Family Science

Early graduate programs in family science were typically imbedded in related academic disciplines. Selected examples include Columbia University's graduate school of education featuring a doctoral program in Family and Community Education, and the sociology department at the University of Minnesota offering a concentration in Family and Life Course.

In addition to family programs housed in related academic departments, there have been growing opportunities to earn advanced degrees in family-specific programs. In 1981, fifty-four universities offered graduate programs focused on the study of families (Love 1981). By 2002, that number had grown to over 225 family science graduate programs in the United States and Canada (Hans 2002).

The number of family science programs and majors at international universities is growing, as well. Examples include the College of Family Sciences at Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the Department of Family and Consumer Science at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya; a major in Child and Family Studies at Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Baroda in India; and the Newcastle Centre for Family Studies, University of Newcastle on Tyne in the United Kingdom.