Department Overview
The Department of Human and Organizational Development offers degree programs that share a focus on human behavior and well-being in organizational and community contexts. Our programs help students apply conceptual and methodological approaches to a wide variety of institutions with a goal of enhancing human development and creating social capital. Students gain skills to facilitate individual development as well as that social institutions and organizations.
The department is home to Vanderbilt University's largest undergraduate major (Human and Organizational Development) in conjunction with the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations. For information on the undergraduate Capstone Program, click here.
Undergraduate Program
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Human and Organizational Development
This undergraduate major fuses a liberal arts foundation with applied coursework in human development, organizational theory and dynamics, service learning, and decision analysis. A capstone will ensure you're ready for the professional world.
Master's Programs
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Community Development and Action
The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Community Development and Action is a two-year graduate program through the Department of Human and Organizational Development. It attracts students from around the world committed to learning how to create positive, community-level change in a collaborative and participatory way. -
Human Development Counseling
Counseling begins and ends with the needs of human beings. Gain experience working with diverse populations in diverse contexts by earning a Human Development Counseling (HDC) degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or School Counseling from Vanderbilt University. The HDC master's degree trains you to translate sound theoretical knowledge and research into effective counseling programs as a clinical mental health or school counselor. In a rigorous and integrated program of study, you will acquire a strong theoretical grounding in human development, counseling paradigms, and change strategies. -
Organizational Development for Social Innovation
The Organizational Development for Social Innovation M.Ed. program creates visionary changemakers who harness organizational leadership and entrepreneurial thinking to drive meaningful impact. ODSI's curriculum uniquely combines three pivotal domains: organizational development, human-centered design, and social innovation. Graduates emerge equipped with the professional skills to deeply understand complex social challenges, design and implement equitable, systems-informed solutions, and provide compelling evidence of their transformative impact.Learn more about Organizational Development for Social Innovation
Doctoral Program
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Community Research and Action (Ph.D.)
The Ph.D. degree in Community Research and Action (CRA) prepares action-oriented researchers for academic or policy-related careers in applied community studies with a social justice orientation. If your areas of interest include community psychology, community development, social program evaluation, organizational change, health or mental health policy, prevention, urban change and social policy, and the like, the CRA program offers an intellectual community where your knowledge and field skills will be enhanced.
