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Family Studies Concentration
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Credits:
18
Concentration Description
The undergraduate concentration in Family Studies provides the knowledge and skills needed by practitioners to work effectively with the many demands families today are facing. Our emphasis on building on strengths and respecting and valuing what is important to families while providing care in a culturally humble way, serves to empower families as students learn how to assist them in the changes they are seeking. Students who focus in this area often go on to further studies in human growth and development, human services, social work, marriage and family therapy, and family policy. Students may focus on working with families or family members, on family development, advocacy, case management, or policy.
A Key Element in Your Bachelor’s Degree. The Family Studies concentration is accepted in any Cambridge College bachelor’s degree, as open electives. It is often of interest to students doing a bachelor’s degree in human services or psychology. It also provides valuable understandings to students in other fields whose work touches families.
Program Outcomes
- Understanding and basic knowledge of major theories, concepts and processes relating to families and working with them
- Understanding of a variety of perspectives regarding mental health, social and cultural influences, and economic impacts on families
Careers and Further Study
Our students go on to graduate study in psychology, counseling, social work, human services and related fields.
The health and human service industry has been identified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as an area of increasing growth in the 21st century. Students concentrating in Family Studies may find themselves working and leading in a variety of settings: with adolescents in residential programs or with the elderly in nursing homes, in the community or in health centers, as program directors, as case managers or outreach workers. They work in prevention or in treatment, in after-school programs or criminal justice programs.
Curriculum
Also choose one BHS elective course (3 credits).
Domestic violence*, also referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), affects men, women and children of all races and social and economic levels. In 2008 domestic violence reached epidemic proportions and was declared a public health emergency in Massachusetts (Comm of MA, 2015). This course will examine recent statistical trends in reported cases of IPV, the identified risks and behaviors that may serve as cautionary indicators in relationships, and the personal, community and legislative resources available to those who are subject to physical and psychological violence. Students will be guided in exploring their personal attitudes toward domestic violence, violence and gender as well as social acceptance of psychological violence. The role of the human service professional in working with families impacted by domestic violence will be explored.
*Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically.