Oct 09, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Family Studies Minor


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Coordinator: Nancy Poe
Phone: (540) 568-6980
Emailfamilystudies@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. The minor offers two focuses: Family ecology (FECO) and gerontology (GERO). Both focuses explore a range of family issues, family processes, policies, laws, services and the interrelationship of families and society. The minor will enhance majors in many fields including anthropology, early and middle education, health sciences, management, nursing, psychology, social work and sociology.

The family studies minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours, with no more than six credit hours coming from the student’s major area (for example, SOWK majors cannot apply more than six credits of SOWK courses toward the minor). 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 .

For FECO focus students, six other credit hours are required and must be selected from these areas: Development and Family Processes, and Social and System Impacts on Families. Six additional credits may be selected from these two areas or from approved electives.

For GERO focus students, nine additional credits of core required courses and three credits from approved electives must be completed.

Each focus requires completion of a linked three credit capstone experience: For FECO:  FAM 400  and FAM 401  ; for GERO: FAM 400  and IPE 313—002.

Required Courses


Core Courses


Introductory Course: 3 Credit Hours


Family Ecology Focus


Electives: 6 Credit Hours


Additional courses from Social and System Impacts on Families and/or Family Development and Process clusters or the following:

Frameworks and Focus Capstone Courses: 3 Credit Hours


Gerontology Focus


Foundation Courses: 9 Credit Hours


Frameworks and Focus Capstone Courses: 3 Credit Hours


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 ecology focus, 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.

5 Course has one or more prerequisites.

6 Framework course for the FECO and GERO focus.

7 Capstone course for the FECO focus.

8 Capstone course for the GERO focus.

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