Graduate Programs
M.S. in CFS • Ph.D. in CFS • Applications • Assistantships • Graduate Courses • Graduate Handbook
The Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) provides both masters and doctoral degrees. Our graduate programs are based on the model of the “empirically-based professional” or social scientist. Graduate students learn to conduct research on child development, family studies, and educational environments in accordance with established standards of scientific inquiry and evaluation. CFS graduate programs seek to produce researchers, scholars, and educators who are capable of independent investigation of family and developmental processes. Students also receive training on how to conduct scientifically based assessments of prevention, intervention and educational strategies. Many opportunities exist in CFS for graduate students to become involved in research on children, youth, and families. A central foundation of graduate programs in CFS is the idea that scientific inquiry provides the most effective means to improve the welfare of children, youth and families.
A cornerstone idea for CFS graduate programs is “development in context,” or the perspective that human development is best understood in terms of interconnections among families, neighborhoods, schools, communities, cultures, and international environments. A more specific focus within this “development in context” perspective is an emphasis on the theme “children, youth, and families at-risk.” Together, these two themes, “development in context” and “children, youth, and families at-risk,” are the foundations upon which our graduate curriculum options (see below) are structured.
Graduate Program Materials
Child and Family Studies Graduate Courses
For a complete listing of the courses offered by the Department of Child and Family Studies, click here.
The Graduate School of the University of Tennessee
For complete background information about graduate study at the University of Tennessee, including application procedures, click here.
Contact the Department of
Child and Family Studies
1215 W. Cumberland Avenue
115 Jessie Harris Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-1912
Phone: (865) 974-5316
Fax: (865) 974-2742
Department Head
Vey M. Nordquist, Ph.D.
Phone:(865) 974-5316
Graduate Chair
Priscilla Blanton , Ed.D.
Phone:(865) 974-6270
Graduate Secretary
Barbara Bright
Phone:(865) 974-3173
Contact CEHHS
335 Claxton Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718