- With Concentration in Research/Program Evaluation (HD9)
You can also select an “combined” option for the M.S. in Human Development, which will allow you to pursue this master’s program concurrently with at least one of the advanced certificates listed below – thus leading to multiple credentials for only a few additional credits. The length of this combined program and its total number of credits will depend on the chosen advanced certificate(s) and other optional enhancements; this option may be especially desirable for international students interested in additional specializations and willing to devote 4-5 semesters to their master’s program:
- Combined Option (HDZ)
- Advanced Certificate in Program Evaluation: Strengthens your research and skills in planning and conducting evaluations of existing programs.
- Advanced Certificate in Urban Teaching and Leadership: Prepares you to work with highly diverse and disadvantaged youth in urban settings.
- Advanced Certificate in Online Teaching: Prepares you to leverage online learning in a variety of instructional contexts (from university courses to professional development and public dissemination).
- Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): ABA courses can be chosen as electives; if interested in eventually obtaining NYS licensure as a Licensed Behavior Analyst, or BCBA national certification, these courses can be applied toward those programs.
Prerequisites:
- Completion, prior to admission, of at least 103 credits toward a bachelor’s degree with a major in one of the following areas: human development, psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, public health, or a related degree.
- Research experience is highly desirable, but not required.
- Total of 45 credits (of which at least 30 must be at the graduate level and taken above and beyond the NYS minimum undergraduate graduation requirement of 128 credits).
- After completing the first 15 credits of study, students with highly successful records may be considered for admission into a doctoral program in human development (instead of the MS in human development).
- Ability to focus on an area of concentration that reflects your vision for your long-term goals.
- Exposure to cutting-edge research initiatives at a leading research university.
- Opportunity to become a research apprentice working with a recognized scholar in the field of human development.
- Ability to lay the groundwork for doctoral-level training.

Our Approach
Creating an Environment for Healthy Human Development.
Our human development students are grounded in an understanding of how environmental factors shape developmental processes that lead to life-long wellness. More specifically, our master’s degree programs in human development are designed to shape students as practitioners and scholars who can inform organizational and institutional settings that emphasize healthy human development using holistic approaches that consider the range of social, cultural, familial, and intrapersonal factors that significantly influence wellness.

Students acquire a firm grounding in developmental and social theory, action-oriented research, and nurturing leadership skills. They study human development from early childhood through old age and from philosophical, historical, sociological, and psychological perspectives, with an emphasis on integration across these disciplines and a focus on processes of growth and change, rather than on static concepts of individuals. The programs focus on the relationships between development processes and the contexts in which they occur.
Underlying all of our graduate programs and the educating professions of teaching, administration, and counseling is a fundamental understanding of human growth and development. Whether we are working to build healthy families, improve neighborhoods and communities, transform sociocultural structures that perpetuate social justice, create an effective social studies curriculum, or reform schools through improved leadership and organization, the development of human beings and the ability of individuals to flourish through social change in organizations and communities is an issue of paramount interest and concern at the Warner School.
The Warner Advantage
Preparing Graduates to Innovate, Advocate, and Elevate.
- Be challenged to become an innovator and a thought leader by learning from a diversity of experts in human development.
- Be prepared for the 21st century through a cutting-edge curriculum that keeps pace with emerging knowledge in the field of human development.
- Learn to best utilize your own personal strengths to promote the well-being and success of a wide diversity of people, in settings ranging from education, healthcare institutions, human services, and community development agencies.
- Learn from an accessible, supportive faculty of researchers and accomplished practitioners to become a dynamic specialist in human development.
- Network with the best and the brightest peers.
- Participate in and draw from the research initiatives of a world-class medical research facility.
- Leverage the reputation of a leading research university to give your degree even more recognition.
- Shorten your path to additional clinical and doctoral degrees by earning transferable credits.
- Start the program in any semester.
- Go at your own pace, by choosing either part-time or full-time options.
- Take advantage of online courses to reduce trips to campus.
- Benefit from scholarships that can significantly reduce tuition costs.
- Are you a University of Rochester employee? Make sure you make full use of your tuition benefits.
All About Experience

Connecting Human Development and Health Care
Warner professor Silvia Sörensen is involved in many research projects in collaboration with the University of Rochester Medical Center – offering unique research apprenticeship opportunities for Warner students. One of her current grant-funded projects – REBUILD-VL –aims to strengthen the capacity of older adults to cope with impeding severe vision loss in order to prevent or reduce subsequent depression.

ENGOAL Project
Learn from a collaborative community project that is helping to shape current and future geriatric research. The project, a collaboration with the UR School of Nursing led by Warner Professors Silvia Sörensen and Joyce Duckles, is designed to train and engage older adults as research partners to study issues related to aging.

International Expert in Motivation
Warner professor Martin Lynch has published numerous articles related to his research on self-determination theory, exploring links between motivation, basic psychological needs, and well-being. His 2014 Fulbright Fellowship in Russia led to a long-term relationship with Kazan Federal University.
Career Opportunities
Advancing Education and Your Career to the Next Level.
- Working as a research coordinator or as part of a research team.
- Serving as part of a team working to transform struggling communities.
- Working as an educator or consultant in nontraditional educational settings, such as museums and libraries.
- Working for community agencies and foundations supporting healthy communities and healthy human development.
- Working as a program evaluator.
Graduates can also successfully transition to clinical programs that complement the degree in human development, such as mental health counseling, social work, clinical or counseling psychology, or Applied Behavior Analysis.
Our master’s degree programs in human development have also provided a vehicle for international students, who are interested in becoming experts in emerging knowledge in the field of human development, to launch a diversity of career paths.

Faculty
An Accessible, Supportive Faculty of Researchers and Accomplished Practitioners.

Human Development Program Advisor
LeChase Hall 489
(585) 276-4894
joyce.duckles@warner.rochester.edu
Scholarships
Making it Affordable to Make Warner Possible.
Contact admissions for more information.
Are You a UR Employee? Inquire about your tuition benefits. If eligible, up to 95% of your tuition costs can be covered depending on your position. Contact the UR benefits office at benefitoffice@rochester.edu.

Try Us Out
A Warner Degree Opens Doors. Open Ours to See Why.
We invite you to come and observe one of our human development courses.
Or even better, take a Warner course for a highly discounted price. Some of our courses are offered fully online and can be taken from anywhere in the world. For example, our signature course, ED429: Theories of Human Development, is offered fully online every summer and spring semester.
Contact admissions to arrange for a visit or learn more about opportunities for non-matriculated students.
