Doctoral Program
Doctoral Program
Overview
The Family Sciences doctoral (Ph.D.) program is a research-based curriculum that provides a strong foundation in theory, research methods and statistics. We also provide all doctoral students with teaching opportunities. The curriculum is competency-based, but minimal coursework requirements include 20 credit hours of foundational courses (if not taken in the Master’s program), 9 credit hours of research methods and theory, 9 credit hours of statistics, 7 credit hours of professional development, and 15 credit hours in a specialization area.
Three emphasis areas are available in the Family Sciences doctoral program: Adolescent Development, Family Finance & Economics, and Family Processes. Additionally, graduate certificates can be earned in specialization areas such as applied statistics, college teaching and learning, gerontology, maternal and child health, and gender and women’s studies.
Graduates
The doctoral program prepares students for careers as researchers or academics in human development and family science, including positions at colleges and universities, program evaluation positions in public and private sectors, focusing on individuals and the family, and administrative positions in public and private human services organizations focused on prevention and intervention.
Graduates have positions at academic institutions such as Auburn University, California State University, John Jay College (CUNY), Masaryk University (Czech Republic), University of Akron, University of Florida, University of Kentucky, University of Missouri, University of Tennessee, and Utah State University.
Doctoral Advisory Committee
Doctoral students are required to form an advisory committee within their first year in the program; the table below indicates which positions each faculty member can currently hold on a doctoral advisory committee.
At a minimum, the committee must be comprised of one chair and three members (one of the members must be from outside the department), and at least three people on the committee must be among the faculty members identified in the table below with an asterisk (*), or hold a similar (full graduate faculty) status if from an outside department.
See more information about individual faculty members.
| Faculty Member | Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair | Doctoral Advisory Committee Co-Chair | Doctoral Advisory Committee Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyk, Trisha | X | X | X |
| Hans, Jason* | X | X | X |
| Kim, Hyungsoo* | X | X | X |
| Krizova, Katarina* | X | X | |
| Ross, Bruce* | X | X | X |
| Vazsonyi, Alexander* | X | X | X |
| Wood, Nate* | X | X | X |
| Bada-Ellzey, Henrietta | X | X | |
| Briggs, Alissa | X | X | |
| Farr, Rachal | X | X | |
| Herbert, Maddie | X | X | |
| Stockburger, Stephanie | X | X | |
| Thomas, Tess | X | X | |
| Yozwiak, John | X | X |
Quick Links
Apply
The application deadline is January 15 to begin fall semester of the same calendar year; admissions are for fall semester enrollment only.
Students generally must have a master's degree prior to admission into the doctoral program, but particularly outstanding applicants who have earned a bachelor’s degree, but not a master’s degree, are occasionally considered for admission into the doctoral program. Successful applicants to the doctoral program in recent years have had a minimum 3.5 GPA on previous graduate level work. Previous research experience is desirable, but not required.
Funding
Funding is available for a limited number of doctoral students, including both half-time (10 working hours per week) and full-time (20 working hours per week) graduate teaching assistantships, which usually include half or full-time tuition scholarships, respectively. Faculty members who have received internal or external funding may also offer research assistantships.
Questions?
To ask questions or learn more about the program, contact:
Alexander T. Vazsonyi, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies
vazsonyi@uky.edu
859-257-9762
