Human and Organizational Development
When I tell non-Vandy friends and family that one of my majors is Human and Organizational Development (HOD), I usually receive lots of questions. At first, even I was confused about what this major entails. But after two and a half years in the program, I feel I have a much better grasp on what HOD is, and I now strongly believe that this is one of the most practical majors for preparing for the “real-world.” So for all you potential Vanderbilt students or current students thinking about transferring into HOD, I’ll try to debunk the mystery of the largest major here at Vandy.
Since Vanderbilt does not have a business major, HOD is probably the closest thing. Through this major, students learn how to identify and solve problems in organizations and the community. Students in the major take a progression of core classes, in which they develop the skills necessary to effectively analyze human development and its effect on decision making in organizations. Students also declare one of five tracks that are related to their eventual career aspirations. Finally, the HOD major has a capstone internship experience in which students are given the opportunity to apply what they have learned to a real organization. Students have the opportunity to complete their internship requirement in one of several exciting cities across the US and even abroad (London).
I highly recommend the Human and Organizational Development major. I feel that I have developed a number of skills that will be invaluable to my eventual job search. HOD students pursue a variety of careers, including consulting, marketing and working for the government. Besides engineers, HOD students have the highest rate of employment and starting salary after graduation.Additionally, the professors are not only extremely knowledgeable and well-published, but also very approachable. Anyways, I hope this taught all you potential HOD students a little more about this unique and dynamic major. I now have this spiel memorized so the next time I’m making small talk with my parents friends and get the once dreaded question “what is your major?” I have an answer ready.