Course Requirements - Family Science Major - Family Studies - CLA

Undergraduate Programs

Family Science Major

Degree Requirements

All family science majors must complete prerequisites, 24 units of required core courses, and 21 units of electives. Students must maintain a 2.00 GPA or better in all courses required for the major and must meet Towson University requirements for the completion of a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree.

Students interested in applying for the 5 Year Family Science/Jewish Communal Service B.A to M.A. program must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.00 by the end of the spring term preceding transition to the M.A. component of the program.

For more information about the combined program, visit the Jewish Communal Service Graduate Program pages or contact Dr. Hana Bor at hbor@towson.edu.

Jewish Communal Service Graduate Program

Prerequisites

The following courses are prerequisites for courses required in the family science major. The 100 level courses should be taken early in the student's academic studies, and MATH 231, MATH 237, ECON 205, or PSYC 212 must be taken prior to FMST 485.

Course		Units
ENGL 102 or ENGL 190	Writing for a Liberal Education Honors Writing Seminar	3
PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
SOCI 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
MATH 231 or MATH 237 or ECON 205 or PSYC 212	Basic Statistics Elementary Biostatistics Statistics for Business and Economics Behavioral Statistics	3

Required Courses for the Major (24 units)

Course		Units
FMST 101 or FMST 102	Introduction to Family Studies Honors Introduction to Family Studies	3 3
FMST 301	Family Relationships	3
FMST 302	Theories of Family Functioning	3
FMST 303	Trends in Contemporary Family Life	3
FMST 305	Parent-Child Relationships Across the Lifespan	3
FMST 380	Family Law	3
FMST 485	Writing and Research Methods in Family Studies	3
FMST 495	Advanced Research Methods in Family Science	3

Elective Courses (21 Units)

Elective Area I: 6 Units of Life Span Development Electives
Students will choose two courses from the following:
ECED 201	Early Childhood Development and Intervention
ECED 315	Infancy and Toddlerhood Development and Intervention
GERO 101	Introduction to Gerontology
GERO 367	Death, Dying and Bereavement
OCTH 216	Life Span Adaptation and Occupations
PSYC 203	Human Development
PSYC 403	Infant and Child Development
PSYC 404	Adolescent Psychology
PSYC 405	The Psychology of Aging
PSYC 467	Midlife Development
SOCI 359	Social Gerontology

Elective Area II: 6 Units of Interdisciplinary Electives*

Students will choose two courses from any of the following disciplines: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Criminal Justice, Deaf Studies, Gerontology, Health Science, Nursing (NURS 323 Crisis and Stress Management, NURS 416 Cultural Diversity in Health Care), Occupational Therapy (OCTH 205 Alternative and Complementary Health Care, OCTH 301 Genetics, Health and Society, OCTH 305 Disability, the Individual and Society), Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology or Women's Studies.

* Electives must be approved by a family studies adviser or the department chairperson.

** Family Science/Jewish Communal Service B.A / M.A. students will take a 600 level Jewish Studies elective during their senior year. It will be double counted toward the undergraduate and graduate degrees.**

Elective Area III: 3 Units of Written Communication Electives
Students will choose an additional Advanced Writing Seminar course (FMST 485 currently required for the major) certified as a University Core Course.

Elective Area IV: 6 Units of Family Studies Electives
Students will choose two courses from the following:
FMST 201	Family Resources
FMST 340	The Hospitalized Child and Family
FMST 345	Introduction to Art Therapy
FMST 350	Fundamentals of Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector
FMST 387	Community Services for Families
FMST 415	Services to Children and Youth
FMST 370-379	Special Topics
FMST 491	Independent Study
FMST 550	Fundamentals of Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector Family Science/Jewish Communal Service B.A / M.A. students will take this course during their senior year. It will be double counted toward the undergraduate and graduate degrees.
FMST 555	Fundraising, Friendraising and Volunteer Management Family Science/Jewish Communal Service B.A / M.A. students will take this course during their senior year. It will be double counted toward the undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Additional Requirement for Family Science/Jewish Communal Service B.A. / M.A. students

Hebrew Requirement
Knowledge of Hebrew is the foundation of Judaic learning. Students entering the M.A. portion of the degree must take the Hebrew placement examination. In order to receive the degree, students must demonstrate proficiency in Hebrew equivalent to the level of two years of college Hebrew (through Biblical or Modern Hebrew IV). Proficiency is attained through the completion of a B.A. rather than the B.S. or through coursework beginning with the first courses required for the M.A. Students would study Hebrew each term until this proficiency is attained. Students taking Hebrew coursework along with the graduate coursework must attain a grade of “B” or better each term in order to be considered proficient. Courses through Biblical Hebrew IV or Modern Hebrew IV will not count toward requirements of the M.A. degree.
HEBR 101	Modern Hebrew I
HEBR 102	Modern Hebrew II
HEBR 201	Modern Hebrew III
HEBR 202	Modern Hebrew IV
JDST 544	Biblical Hebrew I
JDST 545	Biblical Hebrew II
JDST 546	Biblical Hebrew III
JDST 547	Biblical Hebrew IV

Department of Family Studies and Community Development
College of Liberal Arts Building, Suite 2210
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Phone: 410-704-5851
Fax: 410-704-3612
E-mail: fmst@towson.edu

• Gen Ed Requirements

• Core Requirements