The program brings together a group of faculty members who, on the one hand, are all interested in how children and families function yet, on the other, bring to bear different perspectives and approaches. Aside from an emphasis on the scientific method, the program stresses no one theoretical or methodological slant. Life span developmental, attachment, interdependence, social learning, attribution, information-processing, dynamic family systems, action control, and role theories are just some of the diverse theoretical perspectives represented among the faculty. The intersection of these disparate theories and methods in a collegial environment makes for a graduate experience that promotes a broad-based and rigorous understanding of the field. Although the Ph.D. program can be completed in four years, typically students finish the program in five.
Students typically complete the masters degree in two years.
The University One of the nation s premier research universities, the University of Texas at Austin serves approximately 38,000 undergraduate and 12,000 graduate students from all 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. It has 196 graduate degree programs, many ranked among the best in the United States. The main campus covers more than 350 acres and is supplemented by off-campus research centers such as the McDonald Observatory, the Marine Sciences Institute, and the Winedale Historical Center. HDFS students regularly take advantage of excellent programs in Psychology, Educational Psychology, Communications, Social Work, Public Affairs, and Sociology. The City of Austin A metropolitan area of more than a million people, Austin is routinely mentioned in national periodicals as one of the best places to live in the United States.