In a ranking of North American human development and family science doctoral programs, the University of Maryland College of Education’s human development program ranked #4. Conducted by an Ohio State University researcher, the report ranked 48 doctoral programs that focus on human development and family relationships.

As human development and family science (HDFS) programs are not ranked in U.S. News & World Report, researcher Claire Kamp Dush, a professor in human development and family science at Ohio State University, first released rankings for these programs in 2014. In November 2017, the second HDFS Report: Claire Kamp Dush’s Ranking of HDFS Programs in North America was released, which assessed Maryland’s human development program as tying with University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana for fourth amongst the 48 programs evaluated.

“The UMD College of Education’s human development program is a world leader for research on child development,” Kelly S. Mix, Chair of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, said. “Our doctoral students benefit from opportunities to collaborate closely with faculty that are pioneers in the field, who have made important contributions to our understanding of human development across the lifespan.”

The human development program, which offers specializations in educational psychology and developmental science, is designed to prepare students to contribute valuable research to the field of human development. Students develop a strong background and in-depth understanding of fundamental cognitive, neurobiological, linguistic, and social processes, and how they are expressed in educational and social settings.

“The excellence of the College of Education’s human development program reflects the strength of our faculty and their research across disciplines, as well as that of our students who learn through intensive research apprenticeships with faculty mentors,” said Jennifer K. Rice, dean of the University of Maryland College of Education.

Students in the doctoral program partner with faculty to investigate diverse topics that include how children make moral judgements, the effect of medium on reading comprehension, and the importance of early intervention for certain learning disabilities.

The next HDFS Report rankings will be released in 2020. The 48 doctoral programs ranked all focused on development and behavior of human beings within social contexts and examined these processes through a multidisciplinary perspective.