As an MSU Denver Online student, you receive all benefits of in-person students, including 24/7 tutoring and mental health support, plus dedicated Success Coaches for your online journey.
Declare a fully online major and you can get up to $1000 per semester in scholarships that are not need based.
MSU Denver courses are designed with your career in mind and we offer internship and job placement assistance unique to your situation.
Human Development and Family Studies focuses on the questions that sit underneath many real-world challenges: how people grow, adapt, and relate to one another across the lifespan.
In this program, you learn to think about development in context, including family, education, culture, and community, so you can better support children, families, and individuals through change.
Our Human Development and Family Studies courses are taught by the same faculty who teach on campus, bringing current research and real classroom experience into the online program.
For example, Professor Lisa Kindleberger Hagan teaches about how children develop emotionally and cognitively, and how early relationships and learning environments shape development over time.
You have direct access to mentors who are doing the work you’re studying, giving you opportunities to connect with active research, build professional-level skills, and stand out when you enter your career.
Learn how people grow and change across the lifespan, with a strong focus on the family as a key developmental context. You will connect theory, research, and real-world application so you can better understand what supports healthy development in different settings.
Skills you will practice:
A bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies prepares you for people-centered roles where understanding growth, relationships, and context matters.
Graduates pursue careers supporting children, families, and communities in settings like education, nonprofit organizations, social services, healthcare support roles, and community programs.
This degree is also a strong foundation for graduate study in areas such as counseling, social work, education, public health, and related helping professions.
Because human development skills apply across many fields, alumni work in roles that value communication, critical thinking, and an understanding of how people change over time.
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Request InformationYou get the same faculty, the same degree, and the same student services that on-campus Roadrunners receive. As an online student, you are fully included and fully supported.
Online does not mean alone at MSU Denver. We’re here for you!
MSU Denver graduate. Photo by Alyson McClaran
Low in-state tuition, reduced tuition for western states, scholarships exclusive to online majors, and flexibility to take as many or few classes as you want, all make MSU Denver the affordable online choice.
As low as $315.20 /credit*
Example: 12 credits – $4,703.36 total including tuition & fees.
*Colorado Opportunity Fund (COF) reduces per-credit costs for eligible Colorado residents.
As low as $646.80 /credit
Example: 12 credits – $7761.60 total including tuition & fees.
Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and Roadrunner Interstate Tuition (RIT) reduce nonresident costs for certain states.
Declare a fully online major and you may qualify for up to $1,000 per semester (fall/spring). No separate scholarship application is required.
Learn more about eligibility and how it works.
Exclusively online students save over $100 per semester in fees compared to on-campus students.
See detailed tuition and fee information:
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees.
Figures shown are example 2025–26 rates.
Most applicants are admitted, and you will usually receive your admission decision within a few days.
Want to see how your credits may apply before you apply? Use Transferology to check how your previous classes may count toward your degree.
You are typically eligible for admission if you have a 2.0 or higher unweighted high school GPA, are 20 or older with a high school diploma or GED, or have 24 or more transferable college credits.
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