Child and Family Sciences BS to Child and Family Sciences MS

The Child and Family Sciences B.S. to M.S. accelerated master’s option (AMO) allows eligible students to complete the B.S. and M.S. degrees in CFS in as few as 5 years.  Students choosing the AMO may complete up to 7 hours of 500-level coursework which will count toward both the B.S. and M.S. degree programs. 

Admission Criteria for Accelerated Master’s Option in Child and Family Sciences (CFS)

Applicants will be assessed by the CFS Graduate Admissions Committee in the spring semester for fall admission. In the spring of the junior year, the student will complete an internal application, which will include a letter of recommendation from a CFS faculty member and a two-three-page writing sample, which may be an excerpt from any paper previously submitted to any CFS course. In addition, applicants will attend an interview (either face-to-face or virtual) with the CFS Graduate Admissions Committee. Undergraduate students seeking admission to the AMO option must have a minimum 3.5 undergraduate GPA on at least 90 hours and have completed the following CFS courses with no grade lower than a B: CD 350, FAM 351, FAM 150, CD 352, and any 400-level FAM or CD course.

Additional Information

• When students are admitted by the School to the AMO option the School will contact the Graduate School so students can be placed in an appropriate student group.
• During the final undergraduate semester, AMO students may apply for admission to the CFS M.S. degree program for the following semester.
• Students will be admitted to theCFS M.S. program in the spring or summer semester and enrolled in the fall semester so that they may take graduate coursework offered that term.
• The remaining required hours for the M.S. may be fulfilled in five semesters in the graduate program.
• During the semester that students graduate from theCFS M.S. program, non-thesis students will take their comprehensive exam and thesis students will defend their thesis.

Undergraduate students gaining admission to the AMO program may choose FAM 500 and two additional 3 hour, 500-level courses from the following list. 

• FAM 500  (1 hour) Orientation to Child and Family Studies MS Program
• FAM 501  (3 hours) Child and Family Life Education
• FAM 535  (3 hours) Families in Crisis
• FAM 555  (3 hours) Advanced Family Theories
• FAM 605  (3 hours) Family Advocacy

Campus: Hattiesburg