This program prepares you to work with clients at various developmental stages, including children, adolescents, families at mid-life, and senior citizens. It includes family and child development classes in the School of Human and Consumer Sciences with a life span emphasis, as well as courses relating to issues that include diversity in families, family ties and aging, human sexuality, death and dying, and human services field exploration. Required courses from other departments include psychology, sociology, and social work. Also required are a 75 hour junior practicum and a 400 hour quarter of full-time field experience in human services. These provide practical experience and the opportunity to apply theory and course content to real-life situations. If you choose to add the optional undergraduate gerontology certificate to your degree, you also will gain in-depth knowledge and skills for careers that involve working with older adults.

Ohio University does not have a certified Child Life Specialist (CLS) program. However, the Family Studies program is the recommended major if you are interested in pursuing this profession. Please be aware that this is an extremely competitive field, and you need to be willing to take some extra steps in order to be competitive for an internship. This includes maintaining a high GPA and having specific field experiences. It is highly recommended that you take the following two classes: HLTH 230, Medical Terminology and HSLS 378, Sign Language.

Family studies graduates find employment in many areas of human services, including child and family services, adolescent group homes, rehabilitation centers, community programs for the developmentally disabled, senior citizen centers, family planning centers, mental health agencies, probation services, emergency shelters, adult foster care, hospice, hospitals, 4-H programs, and other agencies that assist families and individuals in crisis.