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Nov 23, 2024
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2024-2025 Graduate Catalog
Human Development and Family Science Major, MS
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Our graduate programs are based on the model of the empirically-based professional or social scientist. Graduate students learn to conduct research on human development, family science in accordance with established standards of scientific inquiry and evaluation. Human Development and Family Science graduate programs seek to produce researchers, scholars, and educators who are capable of independent investigation of family and developmental processes. Students also receive training in how to conduct scientifically-based assessments of prevention and intervention strategies. Many opportunities exist for HDFS graduate students to become involved in research on children, youth, and families. The central premise of graduate programs in HDFS is the idea that scientific inquiry provides the most effective means to improve the welfare of children, youth and families.
A cornerstone idea for HDFS graduate programs is development in context, or the perspective that human development is best understood in terms of interconnections among families, neighborhoods, schools, communities, cultures, and international environments. A more specific focus within this development in context perspective is an emphasis on children, youth, and families at risk. Together, these two themes, development in context and children, youth, and families at risk, are the foundations upon which our graduate curriculum options are structured.
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Concentration (Required) and Option Available
Human Development and Family Science — Thesis, Coursework only with comprehensive exams
Campus Code
Knoxville Campus
Admissions Standards/Procedures
- Complete and submit formal online application to the Graduate Admissions Office, along with the application fee.
- For the department, a completed file for review includes:
- A departmental application
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for the general section
- Completion of three Graduate Rating Forms by individuals who can attest to the applicant’s potential for graduate education.
- Admission to the graduate program is contingent upon:
- Faculty evaluation of GRE scores
- Undergraduate/graduate GPA
- Rating forms
- Work experience
- The match between student’s goals and department’s foci
- Prerequisites for admission to the master’s program are 9 credit hours of upper-division undergraduate social science.
Human Development and Family Science concentration, Thesis or Coursework Only With Comprehensive Exam Options
Credit Hours Required
37 graduate credit hours
Required Courses
Human Development and Family Science Foundation Courses (12 credit hours)
Non-Course Requirements
- Students must select a master’s committee chair and file a plan of study with the department head after 12 credit hours.
- Thesis Option: A minimum of two semesters is required for Master’s level research and thesis completion. The thesis is a written account of original research conducted by the Master’s student under the direction of their major professor and faculty committee. It serves as the culminating experience for thesis students.
- Coursework Only with Comprehensive Exams Option: Evaluation of core knowledge is achieved through a comprehensive examination of required coursework that allows the student to integrate knowledge across courses, including research methods and statistics. The comprehensive examination should be taken during the final semester of required coursework, typically before the start of the third year of doctoral work and prior to the dissertation proposal meeting.
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