The Department of Family Sciences at the University of Kentucky offers graduate study toward a M.S. or Ph.D. degree. It also offers two Graduate Certificates for Master’s students, one in Play Therapy and one in Family Financial Therapy.
Three areas of emphasis are available in both programs; the Master's program also offers a fourth, Couple and Family Therapy:
The Master’s program uses an integrative approach to learning about understanding and improving individual, family, and community well-being. It prepares students for immediate employment in their chosen area, and also provides a foundation for subsequent matriculation into a doctoral program.
The interdisciplinary PhD. program includes a number of foundational, statistics, research methods, and area of specialization courses. It prepares students for careers as academics at colleges and universities and as researchers, including as program evaluators or administrators in public and private settings.
The Couple and Family Therapy area of emphasis is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) and requires a prescribed curriculum totaling 53 credit hours (2 years, including one summer), comprised of 15 credit hours of core Family Sciences courses, 18 hours of core Couple and Family Therapy courses, 10 hours of supervised practicum, 3 hours of a data analysis or program evaluation course, 1 hour of a professional development seminar, and 6 credit hours for the thesis (Plan A) or scholarly project (Plan B). Students also must complete 300-500 client contact hours, which is primarily accomplished during the 10 hours of practicum.
At present, no assistantships are offered to Master's students.
Applicants must meet the Graduate School admission requirements.
GRE is not required.
Applicants must meet the Graduate School admission requirements.
In your application, please also indicate whether you would like to be considered for an assistantship.
GRE is not required.
To better understand the interests and areas of study available in Family Sciences, browse these recent theses and dissertations from our graduates (for a complete listing, click here):
Allison Leip, 2024 (Master's thesis)
Miranda Bejda, 2023 (Master's thesis)
Julia Beier, 2022 (Master's thesis)
Banafsheh Aghayeeabianeh, 2022 (Dissertation)
Dan Liu, 2022 (Dissertation)
FAM 652 Theories and Frameworks in Family Science: Entry level course for graduate study of family theory and research. Conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches are introduced and applied to an array of contemporary family iseues, as identified through extensive readings for the empirical research literature.
FAM 658 Adolescent Development: The course is designed to familiarize students with key scholarship on adolescent development and behaviors drawing on different disciplines, including human development and family studies/science, educational sciences, psychology, public health, and sociology, all of which have greatly contributed to the distinct field of research on adolescents over the past few decades.
FAM 668 Family Finance and Economics: 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.
Choosing from the many specializations of our professors, students will find a variety of hands-on experiences to suit their interests. Faculty and researchers in the Family Sciences Department manage laboratories focused on:
Students interested in learning more about these labs are encouraged to email the associated contact listed above. They can also learn more about faculty research and publications here.
Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment
Department of Family Sciences
315 Funkhouser Building
859-218-7750
