Youth Development and Family Sciences

Program Information

The Doctor of Philosophy in Youth Development and Family Sciences will prepare students to conduct high-impact research on youth, their families, and the communities in which they live. Graduates will be trained to become faculty members in academic departments such as human development and family studies, family and consumer sciences, community resource development, community psychology, and prevention science, as well as for research positions in the public and private sectors. Research in this field considers the influence of risk and protective factors, human growth and development, interpersonal and family processes and systems, and community contexts on the behavioral, psychosocial, and socio-emotional well-being of children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Students can also elect to learn how to build partnerships with local community organizations using participatory and community engaged approaches to research. Students will be able to apply this knowledge to the development and rigorous evaluation of prevention and promotion programs and activities, and contribute to systems and policy changes to benefit youth and families.

Students in the Doctor of Philosophy YDFS program have the option to complete one concentration:

Concentration in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS). This 14 credit-hour concentration was designed to provide PhD scientists in a variety of disciplines with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to support future career goals related to clinical and translational research. This concentration requires an application to UF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute outside the Family, Youth and Community Sciences department.

Degrees Offered with a Major in Youth Development and Family Science

Doctor of Philosophy
- without a concentration
- concentration in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS)

Requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

Youth Development and Family Science Program Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
FYC 6230	Theories of Family Development, Systems and Change	3
FYC 6234	Theoretical Approaches to Youth Development	3
FYC 6330	Theories of Community Development	3
FYC 6800	Scientific Reasoning and Research Design	3
FYC 6802	Advanced Research Methods for Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	3
FYC 6932	Topics, in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3

Electives

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
EDF 6402	Quantitative Foundations in Educational Research: Inferential Statistics	3
EDF 6403	Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research	6
EDF 6471	Survey Design and Analysis in Educational Research	3
EDF 6475	Qualitative Foundations of Educational Research	3
EDF 7412	Structural Equation Models	3
EDF 7474	Multilevel Models	3
EDF 7479	Qualitative Data Analysis: Approaches and Techniques	3
EDF 7483	Qualitative Data Collection: Approaches and Techniques	3
EDF 7932	Multivariate Analysis in Educational Research	3
FYC 6111	Families and Violence	3
FYC 6207	Adolescent Problematic Behavior	3
FYC 6221	Grant Proposals for Community-Based Organizations	3
FYC 6222	Parenting and Child Relationships	3
FYC 6223	Promoting Positive Youth Development	3
FYC 6320	Community Development and Civic Engagement	3
FYC 6421	Nonprofit Organizations	3
FYC 6620	Program Planning and Evaluation for Human Service Delivery	3
FYC 6662	Public Policy and Human Resource Development	3
FYC 6932	Topics, in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3
MMC 6423	Content-Analysis Methods	3
MMC 6426	Qualitative Research	3
STA 6126	Statistical Methods in Social Research I	3
STA 6207	Regression Analysis	3
STA 6208	Basic Design and Analysis of Experiments	3
STA 6505	Analysis of Categorical Data	3
STA 7249	Generalized Linear Models	3
STA 7346	Statistical Inference	3
SYA 6315	Qualitative Research Methods	3

Family, Youth, and Community Sciences Departmental Courses

Course List by Depts
Code	Title	Credits
FYC 5935	Personal and Family Financial Planning Capstone	3
FYC 6026	Human Resource Management for Nonprofits	3
FYC 6105	Youth and Family Relationships	3
FYC 6111	Families and Violence	3
FYC 6117	Military Families in Community Context	3
FYC 6131	Ethics for FYCS Practitioners	3
FYC 6207	Adolescent Problematic Behavior	3
FYC 6221	Grant Proposals for Community-Based Organizations	3
FYC 6222	Parenting and Child Relationships	3
FYC 6223	Promoting Positive Youth Development	3
FYC 6230	Theories of Family Development, Systems and Change	3
FYC 6234	Theoretical Approaches to Youth Development	3
FYC 6235	Prevention Science in Youth Development and Family Science	3
FYC 6302	Sustainable Community Development	3
FYC 6320	Community Development and Civic Engagement	3
FYC 6330	Theories of Community Development	3
FYC 6421	Nonprofit Organizations	3
FYC 6424	Fund Raising for Community Nonprofit Organizations	3
FYC 6425	Risk Management in Nonprofit Organizations	3
FYC 6620	Program Planning and Evaluation for Human Service Delivery	3
FYC 6662	Public Policy and Human Resource Development	3
FYC 6800	Scientific Reasoning and Research Design	3
FYC 6802	Advanced Research Methods for Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	3
FYC 6804	Applied Data Analysis in Family, Youth and Community Sciences	3
FYC 6901	Problems in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3
FYC 6912	Nonthesis Project in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3
FYC 6920	Capstone Project	3
FYC 6932	Topics, in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3
FYC 6933	Seminar in Human Resource Development	1
FYC 6934	Professional Internship/Practicum in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences	1-3
FYC 6936	Professional Development Seminar in YDFS	3
FYC 6970	Thesis/Dissertation Proposal Writing in Family, Youth and Community Sciences	3
FYC 6971	Research for Master's Thesis	1-6
FYC 7979	Advanced Research	1-12
FYC 7980	Research for Doctoral Dissertation	1-15

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Courses

Course List by College
Code	Title	Credits
ALS 5156	Agricultural Ecology Principles and Applications	3
ALS 5905	Individual Study	1-4
ALS 5932	Special Topics	1-4
ALS 6046	Grant Writing	2
ALS 6166	Exotic Species and Biosecurity Issues	3
ALS 6921	Colloquium on Plant Pests of Regulatory Significance	1
ALS 6925	Integrated Plant Medicine	4
ALS 6931	Plant Medicine Program Seminar	1
ALS 6935	Topics in Biological Invasions	3
ALS 6942	Principles of Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Management	3
ALS 6943	Internship in Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Management	1-10
ANS 6936	Graduate Seminar in Animal Molecular and Cell Biology	1-2
BCH 5045	Graduate Survey of Biochemistry	4
STA 6093	Introduction to Applied Statistics for Agricultural and Life Sciences	3
STA 6329	Matrix Algebra and Statistical Computing	3

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT & FAMILY SCIENCES (PhD)

SLO 1 Knowledge
Students analyze and synthesize the existing scientific literature in all 3 priority areas: 1.) Youth Development or Family Sciences; 2. Research Methods, Statistics; 3. Area of Specialization.

SLO 2 Skills
Students analyze and synthesize theoretical and empirical research on complex problems and propose strategies for advancing their research by applying appropriate research methods, statistics, and analysis.

SLO 3 Professional Behavior
Students interact with honesty and ethical behavior, including cultural sensitivity and attention to issues of diversity in all its forms.

Catalog