Requirements and Forms

CHDV Undergraduate Manual 2024-2025
Template for worksheet (4th Year Worksheet)
CHDV Course Petition Form

I have loved the CHD major. I coupled it with psychology, and I feel that it gave me such a broad perspective of topics. It forced me to think of concepts in new ways as well. The professors were all brilliant and lovely people that really inspired my interest in the topics. It’s a great major if you are interested in all the aspects of humans and why we act the way we do. CHD courses are so diverse that you can dive into brain mechanisms for certain phenomena in one class and then take an anthropological view of societies in another. It really gives you a wide range of viewpoints on all things that are interesting about people. I would recommend the CHD major to people who are unsure of what to major in. It is a good major that allows you to find your interests while you are taking the courses. There is a good chance that this major will be applicable to a lot of potential work fields, but even if it is not on its own, it will allow you to refine your interests and can be coupled with another major, giving you a unique and dynamic resume when you are done with college. Even if you are not a CHD major, do not be afraid to take a CHD class. There is a good chance that it will be interesting, and all of the faculty are very accepting of people with little to no background in the topics!

-Sarah (Comparative Human Development, BA’ 24, Psychology, BA’ 24, Linguistics, Minor)

I've appreciated the interdisciplinary nature of the CHD department because it allowed me to find my niche in the analysis of identity reproduction and its interrelatedness with neoliberal ideologies of labor. I entered the University of Chicago with big dreams of changing the world, and CHD has made me take a step back and ask how the world works. CHD is a chance to explore. You may have preconceived notions of what you might be good at (I certainly did), but listening to varying perspectives in courses within the department and cross-listed with CHD will open your eyes to topics you may have never thought about before. I never thought I would use quantitative methods, but I've recently discovered the joy of coding because CHD allowed me to forge my own path. You'll find your niche, but you'll also discover so many other things you enjoy along the way. Its interdisciplinary nature has allowed me to dip my toes into psychology, anthropology, sociology, and biopsychology and find what resonates. Different things resonate for different people, but no matter what, there is a place for you here in CHD.

-Sophie (Comparative Human Development, BA’ 24, Visual Arts, Minor)