Earning your M.A. or Ph.D. in HDEP will allow you to work with children, adolescents and adults in applied, educational and research settings.
Explore the experiences that shape human growth, the complexity of learning and motivation, and the evaluation of research and statistics. Strengthen your sense of professional identity through training founded in social responsibility, self-awareness, diversity and inclusive excellence that prepares you to be an advocate for others. Along the way, you will form close mentorship with faculty that allows you to self-direct your program and develop relevant expertise.
Become a supportive, reflective and capable professional as a human development and education psychology student at USD.
The master’s degree requires 33 credit hours and offers two options: thesis and non-thesis plans of study, and online, hybrid, and on-campus options are available for this program. The program provides flexibility and choice to develop expertise in one of the three program emphases, which are human development, cognition and motivation forces which support learning, and research and statistics.
The specialist degree requires a minimum of 36 hours beyond the master’s degree in a related field. A six credit-hour culminating activity/research project is required. It is designed to meet your individual interests and career goals. Upon its completion, a final defense is required before graduation.
You will complete core program courses covering human development, learning theory, and statistics. Further, you will have the freedom to choose your electives to align with your area(s) of interest. Our small class sizes will allow you to develop one-on-one relationships with faculty while gaining experience in teaching and conducting research. Core courses are primarily hybrid in format, with some online options available. Students may also choose between online or on-campus options for their area of emphasis and elective courses.
Program Details
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Department
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We'll train students to make a difference and impact the lives of others as mental health counselors, school psychologists, or human development and educational professionals.
Community resources provided by supervised USD students.
If you live in South Dakota, be sure and take advantage of the 50% reduced tuition program for currently contracted elementary/secondary teachers and vocational instructors.
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GA (Resident*)
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Resident
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Online
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Non-Resident
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Tuition (1 cr.)
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180.3
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340.15
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470.45
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654.05
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GAF Fee (1 cr.)
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55.3
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55.3
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0
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55.3
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Total
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Tuition rates are subject to change and may vary depending on the program or department. Visit the Graduate Tuition & Costs page for more information.
* Graduate Assistant (GA) rates are available for resident, non-resident and online students.
** Resident rates may be available to you through the SD Advantage, Child of Alumni or Western Regional Graduate Program. To see if you quality, visit usd.edu/grad-tuition.
Coming from a background in child psychiatry, I found that HDEP program at USD really complimented my clinical background and gave me that research component I was looking for.
Musheera Anis, M.D., Ph.D.
Human Development & Educational Psychology
