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Family Studies Major, B.A.; B.A.A.; B.S.

B.A. degree; B.S. degree; B.A.A. degree 

This major is designed for students who either plan to enter the human services field upon graduating from CMU, or attend graduate school for advanced education. The program prepares students for careers working in human service settings to help individuals and families build life skills using prevention and intervention-based educational programs (e.g. child and family services, crises intervention, adoption, and foster care). With appropriate graduate education, potential career options include: marriage and family therapy, counseling, social work, family research and/or college instruction. The Family Studies program is approved by the National Council on Family Relations and graduates are eligible to become Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE). Child Development Majors desiring the CFLE certification should consult with their advisor.

Students who take the Family Studies major cannot minor in Family Studies or double major in Child Development. Students may only double count 9 credits when combining the Family Studies Major with the Child Development Minor.

Admission Requirements, Retention & Termination Standards

  1. Student must have completed or be currently enrolled in HDF 100 (or equivalent) and have a minimum GPA of 2.0 to declare a major.
  2. Student must have a minimum program GPA of 2.5 in order to graduate with this major.
  3. Student must receive a grade of C+ or better in HDF 419 in order to graduate with this major.

Program Requirements

Core Courses (9 hours)

Core HDFS

HDF 100Lifespan Development

3(3-0)

HDF 211Marriage and Close Relationships

3(3-0)

HDF 307Parent-Child Relations

3(3-0)

Required Courses I (9 hours)

Family Studies Content

HDF 213/WGS 213Introduction to Human Sexuality

3(3-0)

HDF 411Families in Social, Legal, and Political Contexts

3(3-0)

HDF 418Family Development in Late Life

3(3-0)

Required Courses II (3 hours)

Family Studies Content

Select one of the following:

HDF 214QRConsumer Economics

3(3-0)

HDF 315Family Management Theory

3(3-0)

Required Courses III (12 hours)

Professional Skills and Methods

HDF 207Introduction to Research Methods in HDFS

3(3-0)

HDF 219Field Work

3(1-6)

HDF 319Family Studies Skills and Methods

3(3-0)

HDF 419HDFS Internship

1-12(Spec)

Electives (6 hours)

Select additional hours from the following list:

COM 562Family Communication

3(3-0)

HDF 110Oppression: Roots and Impact on Human Development in the United States

3(3-0)

HDF 212Families in Cultural Perspective

3(3-0)

HDF 247Introduction to Gerontology

3(3-0)

HDF 302Infant and Toddler Development

3(3-0)

HDF 306Adolescent Development

3(3-0)

HDF 320HDFS International Service Learning

3-6(Spec)

HDF 413Facilitating Discussion in Human Sexuality Groups

3(3-0)

HDF 414Human Development and Family Studies Applied Quantitative Research

3(3-0)

HDF 511Seminar in Human Sexuality

3(3-0)

HDF 513Readings in the Family

3(3-0)

HDF 517Readings in Marital Counseling and Divorce

3(3-0)

HSC 519Death Education and Suicide Prevention

3(3-0)

HSC 523AIDS Education

1(1-0)

HSC 524Workshop on Health Fitness

2(Spec)

HSC 525Sexually Transmitted Disease Workshop

1(Spec)

HSC 526Behavioral Health

3(3-0)

HSC 527Sex Education Workshop

1(Spec)

HSC 528Smoking and Health Education Workshop

1(Spec)

HSC 529Alcohol Education Workshop

1(1-0)

HSC 530Drug Abuse Workshop

1(Spec)

REL 334Death and Dying

3(3-0)

SWK 100Introduction to Social Work

3(3-0)

Note: You may select only one of HSC 519 OR REL 334.

Total: 39 Semester hours