The faculty, students, and staff of the Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) department at UW–Madison conduct and apply rigorous research, program evaluation, and policy studies that aim to strengthen the well-being of children, adolescents, adults, and families, and the relationships they share. Ranked among the top programs of its kind, our department is proud to train this field’s next generation of researchers, leaders, and practitioners.
Resources and areas of specialization
Dr. Heather Kirkorian, Department Chair
HDFS faculty include interdisciplinary scholars working across research, program, and clinical capacities to address some of the most pressing questions and possibilities in our field. Our areas of specialization include:
- Black family resilience, Black fatherhood
- Family financial instability
- Developmental disabilities and family impacts
- Parent emotional well-being and relationships
- Early learning and play in the digital world
- Family caregiving for ill and elderly relatives
- Youth obesity and nutrition
- Health-risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults
- Parental incarceration impacts on children
- Ancient therapies to treat depression
- Romantic relationships across the lifespan
- Mindfulness and compassion training interventions
Centers and labs
The School of Human Ecology also supports HDFS research and engagement through two centers housed in its building: the UW Child Development Lab, a child development and early learning program for young children and a teaching and research laboratory for university students and faculty, under faculty director Dr. Heather Kirkorian and executive director Dr. Amy Lee Wagner; and the Center for Child and Family Well-Being, which hosts the Prenatal to Five Initiative.
Affiliated labs include:
- the Cognitive Development and Media Lab (PI Kirkorian),
- the Hartley Lab (PI Hartley),
- the Child and Family Ecologies Lab (PI Dilworth-Bart),
- the Kerr Parent Lab (PI Kerr), and
- the Couples Lab (PI Papp).
Partners and affiliations
In addition to collaborating with faculty in the School of Medicine and Public Health, School of Social Work, School of Education, Department of Psychology, and others, various faculty also hold joint appointments or affiliations with UW units including:
- UW–Madison Division of Extension
- Center for Healthy Minds
- Institute for Research on Poverty
- Center for Financial Security
- UW Carbone Cancer Center
- Waisman Center
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging
- Center for Aging Research and Education
- McPherson Eye Research Institute
Degrees offered
Our department provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate level education in family studies and human development across the lifespan.
Graduate
PhD, Human Development and Family Studies (PDF brochure)
Doctoral Minor, Human Development and Family Studies
Undergraduate
BS, Human Development and Family Studies