Graduate Program

Graduate Advisor
All students are assigned an initial advisor upon acceptance into the program with the option of selecting a new advisor later in collaboration with faculty.

Student Information Contact
Simpson Hall, (505) 277-4535
Contact an office staff member for application materials and information about the application process.

Application Deadlines
Master’s and doctoral applicants in Family Studies:

Priority Deadline
Fall semester:	March 15
Spring semester:	October 15
Summer session:	March 15

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts in Family Studies (M.A.)
Concentrations: Family Life Education; Family Relations; Human Development in Families.
Doctor of Philosophy in Family Studies (Ph.D.)

Graduate programs are designed to prepare students for a variety of career options, including family specialists and others concerned with supporting families as educators and learners. Employment opportunities are available in schools, universities, community agencies, business and industry, and many other settings where work is directed toward education, prevention, support and research with individuals and families.

The graduate unit offers work leading to a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Family Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Family Studies. All M.A. students must fulfill the general admission requirements and the Plan I (with thesis) or Plan II (without thesis) requirements set forth earlier in this Catalog. M.A. students who plan to acquire research skills or to pursue a doctorate are encouraged to follow Plan I. A Master’s degree is prerequisite to application for the doctoral program. Students applying for the doctoral program are required to provide the results of performance on the GRE taken within the past five years.

The M.A. in Family Studies may be pursued in one of these concentrations:

Family Life Education*
Family Relations
Human Development in Families

Contact the graduate unit office for more information about specific requirements for all programs.

* Students wishing to apply for the Certified Family Life Educator designation of the National Council on Family Relations refer to the NCFR Web site.

Master of Arts in Family Studies

All M.A. in Family Studies students must fulfill the general admission requirements and the Plan I or Plan II requirements set forth in the preceding College of Education section in this Catalog and in the sections on graduate studies at the University of New Mexico. The M.A. in Family Studies may be pursued in one of the three following concentrations: Family Life Education, Human Development in Families or Family Relations. Students completing the Master’s degree with a concentration in Family Life Education will be eligible to apply for the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) certificate from the National Council on Family Relations. Instructions and more information may be obtained from the Program Office in Simpson Hall.

The Master’s in Family Studies offers flexibility in developing a program of studies to meet the interests of the student. Applicants are expected to have completed 18 credit hours of social and/or behavioral science courses (e.g., anthropology, family studies, psychology, sociology) prior to admission. Additional information and the required application form are available from the graduate unit office and the Family and Child Studies program entry on the College of Education Web site. Acceptance into the Master’s program is based upon ratings of several factors, including scholarship, academic background (especially in the social/behavioral sciences), work experience, letters of recommendation, a personal statement and multicultural experience. Prospective students must first apply for admission to Graduate Studies.

The requirements for the Master’s degree in Family Studies consist of 42 credit hours.

Concentration in Family Life Education

		Credit Hours
	Core Requirements	24
FS 500	Family Studies Professional Seminar *	1,1
FS 503	Seminar in Human Growth and Development	3
FS 517	Family Interaction Theories	3
FS 543	Managing Family Resources	3
FS 570	Research Methods in Family Studies	3
FS 571	Application of Family Research	1
FS 581	Seminar: Legal, Ethical and Policy Issues in Family Studies	3
FS 584	Multicultural Issues: Working with Families	3
EDPY 511	Introductory Educational Statistics	3
	Other Required Family Studies Courses	9
FS 411	Family Life Education	3
FS 501	Parent Education	3
	Elective	3
	Other	9
	Elective outside the program	3
	-and-
	Plan I (thesis option)
FS 599	Thesis	6
	-or-
	Plan II (without thesis)
FS 595	Advanced Field Experience	3
	Elective outside the program	3
	Total Required Credit Hours	42

* Taken twice for a total of 2 credit hours (Fall first enrollment, Spring with FS 571). See academic advisor for this requirement.

Note: For a student to be eligible for CLFE, HED 212 or PSY 231 must be completed.

Concentration in Family Relations

Students completing the Master’s degree with a concentration in Family Relations will be prepared to work in various Family Relations settings following graduation. Instructions and more information may be obtained from the Program Office in Simpson Hall.

		Credit Hours
	Core Requirements	24
FS 500	Family Studies Professional Seminar *	1,1
FS 503	Seminar in Human Growth and Development	3
FS 517	Family Interaction Theories	3
FS 543	Managing Family Resources	3
FS 570	Research Methods in Family Studies	3
FS 571	Application of Family Research	1
FS 581	Seminar: Legal, Ethical and Policy Issues in Family Studies	3
FS 584	Multicultural Issues: Working with Families	3
EDPY 511	Introductory Educational Statistics	3
	Other Family Studies Courses	15
FS 546	Family Systems	3
FS 560	Family Counseling	3
FS 595	Advanced Field Experience	3
	Development Issues in Families (must take 2 of 3):	6
FS 502 -or- FS 504 -or- FS 508	Infancy and Early Childhood Middle Childhood and Adolescence Adulthood and Aging
	Other Required Courses	3
COUN 517	Theories of Counseling	3
	Total Required Credit Hours	42

* Taken twice for a total of 2 credit hours (Fall first enrollment, Spring with FS 571). See academic advisor for this requirement.

Concentration in Human Development in Families

		Credit Hours
	Core Requirements	24
FS 500	Family Studies Professional Seminar *	1,1
FS 503	Seminar in Human Growth and Development	3
FS 517	Family Interaction Theories	3
FS 543	Managing Family Resources	3
FS 570	Research Methods in Family Studies	3
FS 571	Application of Family Research	1
FS 581	Seminar: Legal, Ethical and Policy Issues in Family Studies	3
FS 584	Multicultural Issues: Working with Families	3
EDPY 511	Introductory Educational Statistics	3
	Other Required Family Studies Courses	6
	(Must take two of three)
FS 502	Developmental Issues in Families: Infancy and Early Childhood	3
FS 504	Developmental Issues in Families: Middle Childhood and Adolescence	3
FS 508	Developmental Issues in Families: Adulthood and Aging	3
	Electives	6
FS	FS Elective	3
	Elective outside the program	3
	Other	6
	Plan I (thesis option)
FS 599	Thesis	6
	–or–
	Plan II (without thesis)
FS 595	Advanced Field Experience	3
	Elective outside the program	3
	Total Required Credit Hours	42

* Taken twice for a total of 2 credit hours (Fall first enrollment, Spring with FS 571). See academic advisor for this requirement.

Doctor of Philosophy in Family Studies

The conceptual framework for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Family Studies is based on the link between the principles of ecology and systems theory with the study of families. The current interdisciplinary perspective assumes that family dynamics can best be understood within the multiple contexts in which they occur.

With the exception of a 12-credit hour doctoral core, students plan an individualized program with their Committee on Studies that focuses on the area of Family Studies and which may include courses in the graduate unit as well as from other units. To be eligible for the doctoral core courses (advanced seminars in theories, research and legal, ethical and policy issues in Family Studies and Internship), students will be expected to have had graduate courses (Family Studies Master’s Core courses) or their equivalents in human growth and development, family interaction, managing family resources, multicultural issues in working with families and children, introductory statistics and a course in research methods. In addition, students must have 24 credit hours in a secondary discipline and complete 15 credit hours to meet the inquiry skills requirement. All of these components are outlined in the Family Studies Ph.D. Program of Studies.

Contact minor department for specific requirements and/or information.

		Credit Hours
	Core Curriculum	12
FS 581	Seminar: Legal, Ethical, and Policy Issues in Family Studies	3
FS 670	Advanced Seminar in Theory and Research in Family Studies I	3
FS 671	Advanced Seminar in Theory and Research in Family Studies II	3
FS 696	Internship	3
	To be eligible for the doctoral core courses, students will be expected to have completed or be currently enrolled in Family Studies graduate courses or their equivalent in:
FS 503	Seminar in Human Growth and Development	3
FS 517	Family Interaction Theories	3
FS 543	Managing Family Resources	3
FS 570	Research Methods in Family Studies	3
FS 584	Multicultural Issues: Working with Families	3
EDPY 511	Introductory Educational Statistics	3
	Additional Major Requirements	15
	Each student, with his/her Committee on Studies, selects 15 additional credit hours, 9 of which must be in Family Studies.
	Other Requirements:	24
	Minor (contact minor department for specific requirements and/or information)
	Inquiry Skills	15
EDPY 603	Applied Statistical Design and Analysis	3
EDPY 604	Multiple Regression Techniques as Applied to Education	3
EDPY 606	Applied Multivariate Statistics	1-3
	Note: Family Studies students need to take EDPY 606 for 3 credit hours.
	Additional credits to be determined by the student’s Committee on Studies	6
	Dissertation (minimum)	18
	Total Required Credit Hours	84

Master’s Degree Minor in Family Studies

Family Studies provides a valuable supplement to a number of degree programs and professions. The following minor program comprises a set of required courses from core offerings in theories of human development, family interaction and management of resources and electives from other graduate-level Family Studies offerings to meet individual needs.

Curriculum for Family Studies Minor

A minor in Family Studies at the Master’s level consists of a total of 12 credit hours, 6 of which are to be selected from those courses required of all program majors. These include FS 503 (3), FS 517 (3), FS 543 (3) and FS 584 (3). In addition, with an advisor, the student selects another 6 credit hours of graduate-level Family Studies courses for a total of 12 credit hours.

Beginning with the Spring 2017 term, undergraduate courses offered under the subject codes of Early Childhood Multicultural Education (ECME) and Family Studies (FS) will be offered under a new subject code of Family and Child Studies (FCS). Refer to the tables on the Family and Child Studies program page to determine the new subject code and course number for undergraduate courses previously offered under ECME and FS.

Keys and Symbols Reference