Graduate-level Courses
FAM 502: Families and Children Under Stress (3 credit hours)
An investigation of the stressors and crises experienced by families and their members and their efforts to cope with them. Special attention is given to prevention, management and enrichment strategies. Implications for practitioners will be drawn from conceptual frameworks and recent research.
FAM 553: Parent–Child Relationships Accross the Lifecourse (3 credit hours)
Exploration of the parenting process from a lifespans perspective. Current theory and research, with childrearing application, will be emphasized. Emphasis will be on parent education methods and the changing parental role over the life cycle.
FAM 563: Families, Legilation, & Public Policy (3 credit hours)
A study of the impact of legislation and public policies on the well being of the family. Emphasis on the involvement of individuals and families with policies and legal resources as a means for realizing satisfying lifestyles.
FAM 585: Aging and Environment (3 credit hours)
Explores the elderly person's changing experience of environment. Physiological, psychological and social changes are related to adjustment within urban and rural community environments, special housing for the elderly, and long-term care environments.
FAM 600: Working with Military Families (3 credit hours)
This course provides an overview of military work and family connections. Students will gain familiarity with the challenges unique to military individuals and families and the resources available to address them. Topics to be covered include: theoretical approaches to understanding the impact of military work on individuals and families; demographic profiles of and organizational demands on military service personnel and their families; military service and outcomes for children and adolescents, roles and challenges of military spouses; family policy in the military (including current formal and informal support structures and emerging trends in serving military families).
FAM 640: Using the DSM in CFT Assessment (3 credit hours)
Students will be trained to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in family therapy assessment and practice. This will include a basic understanding of the process and procedures for diagnosing individual and family disorders, with the intent that students working with families in the context of a traditional mental health milieu will be able to make appropriate, basic diagnoses. Emphasis on assessing and treating disorders relating to family violence, child abuse, addictions, and substance abuse will be included.
FAM 652: Theories and Frameworks in Family Science (3 credit hours)
Entry-level course for graduate study of family theory and frameworks. Conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches are introduced and applied to an array of contemporary family issues.
FAM 654: The Life Course Perspective on Families (3 credit hours)
Individual, family, and societal growth and change through the life span are examined using a life course perspective. The life course perspective emphasizes the interplay of human development, agency, linked lives, historical context, and timing of events. These five interlocking concepts will be understood through reading life course research and applying life course principles and concepts to issues in family sciences.
FAM 658: Adolescent Development (3 credit hours)
A survey of theory and research in adolescent development with particular emphasis on the role of families and implications for working with adolescents.
FAM 668: Family Finance and Economics (3 credit hours)
Study of the contributors to and the recipients of family resources. Emphasis on the methods of assisting families to better allocate family resources through understanding money beliefs and attitudes and practicing financial planning strategies.
FAM 673: Family Life Education (3 credit hours)
Demographic, social, economic, political, and professional issues related to emerging trends in family life education will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on the development, implementation, and evaluation of family life education curriculum materials.
FAM 678: Family Processes (3 credit hours)
Advanced study of typical family functioning across the family life course from a family process perspective, including examination of how "normal" differs according to family culture, structure, and history.
FAM 685: Professional Issues in Couple & Family Intervention (3 credit hours)
Exploration and definition of the legal, ethical, and professional issues in the practice of couple and family intervention. Emphasis will be on developing professional skills, attitudes, and identity for couple and family intervention.
FAM 686: Theory and Methods in Couple and Family Therapy (3 credit hours)
A survey of theories and methods used in couple and family therapy. Designed to provide students with a knowledge of the theoretical bases for couple and family therapy, including an introduction to procedures used to assess, diagnose and treat couple and family dysfunctions.
FAM 687: Treatment Modalities in Couple and Family Therapy (3 credit hours)
Introduction to key clinical concepts and skills in the practice of couple and family therapy, such as establishing a therapeutic alliance, empathy, identifying the presenting problem, history of the problem, family history, identification of dysfunctional dynamics, identifying treatment goals, and evaluation of treatment outcomes.
FAM 690: Research Methods in Family Sciences (3 credit hours)
The study of research techniques and methodological problems involved in research on the family. Emphasis is placed on research concerning interrelations between the family and its environment, development within the family, and family dynamics.
FAM 699: Field Experiences in Family Sciences (1, 2, or 3 credit hours)
Field training in a community setting related to family sciences to develop competencies in program planning, delivery, and evaluation. Student will work under the supervision of a faculty and a training site supervisor. May be repeated to a maximum of six credits.
FAM 740: Couple and Sex Theraoy (3 credit hours)
Field training in a community setting related to family sciences to develop competencies in program planning, delivery, and evaluation. Student will work under the supervision of a faculty and a training site supervisor. May be repeated to a maximum of six credits.
FAM 745: Family and Children in Play Therapy (3 credit hours)
This course reviews the history, theories, techniques, and methods of play therapy and its clinical application to treat children, adolescents, adults and families. Instruction will include exercises, role playing, videos, class presentations, and instructor lectures.
FAM 746: Family Financial Therapy (3 credit hours)
An applied financial therapy course that examines the intersection of financial planning/counseling, coaching, and mental health and relationship therapy. Relevant research and applications to be overviewed include money psychology, advanced techniques to establish client rapport, client money behavior change mechanisms, client resistance, couple and family dynamics, and integrating financial therapy tools into practice. Professional certification, ethics, and competencies will also be reviewed.
FAM 759: Special Advanced Topics in Family Science (1, 2, or 3 credit hours)
Intensive study of advanced family sciences topics. May be repeated under different subtitles to a maximum of six credits.
FAM 767: Dissertation Residency Credit (2 credit hours)
Residency credit for dissertation research after the qualifying examination. Students may register for this course in the semester of the qualifying examination. A minimum of two semesters are required as well as continuous enrollment (Fall and Spring) until the dissertation is completed and defended.
FAM 768: Residence Credit for the Master's Degree (1–6 credit hours)
May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours
FAM 775: Professional Development in Family Sciences (1, 2, or 3 credit hours)
Orientation to policies, procedures, and possibilities in the family sciences graduate program.
FAM 777: Applied Statistics in Family Sciences (4 credit hours)
Emphasis is on conducting statistical analyses and reporting results. Topics include selection of statistical approach, techniques for conducting analyses, interpretation of output, and writing the results section of a manuscript based on that output.
FAM 784: Research Practicum (1, 2, or 3 credit hours)
Doctoral student research experience in collaboration with major professor in preparation for the qualifying examination.
FAM 785: Advanced Problems in Family Sciences (1, 2, or 3 credit hours)
Intensive independent scholarship or training in family sciences. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 credits
FAM 786: Teaching Practicum in Family Sciences (3 credit hours)
Independent doctoral student teaching experience, under faculty supervision. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 credits
FAM 787: Supervised Practice in Couple and Family Therapy (1–6 credit hours)
Intensive study of skills, issues, or treatment procedures in couple and family therapy. May be repeated to a maximum of eighteen credits.
FAM 790: Advanced Research Methods in Family Sciences (3 credit hours)
Advanced study of quantitative research methods, including but not limited to complex study designs, model building and structural equation modeling, reliability and validity of measures, statistical power and effect size, mediator and moderator variables, and identifying appropriate statistical techniques for specific types of problems.