This major provides professional career enhancement for advanced graduate work and research, college teaching, and programming and administration in family social services and child development settings in community and government agencies, including youth work, gerontological programming, child life programs in hospitals, infant and child care programs, family support services, and family life and parenting education.

Thesis option: Students choosing the thesis option must take a total of 6 semester hours of HDFS 699A, and must be continually enrolled for at least one (1) credit hour for every semester once they begin their thesis study. Students choosing the thesis option complete the requirement through the successful oral thesis defense and acceptance of the thesis by the Graduate School. Students must be enrolled for thesis hours during the semester(s) during which they defend and submit their thesis to the Graduate School.

Non-Thesis Option: Students choosing a non-thesis option will fulfill the comprehensive examination requirement by successfully completing a proctored essay examination. Students must be enrolled in the term in which the comprehensive examination is taken.