College of Human Sciences Graduate Programs

Graduate Degree Programs Administered by Dean’s Office
Department of Community, Family and Addiction Sciences
Department of Design
Department of Hospitality and Retail Management

Department of Human Development and Family Sciences
Department of Nutritional Sciences
School of Personal Financial Planning
Program Offerings & Graduate Course Descriptions

The College of Human Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The graduate programs in the college are designed to educate scholars and leaders in areas that affect human development: nutrition; family studies; environmental design; restaurant, hotel, and institutional management; personal financial planning; couple, marriage and family therapy; and family and consumer sciences education.

Persons successfully completing graduate work in the college have traditionally been prepared to serve as leaders in the business world, private sector organizations, and academic institutions.

Master of Science Degree. The Master of Science degree has majors in environmental design; nutritional sciences; family and consumer sciences education; human development and family studies; couple, marriage, and family therapy; personal financial planning; and hospitality and retail management.

Doctoral Degree. The Doctor of Philosophy degree has majors in interior and environmental design; nutritional sciences; family and consumer sciences education; hospitality administration; human development and family studies; personal financial planning; and couple, marriage, and family therapy.

Admission. Admission to master’s and doctoral programs requires the recommendation of the department as well as approval of the graduate dean. Applicants should contact the program director or the chairperson of the department offering the specialization for college and departmental guidelines.

Distance Education. The College of Human Sciences is a member of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA). The GPIDEA is comprised of many institutions of higher education who share a goal of increasing educational options at the graduate level. Twelve of the best state universities in the country have joined together to offer online graduate certificates and master’s degrees in human sciences disciplines. Prospective students may apply for admission to a human sciences graduate program at any of the 12 universities. The student is admitted to one university and receives a graduate degree or certificate from that same university.

The courses are taught by several universities, but students enroll and pay for all their courses through the university where they have been admitted. Students therefore have the advantage of receiving coordinated, diverse, high-quality instruction from topic experts at several universities without the hassle and expense of navigating each institution’s admissions, enrollment, payment, and transcript transfer processes.

Four programs are offered through collaboration of the GPIDEA and the College of Human Sciences. Students can specialize in gerontology or youth development within the M.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences or obtain an M.S. in Family Consumer Sciences Education. An undergraduate degree in early childhood is also available through the B.S. in Early Childhood offered through the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences.

For additional information, see graduate program listings for the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences or the College of Human Sciences.

For more information about the GPIDEA, its programs, and the participating institutions, visit https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/great_plains_interactive_distance_education/fcse.php.

Graduate students may obtain a teaching certificate in family and consumer sciences by completing coursework that meets the Texas standards for teacher certification.

Post-Baccalaureate Certification. Three post-baccalaureate options are available. The Family and Consumer Sciences Composite Certificate qualifies individuals to teach all family and consumer sciences courses offered in Texas secondary schools. Specialized certificates in human development and family studies and hospitality, nutrition, and food science qualify individuals to teach family and consumer sciences courses in the designated content areas. Post-baccalaureate certification students are eligible to complete a one-year paid teaching internship in lieu of student teaching. Selected graduate credits earned for certification may be applied toward a graduate degree in family and consumer sciences education (M.S. or Ph.D.). Admission to the post-bac program in FCSE requires a 2.75 GPA or higher in an undergraduate degree and at least 15 course credits in family and consumer sciences content.

Graduate Degree Programs Administered by Dean’s Office

Most graduate degree programs within the College of Human Sciences are administered by departments and summarized in the catalog sections of those departments. The Office of the Dean, however, administers the graduate programs in the area of Family and Consumer Sciences Education.

Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences

The Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences supervises graduate degree programs in couple, marriage, and family therapy and addictive disorders and recovery studies. Applicants seeking information about admission requirements, programs of study, and financial assistance should contact the graduate advisor in the individual program. Admission to a graduate degree program requires both the recommendation of the department and the Graduate School.

The graduate degree programs in couple, marriage, and family therapy provide clinical and academic training to students who will function as couple, marriage, and family therapists at the highest level of clinical competence and who will make unique contributions to the field of couple, marriage, and family therapy through research, teaching, clinical practice, and other professional activities. For more information please go to www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/mft/.

The graduate degree program in addictive disorders and recovery studies is designed to produce graduates that will excel in academic, government, and private sector careers while fulfilling the increasing need for addiction recovery scientists. Of note, the graduate degree program in addictive disorders and recovery studies is not designed to produce clinicians. For more information please go to www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/cfas/addictive-disorders-recovery-studies.php

Department of Design

Admission into the master’s and doctoral programs requires submission of the following:

Grade point average
Copy of official transcripts
Three letters of recommendation
A statement of intent including current research interests
A design portfolio or examples of scholarly writing
A resume
TOEFL scores for international students
GRE scores for Ph.D. applicants

The master’s and doctoral degrees are research- and studio-based programs; students entering without undergraduate degrees in interior design or architecture are advised that the graduate programs in the Department of Design do not prepare students for professional practice. Students who wish to practice as interior designers should enroll in the CIDA-accredited Bachelors of Interior Design degree program offered by the Department of Design.

To obtain departmental procedures and guidelines, students should contact the director of graduate programs or refer to www.course.ttu.edu/hs-DesignGrad.

Department of Hospitality and Retail Management

The department offers accelerated bachelors to master’s programs, graduate certificates, on-campus and online master’s degrees, and an on-campus Ph.D. program. The on-campus Master of Science in Hospitality and Retail Management is offered in both a thesis and non-thesis option. The thesis option is research oriented and designed to prepare the student for their next step in pursuing a Ph.D. The Ph.D. program is research intensive and requires the completion of a dissertation. The master’s programs are designed to advance students careers in buying, planning, category management, market research, sales management, hotel administration, restaurant management, corporate management, and as trend analysts, marketing managers, resort directors, event managers, food service managers, operations directors, and more. The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare the student for a career as a professor in academia or in marketing research. Applicants for the graduate programs should contact the department concerning admissions requirements, programs of study, and financial assistance. Admission to a graduate degree program requires the recommendation of the department and the Graduate School.

Two graduate certificates are available through the department, and both are available online. One certificate is in Wedding and Conference Management. The other is in Advanced Entrepreneurship. Both certificates are designed to provide advanced knowledge and skills to individuals looking to start or build their own businesses. The on-campus master’s program is technology intensive featuring collaborative work focused on problem solving with our industry partners. The department also offers an online Master of Science in Hospitality and Retail Management. This master’s degree offering is provided in 8-week semesters. Both master’s programs require the completion of 33 credit hours. The Doctor of Philosophy in Hospitality, Tourism, and Retail Management is taught by an experienced faculty in both hospitality and retail. Students select the concentration that they will follow (hospitality, tourism, or retail) and focus on developing skills in their selected area. The concentration is noted on the student’s diploma.

Faculty research interests in the HRM department are myriad and multidisciplinary, providing excellent support for graduate students to pursue their personal research interests. Faculty in the HRM department are skilled in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and have specialized skills in exploring our discipline through the use of big data, survey data, experimental design, fMRI research, interviews, focus groups, and more. Faculty research interests focus on consumer behavior, shopper behavior, social media, online retailing, sustainability, tourism, wine marketing, place branding, management and organizational behavior, cultural heritage, and more. Doctoral students will receive sophisticated and specialized training in theory, advanced statistical methods, software, and analyses, qualitative research methodologies, and curriculum development.

Department of Human Development and Family Sciences

The department offers on-campus master’s and doctoral degrees (including a post-baccalaureate Ph.D. option and an Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s program) in human development and family sciences (HDFS), as well as a minor in cross-cultural studies (see below). These research-oriented on-campus graduate programs require a thesis and dissertation, respectively, although the thesis requirement is optional for Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s students. These graduate programs prepare students for careers as university faculty, full-time researchers, data scientists, applied researchers in corporate and government settings, and human service providers. Applicants for the graduate programs should contact the department concerning admissions requirements, programs of study, and financial assistance. Admission to a graduate degree program requires the recommendation of the department and the Graduate School.

The department also offers completely online master’s degrees and graduate certificates in gerontology and youth development through its membership in the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance, a multiple-university association with online graduate programs .

Faculty research interests in the HDFS department are broad and multidisciplinary, with many areas of specialization for graduate students. Faculty in Human Development and Family Sciences conduct research that examines human development throughout the lifespan in the context of romantic relationships, families, and communities. Graduate students are able to study psychosocial and emotional development in children; positive youth development; educational attainment and cognitive abilities for typically and atypically developing children and youth; transitions and milestones for adolescents and emerging adults; gender and sexuality; development of and transitions within romantic relationships; parenting and intergenerational patterns; communication and stressors in close relationships and families; the impact of gender, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic inequities and disparities on individuals and families. Graduate students receive sophisticated training in theories, statistical methods and analyses, and qualitative methodologies in addition to their area of specialization.

Department of Nutritional Sciences

The department supervises degree programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees described below. Applicants should contact the program graduate advisor concerning admission requirements and programs of study. Admission to a graduate degree program requires the recommendation of the department as well as the approval of the Graduate Dean.

Internship Program. The department offers an eight-month dietetic internship program, with an optional online M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics . Completion of the M.S. degree, if completed concurrently with the dietetic internship, takes eighteen months. This may vary depending on course load per semester. Participants are selected yearly via a national computerized selection process. Selected credits earned during the program may apply to an optional master’s or doctoral degree. Eighteen hours of graduate credit are required in supervised experience in health and foodservice facilities. Upon completing the internship, the student is eligible to take the Commission of Dietetic Registration written examination to become a registered dietitian. Visit www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/intern/index.php for more information.

School of Personal Financial Planning

The School of Personal Financial Planning supervises degree programs leading to the Master of Science degree in Personal Financial Planning and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Personal Financial Planning.

M.S. students must earn a C or better in all courses unless otherwise noted. Students must average a 3.0 GPA in order to maintain good standing with the Graduate School and to graduate. Up to 6 hours of PFP courses can be transferred into the M.S. degree from another university. Ph.D. students are required to earn a B or better in all courses counted toward their degree.

Admission. Applicants may apply to a graduate program by visiting the Graduate School website or by visiting the School of Personal Financial Planning website.

Program Offerings & Course Descriptions

Programs

Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree

Intra-institutional Dual Degree

Master’s

Doctoral

Graduate Certificates

Courses

ADRS - Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies (Graduate Courses)

CMFT - Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy (Graduate Courses)

ENVD - Environmental Design (Graduate Courses)

FCSE - Family and Consumer Sciences Education (Graduate Courses)

HDFS - Human Development and Family Sciences (Graduate Courses)

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