Welcome to the Human Development Graduate Group (HDGG) at the University of California, Davis. The Human Development Graduate Group defines an academic community that focuses on an interdisciplinary understanding of the pathways and substrates of human development across the lifespan as seen within various domains and contexts of development. HDGG offers two different degree programs:
The graduate group system is found almost exclusively on the UC Davis campus. Faculty members are organized across departmental lines to offer a graduate degree. The graduate group is housed in an academic department selected for conceptual fit. This allows students to take coursework from various departments and to focus on human development issues from a variety of perspectives. The Human Development Graduate Group is housed in the Division of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) within the Department of Human and Community Development (HCD) in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES).
Faculty members who have the primary responsibility for the core coursework and advising of the HDGG are mainly located in the Division of Human Development and Family Studies. Other HDGG faculty are located in other departments/units of the CA&ES, the College of Letters and Science, the School of Medicine, and the School of Education. HDGG faculty members also have memberships in a number of research centers on the UCD campus, including the MIND Institute, Center for Mind and Brain, and Center for Neurosciences.
Students have the opportunity to meet many of the faculty through participation in the pro-seminars and other first-year courses. Students are encouraged to contact faculty to discuss their research interests and roles in the doctoral program and to connect with other students with whom they share common interests. Graduate students are also encouraged to take advantage of courses offered in a wide variety of departments and to partner with the HDGG faculty in exploring and identifying their area of specialization.