Family Studies Minor

Dr. Terrence Fernsler, Minor Adviser
Phone: (540) 568-6980
Email: fernslts@jmu.edu
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/socwork/familystudies.html

The minor in family studies is designed for undergraduates seeking enhancement of their major, desiring to increase understanding of self and relationships, and seeking to make a positive contribution to society. A substantial knowledge of family-related issues, family processes, policies, laws, services and the interrelationship of families and societies will enhance majors in many fields including anthropology, early and middle education, health sciences, management, nursing, psychology, social work and sociology. The minor encourages students to make connections between their major field and family studies.

The family studies minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours with no more than six credit hours in the student’s major. Note that some courses have prerequisites that must be completed before enrollment. Some courses may be restricted to students enrolled in particular majors.

One introductory course is required: either FAM 133 or SOCI 374 . One course must be selected from each of these areas: Families in society, family and intimate relationships, and human development in the family. An additional course must be selected from any of the three areas or from family studies electives. A capstone course, FAM 400 , is also required. At least four courses in the minor, including the introductory course, must be completed prior to enrolling in FAM 400 .

Required Courses

Introductory course

Choose one of the following: 3 Credit Hours

FAM 133. The Contemporary Family 3.00
SOCI 374. Sociology of Families 3.00

Families in Society

Choose one of the following: 3 Credit Hours

GERN 280. Social Gerontology 3.00
or
SOCI 280. Social Gerontology 3.00
HIST 320. Women in U.S. History 3.00
HIST 379**. Family and Gender in East Asia 3.00
HIST 466. The Family, 1400-1800 3.00
NSG 390. Impact of Chronic Illness 3.00 ⁴
SOCI 303. Sociology of Death & Dying 3.00 ¹
SOCI 337. Sociology of Gender 3.00
or
WGSS 337. Sociology of Gender 3.00
SOWK 338. Issues and Policies in Family Services 3.00
SOWK 342. Child Welfare Services 3.00

Family and Intimate Relationships

Choose three credits from: 3 Credit Hours

HTH 372. Human Sexuality 3.00
NSG 326. Care and Consideration for Children with Special Needs 1.00 (service-learning) (1-2 credits)
PSYC 275. Psyc of Human Intimacy 3.00
PSYC 450. Psychology of Child Abuse and Neglect 3.00 ¹
SCOM 440. Family Communication 3.00 ²
SOWK 340. Violence in Families 3.00 ¹

Human Development in the Family

Choose three credits from: 3 Credit Hours

EXED 306. Lifespan Issues for Individuals with Disabilities 3.00 ³
FAM 300. Child Development 3.00 ¹
PSYC 304. Death & Dying: Thanatology 3.00 ¹
PSYC 365. Developmental Psychology 3.00 ¹
PSYC 475. Psychology of Adulthood 3.00
SOWK 387. Working with Teens 3.00

Capstone

FAM 400. Issues and Applications 3.00

Additional family studies course

Choose three credits from one of the three topic areas above or one of the following: 3 Credit Hours

FAM 375. Grant Writing for Agencies 3.00
FAM 386. Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES) 3.00
FAM 487. Special Topics in Family Studies 3.00
FAM 490. Special Studies in Family Studies 3.00

Total: 18 Credit Hours

Footnotes

¹ Some courses in the minor have substantive overlap in focus and content. To ensure students gain a broad exposure to family functions and dynamics, some restrictions apply for overlapping courses. For the family studies minor, students may take either:

² SCOM majors and minors only.

³ Special education non-teaching and chronic illness concentration students only.

⁴ Access may be limited.