The College of Human Environmental Sciences

What The College of Human Environmental Sciences does

The College of Human Environmental Sciences (CHES) is a constituent college of The University of Alabama, a public R1 research university, enrolling almost 4,000 students across six academic departments: Clothing, Textiles, and Interior Design; Consumer Sciences; Health Science; Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS); Human Environmental Sciences; and Human Nutrition, Hospitality and Sport Management. The college's product portfolio spans on-campus and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs (including a nationally #3-ranked online Early Childhood Education program), a NAEYC-accredited laboratory school serving 114 children aged 2 months to 5 years, and an embedded MFT clinical training clinic serving the community with sliding-scale services.

Core physical and research assets are centered on the 64,000 sq. ft. Judy Bonner Child Development Research Center (completed 2005), which houses the Children's Program, Child Development Resources (CDR), the Capstone Family Therapy Clinic, the Pediatric Development Research Laboratory with specialized infant testing and social interaction rooms, and seven additional research suites with multimedia technology. Faculty research is funded through external grants from federal agencies (USDA, NIH, SAMHSA, CDC, HRSA), foundations (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Lakeshore Foundation, Sigma Xi), and the HES Leadership Board endowment program.

Revenue is generated through a mix of tuition and fees (including tiered Children's Program pricing at $480–$750/month effective October 2025), state appropriations as part of the public UA system, externally funded research grants, and alumni giving managed through the Director of External Relations and Alumni Affairs. The go-to-market is conventional for a public academic institution: standard UA admissions for on-campus and online programs, professional accreditation signaling (NAEYC, COAMFTE, Alabama Quality STARS) for program credibility, and a regional community-outreach distribution network (CDR Rolling Resource Van, Help Me Grow Alabama, Alabama Family Central) serving 12 west/central Alabama counties. Customer segments span UA faculty/staff/students, statewide early childhood educators, families with young children, and individuals/couples/families seeking therapy services.

Name

The College of Human Environmental Sciences

Legal name

The College of Human Environmental Sciences

Website

https://ches.ua.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The College of Human Environmental Sciences is a constituent college of The University of Alabama enrolling ~4,000 students across six academic departments, offering degree programs, an NAEYC-accredited lab school, clinical therapy services, and community outreach across Alabama.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Community Colleges (Transfer + Workforce) (EDAHADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Family therapy services
• Early childhood education
• Child development research
• Community health outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Tuscaloosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: University operates as part of The University of Alabama, a public research institution. Revenue comes from student tuition, state appropriations, and fees. Children's Program charges tiered tuition based on UA affiliation status.
2. Research Funding: Faculty research funded through external grants from federal agencies (USDA, NIH, SAMHSA, CDC, HRSA), foundations (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Lakeshore Foundation, Sigma Xi), and professional organizations.
3. Alumni Giving and Donations: Alumni provide resources through scholarships. Director of External Relations and Alumni Affairs manages fundraising. Development Director oversees gift campaigns.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The College of Human Environmental Sciences delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across six academic departments (Human Development and Family Studies, Health Science, Human Nutrition, Hospitality and Sport Management, Clothing/Textiles/Interior Design, Consumer Sciences). It operates clinical and community services including the Capstone Family Therapy Clinic, the Children's Program laboratory school, the Child Development Resources outreach program, and research facilities such as the Judy Bonner Child Development Research Center. The college also runs workforce and family support programs such as Alabama Partnership for Children/Project LAUNCH and the Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program.

Product overview

The College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama is one of the largest divisions of Human Sciences in the country, enrolling almost 4,000 students. The college offers educational programs across six academic departments (Clothing, Textiles, and Interior Design; Consumer Sciences; Health Science; Human Development and Family Studies; Human Environmental Sciences; Human Nutrition, Hospitality and Sport Management). The college's product/service portfolio consists of academic degree programs (undergraduate and graduate), laboratory schools and child development centers (The Children's Program, Judy Bonner Child Development Research Center), clinical services (Capstone Family Therapy Clinic, Pediatric Development Research Laboratory), community service programs (Child Development Resources), and workforce development partnerships (Alabama Partnership for Children/Project LAUNCH). The common thread is improving quality of life for individuals, families, and communities through education, research, and service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Children's Program

Quantifiable outcome

• MFT program 80-100% graduation rate across cohorts
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alabama Department of Mental HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner in Project LAUNCH, a federal initiative funded by SAMHSA. Project LAUNCH aims to ensure all children enter school with social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills needed to succeed. Tuscaloosa is the local implementation site.
• Alabama Department of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState health department partner in Project LAUNCH working to integrate physical and behavioral health services for children birth to 8 and their families.
• Child Development Resources (CDR) of UAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDR, a nonprofit agency within HDFS department, partners with state agencies as part of Project LAUNCH to provide training, resources, and family support programs across Alabama.
• SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency leading Project LAUNCH partnership with Administration for Children and Families, HRSA, and CDC. Provides funding and guidance for early childhood wellness initiatives.
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner in Project LAUNCH cornerstone partnership focused on young child wellness.
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner in Project LAUNCH focused on health services integration for young children.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner in Project LAUNCH focused on prevention and wellness promotion for children birth to 8.
• Belser-Parton Literacy Center (College of Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated within the Judy Bonner Child Development Research Center, interdisciplinary partnership between CHES HDFS and College of Education.
• RISE CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly learning partner program within CHES. Enriches lives of young children with and without special needs through music, physical, occupational, and speech therapy in inclusive classrooms. NAEYC-accredited.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional organization providing accreditation for Early Childhood Education program and Children's Program. Sets standards for early childhood higher education programs.
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional organization providing Approved Supervisor designation for MFT faculty. MFT program faculty are AAMFT Approved Supervisors and members.
• Alabama DHR (Department of Human Resources)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency providing training requirements for child care providers. CDR training covers DHR-required topics including Health, Safety, Universal Precautions, Positive Discipline, Language Development, Child Development, Quality Child Care, and Administration.
• Help Me Grow National NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide network linking families to care coordination services. CDR is part of the Alabama Help Me Grow network providing free, confidential access point for families.
• Alabama Family CentralminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration of state agencies and partners supporting Alabama families with resources and services to raise healthy, happy kids.
• The University of Alabama Office of Institutional Research and AssessmentminorOthersProvides program outcome data including completion rates, GPA data, and candidate performance metrics for Early Childhood Education program accreditation reporting.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology: Ohio State's College of Education and Human Ecology combines education and human ecology in a multi-department structure that parallels CHES, including HDFS, nutrition, and consumer sciences with substantial research and accreditation presence at a Big Ten R1.
• University of Illinois College of ACES: Illinois' ACES (Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) college shares the human environmental sciences framing with CHES, offering HDFS, nutrition, and consumer sciences within a Big Ten public R1 research university with parallel accreditation pathways.
• University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences: UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences is the closest SEC-region peer to CHES, sharing HDFS, nutrition, textiles, and consumer sciences departments at a public R1 university with comparable enrollment scale and a similar outreach model to surrounding counties.
• Cornell University College of Human Ecology: Cornell's College of Human Ecology is the most academically prominent peer to CHES, mirroring the human development, family studies, nutrition, and human environment research footprint within a top-tier R1 research university structure across parallel departments.
• Kansas State University College of Health and Human Sciences: Kansas State's HHS is a direct peer whose COAMFTE-accredited MFT program has produced multiple CHES MFT program leaders, signaling deep academic lineage and curricular alignment in family therapy training, supervision, and research methods.
• Oregon State University College of Health: Oregon State's College of Health includes HDFS, nutrition, and human development programs within a public R1 research structure, offering an institutional peer with shared emphasis on evidence-based health and human sciences scholarship.
• Texas Tech University College of Human Sciences: Texas Tech's College of Human Sciences is a Southern public R1 peer with parallel departments in HDFS, nutrition, hospitality, retail management, and consumer sciences, comparable in enrollment scale, structure, and applied research emphasis.
• Michigan State University College of Education: Michigan State houses HDFS and human development programs within its College of Education and is a frequent PhD source for CHES MFT program leadership, making it an academically well-aligned peer with shared curricular lineage.
• Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences: Purdue's HHS college is a direct structural peer, offering human development, family sciences, nutrition, health sciences, and consumer sciences programs at a public R1 with a strong extension function that parallels CHES's CDR outreach work.

Regional players

• Auburn University College of Human Sciences: Auburn's College of Human Sciences is the in-state public university peer to CHES within Alabama, competing for the same state appropriations, overlapping in-state student pool, and parallel employer networks in HDFS, nutrition, and consumer sciences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ua_hes
• Facebookfacebook.com/UA.HES
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-alabama

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The College of Human Environmental Sciences