The Master of Science Degree in Family and Community Services is an online program intended to meet the educational needs of professionals who wish to serve children and families in family and social service agencies. The Family and Community Services graduate program seeks to train students to be effective leaders in these organizations by providing students with a strong background in research, application, and family studies content.

Non-majors may enroll in a total of six credit hours within the discipline with department approval. Students wishing to take additional courses must seek department approval from the Graduate Program Coordinator prior to registration. Please email the Graduate Program Coordinator for a two year course rotation template that outlines course offerings by semester.

Admission

In addition to the general requirements for admission to graduate studies (see General Regulations and Procedures), admission to the Master of Science in Family and Community Services requires the following:

1. Preparation: Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an institution that meets the general admission requirements for graduate study at UNA.
2. Scholastic achievement: A minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale in all previous undergraduate and graduate coursework. 
3. Formal cover letter: As part of the application process, applicants must submit a formal cover letter. The cover letter should include the applicant’s academic preparation for the MS program, related professional experience in the field of study, and skill sets the applicant will bring to the program. Long-term professional goals should be outlined in the cover letter.
4. A sample of academic writing: (e.g., class paper, term paper, graduation thesis, etc.) with proper in-text and reference citations in an established academic format such as APA, ASA or MLA. Applicants who do not have an appropriate writing sample will be asked to complete a Mock Writing Assignment. Please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for more information about the professional writing sample. 
5. References: Three reference persons who can attest to the applicant's academic abilities and success potential in our Master’s program must complete the Recommendation for Admission form. The form can be accessed through the online admissions system. References must not be coworkers, friends, or related to the applicant. References should mostly consist of current or former faculty instructors who taught a course in a related social science field that the applicant has taken at an accredited institution of higher education. One of the references may include a work supervisor, if the supervisor possesses an advanced academic degree in the profession or a related field (e.g., Ed.D., MA/MS, MSW, Ph.D.). Unless pre-approved by the departmental admission committee, references that do not include the applicant’s current or former faculty instructor will not be considered complete.
6. International Credentials: Applicants holding a bachelor’s degree, a graduate degree or the equivalent from an institution outside the United States of America must submit a WES, ECE, or other approved international credential evaluation.

The Department of Psychology and Sociology requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 for admission to the graduate program. Applicants who do not have the minimum GPA to meet the admission requirement may submit their standardized test scores for admission consideration based on the sliding scale below: 

Admission Scores

GPA	MAT	GRE Verbal	GRE Quantitative
3.91 - 4.00	378	138	136
3.81 - 3.90	379	139	136
3.71 - 3.80	380	140	136
3.61 - 3.70	381	141	137
3.51 - 3.60	382	142	137
3.41 - 3.50	383	143	138
3.31 - 3.40	384	143	138

Admission Scores

GPA	MAT	GRE Verbal	GRE Quantitative
3.21 - 3.30	385	144	138
3.11 - 3.20	386	145	139
3.01 - 3.10	387	146	139
3.0	388	146	140
2.90 - 2.99	390	148	140
2.80 - 2.89	392	149	141
2.70 - 2.79	394	151	142
2.60 - 2.69	396	152	143
2.50 - 2.59	398	153	144

Advisement

Students will complete a plan of study in Family and Community Services Graduate Orientation (FS 500) with the assistance of the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Non-Majors

Non-majors will be limited to a total of six hours within the discipline and all courses selected require departmental approval.

Degree and Program Plans

The Master of Science Degree in Family and Community Services requires a minimum of 31 semester hours of credit, to include the following:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
FS 500	Family and Community Services Graduate Orientation	1
FS 600	Research Methods in Family and Community Services	3
FS 601	Applied Statistics in Family and Community Services	3
FS 602	Family Theories	3
FS 604	Family and Social Policy	3
FS 606	Family Problems and Methods of Intervention	3
FS 599	Independent Study-Practicum	3
Elective Courses (12 hours of the following or adivsor approved graduate course work)
FS 501	Family Life Education	3
FS 510	Family Diversity and Social Change	3
FS 543	Social Psychology of Intimate Relationships	3
FS 605	Contemporary Topics in Family and Community Services	3
Total Hours		31
Thesis or Non-Thesis Option: Select one from the following:
Non-Thesis Option 1
FS 698	Comprehensive Examination
Thesis Option 2
FS 695	Thesis
FS 699	Thesis Defense

¹

Students completing the Non-Thesis Option must, in the last semester in which all other course requirements are expected to be completed, register for Comprehensive Examination Comprehensive Examination (FS 698) (Comprehensive Examination) in order to take a written comprehensive examination prior to graduation in order to complete the program.

²

In addition to the courses above, students who request and receive permission to complete the Thesis Option must complete a minimum of 6 semester hours of Thesis (FS 695) and register for Thesis Defense (FS 699) during the last semester in which all other course requirements are expected to be completed. Thesis students will not be required to take Comprehensive Examination (FS 698).