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Doctoral Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development and Family Studies

Human Development and Family Studies is the interdisciplinary study of individuals and relationships across the lifespan in diverse contexts of families, communities, and cultures. Ph.D. candidates are prepared to transform the human experience through applied research rooted in social justice.

Doctoral students collaborate with faculty mentors in experiences related to applied research, developing a focal area of scholarship. Each student completes rigorous course work, including research methodology, comprehensive exams, and the dissertation. Student achievements are documented in a professional portfolio throughout the doctoral program.

The Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Human Development and Family Studies offers three concentrations from which students may choose.

Learning Goals

The Learning Goals of the HDFS PhD provide a focus for each student’s training. Each student crafts their own focus and has choices in the course work, research, and other learning experiences, as they work to meet the common learning goals.

Use foundational and contemporary theoretical frameworks, relevant to the study of individuals and families in context, to explain developmental and / or change processes. 
Construct (organize, make sense of) and critically evaluate the body of empirical knowledge for a field/ topic of study to identify gaps and justify new directions. 
Critically analyze and make sound methodological decisions, implement a research study, and defend choices. 
Demonstrate effective written and oral communication to disseminate information to a scholarly audience, integrating theory, empirical knowledge, and research methods as appropriate.
Demonstrate effective teaching, including instructional design and implementation. 
Use HDFS theory and research to address real-world problems in practice, programming, or policy. 
Demonstrate ethical behavior in all aspects of scholarship and articulate understanding of ethical issues in research, teaching, and practice. 
Articulate an understanding of positionality, and describe approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion relevant to research, teaching, practice, and policy.  

Child Development

A teacher works on an activity with two chilren.

Through innovative research programs and high quality education for students, child development faculty are creating new knowledge and training the next generation of scholars and practitioners.
Faculty in child development focus on generating knowledge related to the behavioral, psychological, biological, and contextual processes that promote positive developmental outcomes in children. We are engaged in the creation of new knowledge about development that drives innovative theoretical perspectives and informs practice and scholarship in support of optimal development. Our efforts as scholars and as educators are built around two core principles:

  1. Multiple contexts shape development, including family, school, community, culture, and biology.
  2. The empirically-based application of research to real-world problems is essential in promoting the well-being of children and families.

Students earning a doctorate in Child Development complete a rigorous set of experiences in preparation for a research career in a university academic environment, research organization, or similar settings. At the doctoral level, students implement independent programs of research with guidance from their faculty mentor(s).

Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, Concentration in Child Development

Core Departmental Requirements

  • HDFS 901: Contemporary Scholarship in Human Development and Family Studies
  • Methodology and Statistics:
    • HDFS 880 Research Design and Measurement
    • HDFS 881 Quantitative Methods in Research
    • HDFS 892 Multivariate Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling
    • 4 Elective Courses (12 Credits)
  • HDFS 999: Doctoral Dissertation Credits (24 required)

Core Child Development Required Credits

  • HDFS 826:  Social-Emotional Development Birth to Five: Biology, Relationships, & Culture
  • HDFS 827:  Language and Literacy Development from Infancy to Formal Schooling

The remaining 9 course credits reflect elective courses chosen by the student and the guidance committee to best meet the student’s goals.

Background Coursework that May Be Required

If the student has not completed the following courses or equivalent at the master's level, the following courses must be included in the doctoral program:

  • HDFS 810: Theories of Human Development
  • HDFS 811: Child Development from Ecological Perspectives
  • One course in diversity

Total Credits = 63

For the most up-to-date information, visit the registrar's website.

Child development faculty, in collaboration with the teaching faculty at the MSU Child Development Laboratories and others across campus and beyond, are currently engaged in research around two core, scholarly themes:

Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood

Drs. Bowles, Douglas, Skibbe, and Vallotton are implementing programs of translational research in language and/or literacy development in early childhood including the contexts of schools and families, with a particular focus on at-risk populations including children with disabilities. As part of this emphasis, faculty and students work to create, implement, and evaluate intervention programs that advance instructional techniques and educational opportunities for children. They also work towards the creation and validation of assessments of early childhood language and literacy skills to understand how assessments work and what they say about child development.

Social Emotional Health and Well-Being in Infancy and Childhood

Drs. Brophy-Herb, Johnson, Nuttall, and Vallotton have programs of research investigating aspects of social and emotional development and the biological, psychosocial, behavioral and contextual processes, including cultural and family contexts, which influence development in these areas. Their scholarly work includes both basic and translational research models.

Research Resources

We expect and actively encourage graduate students to become immersed in the research process. Our graduate students will have opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of research including grant proposal preparation, data collection and coding, data analyses and interpretation, and dissemination. Faculty and students in the child development area meet on a regular basis. We all share interests in developmental studies in infancy and early childhood. Our meetings and get-togethers provide time for us to discuss current research efforts, plan new endeavors, and build relationships with each other. In addition to this experience, the Department offers a number of scholarly activities with which students may become involved.

The Department promotes active research programs by providing child and family research observation laboratories, coding and data analysis stations, and a meeting area for graduate students to network and collaborate. Child development faculty are actively involved in research collaborations with faculty across campus, across universities, and across communities around the world.

The MSU Child Development Laboratories offer excellent resources both for applied research and training in early development and education. The CDLs offer NAEYC-accredited early childhood programming to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. In-classroom videotaping and audiotaping capabilities, one-way observation booths, and research databases result in an excellent research environment. The CDLs also serve as a training laboratory for early childhood educators. Working alongside master teachers, students have opportunities to engage in first-rate early childhood practices. Faculty and graduate students can apply to conduct research projects at the CDL.

Faculty Research Labs in Child Development

CHILD Lab: Cultivating Hearts & minds on Infants and toddlers’ Learning and Development 

Early Language and Literacy Investigations (ELLI) Lab

Family Stress Lab

Research in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (RADD) Lab

Couple and Family Therapy

Couple and Family Therapy program faculty and students wearing green matching shirts.

General Overview

Our COAMFTE-accredited Couple and Family Therapy Ph.D. program was first established in 1985. We have a long history of preparing leaders in couple and family therapy education, research, and practice. Our training focuses on relational processes, empirically-supported interventions, and clinical research methodology. Our work is guided by a commitment to inclusion, diversity, and social justice. Our faculty are prominent scholars in parenting, family dynamics, intimate relationships, mental health disparities, immigrant and refugee families, trauma, and clinical research; we also have expertise in numerous empirically-supported couple and family interventions. We view doctoral education as a time of apprenticeship in which students receive intensive mentorship in research, practice, and education. Students are guided through the program by their advisor and doctoral committee. The Couple and Family Therapy Ph.D. program is accredited by the Commission on Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) through May 1, 2028.

Tuition and Fees

We fund all of our Ph.D. students with assistantships. An assistantship funds nine credit hours of tuition in each Fall and Spring semester, provides health insurance, and pays a monetary stipend. Students typically receive four years of funding. Please visit the following site to learn more about graduate assistantships at Michigan State University: https://grad.msu.edu/assistantships

Admission

Students are admitted to the doctoral program in Couple and Family Therapy in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Students who enter with a master’s degree from a COAMFTE-accredited program, or its equivalent, will enter the doctoral program directly. Applicants who currently have a master’s degree from a non COAMFTE-accredited program will be considered, however they will be required to complete additional courses to meet the COAMFTE master’s degree equivalency prior to graduation. These courses will be determined after a review of previous coursework by the CFT program director. Generally, it is possible to accept many clinical experiences and courses from the student’s master’s degree as part of the equivalency. Students in such cases should anticipate that their education will take more time to complete than those entering with a master’s degree from a COAMFTE-accredited program. Please note there is no master's degree offered.

Degree Completion Requirements and Time Frame 

The Couple and Family Therapy Ph.D. requirements consist of coursework, a practical immersion experience, 1,000 direct client contact hours (doctoral and pre-doctoral combined), comprehensive exams, and dissertation. 

Students entering the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree in MFT usually complete their Ph.D. in 4 years. Depending on prior coursework and appropriate clinical experiences, students entering with a master’s in another area may require 1-2 additional years to complete the PhD. A total of 1,000 hours of direct client contact is required for the doctoral degree in CFT; up to 800 hours can be counted from prior clinical experiences as long as they meet COAMFTE criteria. An immersion experience is also required that may include clinical, teaching, administrative, and research experiences. For a detailed summary of our graduation rates, view our Graduate Achievement Data Disclosure (PDF).

Clinical Training

Clinical training occurs in the Couple and Family Therapy Clinic. The Clinic is located in the MSU Clinical Center, and functions as a non-profit community-based agency. Clients come from the greater Lansing area (population, 480,000), as well as from the MSU community (50,000 students, 13,000 faculty and staff). Services are provided on a sliding fee scale and supervision is provided by CFT faculty. Senior doctoral students provide additional mentoring for junior students. Each session is recorded for review and supervision. All students engage in clinical training in the MSU Couple and Family Therapy clinic. Our clinic offers state-of-the-art facilities including electronic medical records, video-recording equipment, and software to  provide supervisory feedback on video-recorded sessions. All students are trained in clinic procedures, which are described in our clinic manual. 

Research Training

The CFT doctoral program is committed to providing research experiences for each student that leads to expertise in the conduct of research and results in publications and conference presentations. We encourage students to go beyond the required courses to identify courses in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS), Psychology, Social Work, and Sociology, for example,that will strengthen their research and content expertise. We want each student to combine classroom learning with continuous hands-on experience in research and publication. The Department provides computers, statistical programs, coding programs, and a video-coding laboratory for student-faculty research, as well as dedicated research space. The Clinic provides opportunities for observation, data collection, coding, and more. The University provides a research design and data analysis consultation service open to students and faculty. There is an increasing need for doctoral graduates who are committed to and can carry out sophisticated programs of research, regardless of their setting—academic, medical, agency, advocacy, or private practice. Our goal is to provide the kinds of experience that will set the stage for such efforts.

Professional Licensure and Certification

Federal regulations require MSU to publicly disclose, for each educational program designed to meet the educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (or advertised as meeting those requirements), information about whether program completion would meet those requirements in a state. These public disclosure requirements apply to all programs, regardless of their modality (i.e., on-ground, online, and hybrid programs). MSU discloses the required information for its Couple and Family Therapy Program on page 71 of the table at https://reg.msu.edu/academicprograms/Print.aspx?Section=19331.

All current and prospective students are encouraged to contact the applicable professional licensure/certification boards in their respective states for additional information regarding professional licensure/certification requirements, including, without limitation, information regarding any non-educational requirements (such as post-doctoral supervision, licensing examination).

The information in the table should not be construed as guaranteeing that any particular professional licensure/certification authority will approve a student’s application; nor should the information in the table be read to imply that other requirements for professional licensure/certification do not exist or that other requirements for professional licensure/certification have been determined to have been met by MSU’s program/course, or that any necessary approvals for clinical or other experiential learning placements are secured by virtue of a student’s enrollment at MSU.

State professional licensure/certification requirements are subject to change at any time.

Couple and Family Therapy Program Mission

We are committed to advancing systemic interventions that support the well-being of individuals and families through excellence in clinically-relevant research, empirically-informed clinical practice, and education/outreach. Our activities are guided by our values of inclusion and diversity.

In order to achieve our program mission, we have established the following program goals and student learning outcomes.

Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Clinically-Relevant Research. Students will conduct research that is relevant to systemic interventions.
    1. Students will develop expertise in synthesizing literature and understanding theoretical frameworks relevant to their research area.
    2. Students will develop expertise in designing a research study using the best-suited methodological approach to address their research question.
    3. Students will publish clinically-relevant scholarship (e.g., scientific journal article or book chapter).
    4. Students will prepare a grant proposal that is relevant to their research interests.
  2. Empirically-Informed Clinical Practice. Students will inform their clinical practice by empirical evidence.
    1.  Students will demonstrate knowledge in at least one empirically supported systemic intervention.
    2. Students will practice skilled clinical work in the following: Admission to treatment, clinical assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning and case management, use of supervision to achieve clinical effectiveness, and legal issues, ethics, and standards.
  3. Education/Outreach. Students will share knowledge with students, practitioners, scholars, and/or community members.
    1. Students will graduate with skills that will allow them to be effective instructors in higher education.
    2. Students will be prepared to provide effective couple and family therapy supervision.
    3. Students will conduct professional presentations at community, regional, national, or international events. 
  4. Inclusion and Diversity. Students will demonstrate a commitment to scholarly and clinical work that recognizes social locations, acknowledges power imbalances, and seeks to reduce disparities.
    1. Students will learn to attend to issues of inclusion and diversity in their scholarship.
    2. Clinically, students will demonstrate sensitivity to the social locations of their clients.

Program Diversity 

The Couple and Family Therapy Program at Michigan State University prides itself in attracting diverse students to the program, both from the United States and internationally. Our current student body for 2022-2023 has two international, two African American, two Latino/Latina, six White, eight femail and four males students, twelve in total. 

The CFT program includes five female, one male, five White, and one Black core faculty members. 

Ph.D in HDFS, Concentration in Couple and Family Therapy

Core Department Requirements (48 credit hours)

  • HDFS 901 Contemporary Scholarship in Human Development and Family Studies (3)
  • HDFS 999 Doctoral Dissertation Credits (24)
  • Methodology and Statistics: 7 courses (21)
    • HDFS 982 Qualitative Research Methods (3)
    • HDFS 983 Advanced Methods in Intervention Research (3)
    • HDFS 892 Grant Writing in Human Development and Family Studies (3)
    • HDFS 880 Research Design and Measurement (3)
    • HDFS 881 Quantitative Methods in Human Development and Family Studies (3)
    • HDFS 960 Applied Multivariate Data Analysis (3)
    • Elective in research design or statistics course approved by committee (3)

Core Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) Requirements (18 credit hours)

  • HDFS 888 Diverse Families and Communities: Intervention Strategies (3)
  • HDFS 910 Contemporary CFT Theories (3)
  • HDFS 911 Outcome Research: What works in CFT Theories (3)
  • HDFS 994 Advanced Evidence-Based Couple Therapy (3)
  • HDFS 903 Evidence-Based CFT Intervention Programs (3)
  • HDFS 995 CFT Supervision (3)

Clinical Requirements (3-13 credit hours)

  • HDFS 993 Internship in Marriage and Family Therapy (3-13)
  • Doctoral students are required to complete a total of 1,000 hours of direct client contact before graduating (pre-doctoral and doctoral hours combined)

Minimum credits in the doctoral program: 69 required credit hours, including 24 dissertation credit hours and at least 3 credit hours of internship

NOTE: Students entering the doctoral program in Couple and Family Therapy will be required to meet the equivalent of the master’s Standard Curriculum of the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).

Couple and Family Therapy faculty and students are actively involved in research both inside the University and in community-based programs.

Dr. Adrian Blow, Professor, conducts research on issues related to families and trauma. His most recent work is focused on military families, change processes in family therapy, and couple resiliency processes.

Dr. Ahnalee Brincks, Associate Professor, is a public health scientist whose research is situated at the intersection of prevention science and advanced statistical methods.  She focuses on optimizing interventions by uncovering how, and for whom, interventions are most effective. She is an expert in adaptive interventions and the study designs used to develop them

Dr. Lekie Dwanyen, Assistant Professor, studies the relational effects of traumatic stress and mass trauma exposure. She is interested in the development of family-level traumatic stress interventions for communities internally or externally displaced from war and political violence.

Dr. Kendal Holtrop, Associate Professor and Couple and Family Therapy Ph.D. Program Director, maintains a program of research focused on parenting and parenting interventions. Her research activities include adapting and implementing evidence-based interventions in community settings as well as examining parenting practices and family processes to inform intervention work.

Dr. Chi-Fang Tseng, Assistant Professor, studies mental health outcomes among marginalized populations. Her research focuses on culturally adapted evidence-based couple interventions, with particular attention to couples with marginalized identities. Her goal is to provide tailored and effective interventions to reduce mental health disparities.

Dr. Andrea Wittenborn, HDFS Chair and Professor, studies the process and outcomes of interventions for depression, including methods for personalizing treatment. Her research targets interpersonal mechanisms of depression with the goal of decreasing depressive symptoms and enhancing close relationships.

Diversity, Youth, and Family Development

Graduate students and faculty talking at a conference table.

Join a nationally known, diverse community of scholars exploring child/adolescent development, culture, gender, sexuality and families. Students in our doctoral program are immersed in a highly diverse, dynamic and influential intellectual community around research that has important practical implications. Our faculty has expertise in areas such as immigrant families and communities, culture, racial/ethnic socialization, child/adolescent and lifespan development, sexuality and gender-based violence. Our PhD and MA programs leverage the extraordinary interdisciplinary strengths of our department and prepare students for both cutting edge research and academic careers as well as careers in government and social policy.

Students complete a rigorous, focused program that prepares them for cutting-edge research in a university or a public/private research organization. Students may enter the Doctoral program with or without a master’s degree. Those entering without a master’s degree will complete all required coursework for the Master’s program, including a Master’s thesis, prior to additional required coursework for the PhD program.

DYAD was formerly known as Lifespan Human Development and Family Studies (LHDFD); if you are applying for graduate study with the DYAD concentration, select the LHDFD concentration in the application system.

Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, Concentration in Diversity, Youth, and Family Development

Students in the doctoral program in human development and family studies are required to complete the following:

1. The following course:  

HDFS 901 Contemporary Scholarship in Human Development and Family Studies   

2.Completion of 21 credits in methodology and statistics course work as approved by the student’s academic advisor.

3.Completion of 24 credits in HDFS 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research.           

4. Completion of one of the concentrations noted below.             

5. Successfully pass the comprehensive examination.  

6.Successfully defend the doctoral dissertation.                  

Complete all of the following (12 to 15 credits):             

HDFS 847 Theories of the Family          

A course in diversity chosen in consultation with the student’s guidance committee 3

An additional 6 to 9 credits of course work chosen in consultation with the student’s guidance committee.

For the most up-to-date information, visit the registrar's website.

Ask for research content and list of faculty.

Methods Training

Our department offers a variety of advanced methods courses and other learning opportunities for graduate students to prepare them to be critical consumers and ethical producers of rigorous research. Our faculty have expertise in advanced research design and statistical methods in applied research settings. Our methods training program reflects this applied focus by helping students apply advanced statistical techniques to real-world scientific questions.

HDFS 880: Research Design and Measurement

HDFS 881: Quantitative Research Methods

HDFS 960: Applied Multivariate Data Analysis

HDFS 961:Applied Structural Equation Modeling

HDFS 962:Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling

HDFS 892: Measurement

See MSU Course Descriptions to learn more about each course and their prerequisites” and then link to https://reg.msu.edu/Courses/Search.aspx  

For non-HDFS students interested in enrolling, please contact us at: HDFS.methods@hdfs.msu.edu

Dr. Ryan P. Bowles is an expert in Rasch measurement, Item Response Theory, and Structural Equation Modeling with categorical outcomes. His research focuses on the assessment of early childhood language and literacy development. Dr. Bowles teaches Quantitative Research Methods, Applied Multivariate Data Analysis, Applied SEM, Longitudinal SEM, and Measurement.

Dr. Ahnalee Brincks specializes in latent variable modeling and has expertise in longitudinal data analysis, hierarchical linear models, structural equation modeling, and the analysis of data from randomized clinical trials.

Dr. Megan Maas specializes in latent class methodologies, longitudinal survey research, and dyadic data analysis to understand sexual behaviors, how online and offline sexual behaviors change over time, and how partners in intimate relationships affect one another. Dr. Maas teaches Research Design and Measurement and Quantitative Research Methods.

Dr. Amy K. Nuttall is an expert in structural equation modeling (SEM), longitudinal data analysis (LSEM), and mixture modeling. She employs these methods in longitudinal data (including intensive longitudinal “diary” sampling), family/dyadic data, and biological data to understand the impact of family processes and dynamics on development over time. Dr. Nuttall teaches Applied Multivariate Data Analysis, Applied SEM, and Longitudinal SEM.

Dr. Yijie Wang’s research employs experience sampling and longitudinal designs to understand development in daily lives and over time. Her work also uses secondary data from nationally representative samples such as the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS). Dr. Wang teaches Applied Multivariate Data Analysis.

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