Bachelor of Liberal Arts – Human Development & Learning Concentration
Unique Offerings
The curriculum combines sociology, psychology, education, policy, social justice issues, and multicultural awareness to prepare you for a variety of careers.
You can take courses in each of the following six core subject areas:
- Culture and the Life Cycle
- Lifespan Development
- Intercultural Conflict and Communication
- Child Development and Learning Theory
- One course about the prevailing cultural attitudes and social policy issues affecting children, youth, families, or elders
- At least one course focusing on issues of gender, sexual orientation and/or sexual identity as these affect human development:
General Requirements
The degree requirements for graduation are satisfied when you complete:
A total of 180 quarter credits (at least 45 credits taken at Antioch University), including:
- Up to 48 credits of prior learning
- At least 60 upper division credits
- Three required core courses:
- Liberal Studies Seminar; Diversity, Power & Privilege; Inquiry & Research
- An area of concentration (six required courses)
- Four quarters of study at Antioch University Seattle (or more)
- A portfolio of your work reflecting academic progress
- A Senior synthesis project and Symposium presentation
Length of Program
Most students graduate from the B.A. completion program in two years or less. Completion of 180 quarter credits is required for graduation.
Tuition & Fees
- Tuition: $560 per credit
- Required fees: $145 per quarter
- $6,865 tuition and required fees per quarter, full time (12 credits)
- $27,460 typical annual tuition and fees
- Credits documented for Life Experience: $140 per credit
Annual tuition and fees based on 2013-14 rates for four quarters. Antioch University Seattle students typically attend classes all year.
Career Opportunities
Opportunities may include jobs as K-12 family support specialists; advocates for children, older adults, or people with disabilities; a community organizer in a non-profit serving immigrant women; a volunteer coordinator in a treatment program for children with special needs; a case manager in a local community mental health center.
Program Summary
The Human Development and Learning concentration will help you understand how individuals develop across the life span. You examine developmental theories and research associated with infancy, childhood, and adolescence in the context of families, schools, work, and community.
The curriculum combines sociology, psychology, education, policy, social justice issues, and multicultural awareness to prepare you for a variety of careers.
Your studies in the Human Development and Learning concentration emphasize:
- Integrated learning from a variety of disciplines in liberal studies
- Critical thinking and inquiry
- Environmental and social factors that affect physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development
- Individuals as part of a multi-cultural society
The goal of the Human Development and Learning concentration is to provide students with a solid liberal arts foundation for (a) graduate studies in education, leading in turn toward eligibility for a Washington residency teacher certificate; or for (b) graduate studies in psychology, education, human development, and human service fields; or for (c) practitioner roles working with children, youth, and/or adults as caregivers, program specialists, or non-certificated educators; or for (d) citizenship, policy, and entrepreneurial roles requiring broad knowledge of human development and learning.
You may choose to work with children, youth, and/or adults as caregiver, program specialist, or non-certificated educator. Other options include policy and entrepreneurial roles requiring broad knowledge of human development and learning.
A graduate with a Human Services area of concentration might become:
- A family support specialist in the K-12 schools
- An advocate for children, older adults, or people with disabilities
- A community organizer in a non-profit serving immigrant women
- A volunteer coordinator in a treatment program for children with special needs
- A case manager in a local community mental health center
If you are interested in graduate studies, Antioch University Seattle offers an accelerated course of studies leading to a master’s in education, psychology, management, communication, environment and community, organizational development, or whole systems design. Read more about the ladder option.
Core Coursework
As part of the Human Development and Learning concentration, you take courses in each of the following six subject areas. Courses can be taken for 3-4 credits. You choose one course for each core area and the remaining courses or other learning experiences count as electives. Transfer credits can be used in both core and elective areas; prior learning credits are often used as electives.
- Culture and the Life Cycle
- Lifespan Development
- Intercultural Conflict and Communication
- Child Development and Learning Theory or another course focusing on theories of learning and human development such as Child Development and Educational Psychology or Educational Foundations
- One course about the prevailing cultural attitudes and social policy issues affecting children, youth, families, or elders:
- History and Image of the American Family
- Children and Social Policy
- Urban Youth in Context
- At least one course focusing on issues of gender, sexual orientation, and/or sexual identity as these affect human development:
- Men
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
- Translating Gender
- Women and Mental Health
- Women’s Health in Global Perspective
Sample Electives
- Abnormal Psychology
- The African American Experience
- The American Family in Literature and Film
- Arts, Culture, and Learning
- The Body in Context
- Child and Adolescent Literature
- Children with Special Gifts and Needs
- Conflict Resolution
- The Counseling Role
- History and Image of the American Family
- Loss and Grief
- Race, Justice, and Political Reality
- Social Psychology
- Spiritual Autobiographies
- Human Services Seminar
- Women’s Education Project
- Transpersonal Psychology
- Depth Psychology
- Human Services Seminar
Community and Capstone Projects
All students do a project in the community during their time at Antioch University Seattle. The project supports your learning goals and your area of concentration. You may choose your own project or work with an organization that is already involved with Antioch University students. Your adviser will help you determine the best choice for your education and career goals. For students with prior practical experience in the field of human development and learning, this requirement may be waived, or may be met through the credit for prior learning assessment process. You finish your studies with a capstone project that brings various elements of you learning together.
Sample Community-based Field Experiences
- Practicum with Seattle’s Alcohol and Drug Crises Helpline
- Volunteer with families in need at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Service learning project at Lambert House, which serves gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth
- Employment or supervised volunteer work in a mental health agency
- Employment or supervised volunteer work in an approved child-care facility
- Employment or supervised volunteer work in elder care
Sample Capstone Projects
- Advocacy project working for human rights for those with mental, physical or developmental disability, or chronic illness
- Bringing change or innovation to an agency serving a population of children, youth, or the elderly
- Research, including firsthand observations, on attitudes and approaches to parenting, human development, and education in two or more distinct cultural environments
- Review of the research on the application of particular educational or therapeutic approaches to serving particular client populations
- Policy analysis/advocacy project focusing on the needs of children, youth, adult, and/or elder populations
- Oral history project dealing with the experiences of developmentally challenged persons and of family members, caregivers, and professionals with whom they interact
Aaron Dietz
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch has a good reputation, he says, for being able to educate self-learners and for keeping students involved in the learning process. He says he was able to create classes geared toward writing and publishing his own book, something he says would have been much harder to do at a state college.
Bob Hasegawa
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2003
Now Eleventh District Democratic Representative, he says his experience at Antioch surprised him by pushing him beyond his areas of concentration and stretching him in directions he'd never thought of going.
Carson Marshall
B.A. Liberal Studies, MA Whole Systems Design, 2001, 2003
He learned the program supports everyone's unique exploration. He said he realized he could create the way he wants to present himself to the world.
Cheryl Honey
BA Liberal Studies , 2004
It was serendipitous that she ended up going to Antioch. She says her advisers taught her she had special gifts to offer this world and she didn't have to ask for permission to make her unique contribution.
Chris Plyman
BA Liberal Studies, 2009
He happened to be walking along Sixth Avenue in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood when he came upon Antioch University. It looked like a place where he could do some exploring, so this retired Army warrant officer decided to give it a try.
Colleen Crotty
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch teaches you to look at things differently and to get involved in the community. She says she wouldn't trade her experience for anything.
Danielle Cameron
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2002
She says the more she learned about Antioch, the more she realized it was a school most likely to help her get where she wanted to go. She says it is the school for students who are independently motivated.
Debra Sund
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Holistic Early Childhood Education , 2008
She very much appreciates the freedom at Antioch and the smaller class size. She says it has a supportive and comfortable atmosphere for an adult learner
Dimitri Azadi
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Leadership and Diversity Studies, 2009
When many of his friends came to Antioch for their undergraduate studies, they told him it was a wonderful experience. He says he feels as though he is putting energy into his own well-being at Antioch.
Dollviola Eldred
B.A. Liberal Studies - Current student, M.A. Psychology - Mental Health Counseling, 2007
The only thing she needed to succeed was a good education and — thanks to Antioch — she has advanced in her career and predicts she will continue to climb.
Lance Wischler
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He says the personal attention he experienced from his first phone call to the admissions department was a factor in coming to Antioch. The personal touch allowed him to feel like he mattered, and that he was not simply another number to be shuffled through the process.
Margie King Bloch
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Whole Systems Design — Organization Systems Renewal, 1997
She chose Antioch because she wanted to learn more about the changing face of leadership, and she wanted to do it in an experiential educational setting
Maria Teresa Blankenship
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Psychology, Health Healing & Herbalism; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2006
With a background in nursing and her interest in health healing, herbalism and psychology, she created a program for herself that she describes as an unforgettable journey.
Mary Sherhart
B.A. Liberal Studies, 1999
She says Antioch is an intense experience, a great place for self-motivated and well disciplined people with lots of meaty life experience under their belts.
Oliver Chadd
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He was up for the unique method in which Antioch educates. He says he was always a quiet student and knew Antioch was set up in such a way he would be in situations where he could not just fade into the background.
Patricia Cavit
BA Liberal Studies, 2005
She says her independant study was an excellent experience. She was able to investigate exactly the areas she was interested in and receive mentoring from the advisers who were supervising.
Rachel Beals
BA Liberal Studies, Spiritual Studies concentration, 2009
Antioch's Spiritual Studies concentration, she says, is a one-of-a-kind undergraduate program. Her priority? She wants to reduce the isolation and despair so many people face today.
Richard Long
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He chose Antioch because of its commitment to adult education and its social ideology. He says if the concept that a student, through study, research and relationships, obtains the basic philosophies of the institution they attend, then he is a better student, friend and person.
Stephanie McDonald
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Depth Psychology; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2007 & 2011
Antioch is a transformational place where you can find your voice, build confidence and thrive, according to Stephanie McDonald. After completing her BA, her desire to continue learning was on fire and she entered Antioch University Seattle's graduate program in mental health counseling.
Tina Grant
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch is a place where you can find what it is you want to do with the rest of your life. She says it is not that the teachers will tell you, but that they create a space for you to explore, experiment and find what it is that fills you with passion.
Young-wha Coulter
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2007
Getting credit for life experience was validating for Coulter, who had been a para-educator working with elementary special education children in the Highline School District.
