Content
Areas:
Adult Development
and Aging
Adult Learning & Human Resource
Development
Child and Adolescent
Development
Family Studies
Human Development Masters Program
Marriage and Family Therapy
Post-Masters Certificate
in Marriage and Family Therapy
Adult
Development and Aging
Program Emphasis
The doctoral program in Adult Development and Aging prepares
professionals for participation in academic, research,
governmental, and private organizations. Students complete
coursework that includes developmental theories, developmental
research methods, public policy, social and psychological
development, health, and advanced statistical analysis.
At the master’s level, students are enrolled in
a research and theory based program that focuses on human
services delivery systems; as part of this program a
student may include support courses in Adult Development
and Aging.
Faculty Research
Adult Development and Aging faculty members have
diverse areas of interest including developmental
research methods and statistics, caregiving,
close relationships (friendship, parent/child,
grandparent/grandchild, family caregivers), health
and chronic disease, elder abuse, public policy,
community capacity, program evaluation, rural service
delivery, spirituality, therapeutic interventions, intergenerational
resource transfers, social support, and gender issues.
Faculty research is funded by the National Institute
on Aging, USDA National Research Initiative, USDA CYFAR
Initiative, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s
and Related Diseases Research Award Fund, and other sources.
Student Opportunities and
Support
The Center for Gerontology (http://www.gerontology.vt.edu)
coordinates a 15-credit Graduate Certificate in Gerontology
that may be included as part of any graduate program
at Virginia Tech. The Certificate is designated a Program
of Merit by the Association for Gerontology in Higher
Education.
For 28 years, the Center for Gerontology has
served as Virginia Tech’s organizational
unit and focal point for aging-related activities.
The Center fosters and facilitates basic and
applied research on relationships in later life,
health and aging, and elder rights, promotes
and supports graduate education in gerontology,
and provides leadership for outreach activities.
Opportunities for students include research assistantships,
internships, scholarships, and professional development
activities and support. The Center sponsors the
Beta Sigma Chapter of Sigma Phi Omega, national
gerontology honor society.
The Virginia Tech Adult Day Services Center (http://www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/ads.html)
provides a structure for applied training experiences
for students focusing on community-based long-term care,
and for ongoing faculty and student research. Opportunities
for students include research assistantships and internships.
Students are encouraged to become actively involved
in local, state, regional, national, and international
professional societies in gerontology and to make presentations
at conferences. Taken together, experiences in courses,
research, assistantships, and professional development
provide excellent preparation for careers in teaching,
research, and applied aspects of gerontology.
Faculty: Rosemary
Blieszner, Alison
Galway, Shannon
E. Jarrott, Jay
A. Mancini, and Karen
A. Roberto
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Adult
Learning and Human Resource Development
The program in Adult Learning and Human Resource Development
is designed for professionals who work with adults as
learners in a variety of contexts. It includes both Master
of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees and is offered
only at the Northern Virginia Graduate Center.
Graduates of the program work in settings such as private
sector corporations, and nongovermental agencies, professional
and voluntary associations, the military, and as independent
consultants. The program prepares persons for positions
related to enhancing learning capability of an individual,
organizational, community, national, and international
level.
The Masters degree has both a thesis and non-thesis
option and addresses development in five domains of professional
practice: the facilitator; the designer; the planner;
the change agent; and the researcher. The Ph.D. program
is designed for experienced practitioners who work with
adults as learners, focusing on developing scholars and
high level practitioners.
For more information, please visit ALHRD's website at http://www.nvc.vt.edu/alhrd
Faculty: Marcie
Boucouvalas and Bert
Wiswell
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Child
and Adolescent Development
The M.S. and Ph.D program in child development is designed
to foster acquisition of knowledge and research skills
essential to scientific exploration of both the content
and process of development. Multiple theoretical viewpoints
are presented in the study of child and adolescent development.
Graduate programs of study are individually designed
to permit student to concentrate in any preferred areas
of specialization. Teaching and research experiences
are facilitated throughout the department. Students are
provided opportunities to teach classes and conduct research
with faculty.
Faculty: Mark
Benson, Isabel
Bradburn, Victoria
Fu, Christine Kaestle, Kee
Jeong Kim, and Cynthia
Smith
For more information, please visit the
Child and Adolescent Development website at http://www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/cad.html
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Family
Studies
Five core courses make up the substantive portion of
the Family Studies option: Development of Marriage and
Family Research and Theory, Marriage and Family Research
and Theory, Marriage and Family Relationships, Theories
in Marriage and the Family, and Process in Relationships.
Programs of study are individualized, permitting inclusion
of significant course work in specific subjects related
to marital and family relationships across the life course
in departmental offerings such as child development,
gerontology, and therapy as well as in other departments
within the University. Students complete course work
in a range of research and statistical methods in order
to develop quantitative and qualitative research skills.
The Family Studies program provides a systematic approach
to observing, understanding, and analyzing close relationships
and families within their individual, social, and historical
contexts. A major goal of the program is to prepare students
for careers in the family field in teaching, research,
and direct service. Students may participate in wide-ranging
faculty research projects using diverse methodologies
and dealing with issues such as intimate relationships,
work and family issues, later life families, divorce
and remarriage, intergenerational relationships, family
diversity, human sexuality, feminist analysis of families,
and family policy.
Faculty: Katherine
Allen, Joyce
Arditti, April
Few, and Peggy Meszaros
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Human
Development Masters Program
At the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus,
we offer an intergrated program leading to the Master's
Degree in Human Development. The program aims to prepare
graduates to assume positions of leadership in a variety
of human development organizations addressing the needs
of children, adults, and families. Through efficient
scheduling and integrated curriculum design, students
are able to complete the 30-credit program in approximately
14 months, depending on internship.
The emphasis of the program is on the
application of theory and research to authentic issues
and problems in human development organizations. The
practice orientation is evident throughtout the core
courses. In each course, students devleop components
that contribute to the professional protfolio, which
chronicles achievements and communicates expertise
to prospective employers.
Students have opportunities for developing
specialized expertise through the concentrations. There
are over 20 concentrations in the program including
adoption, foster care, domestic violence, families
and sexuality, social support and aging, aging and
health, arts and human development, transitional living,
working with adolescents, parent education and many
more. Students may choose to complement their learning
process by choosing the thesis option concentration.
For each concentration, a faculty sponsor with expertise
in the concenterarion area meets periodically with
a student. The internship provides a capstone opportunity
for developing added expertise with approximately a
3-4 month placement in an organization or agency.
Graduates will be prepared to pursue
careers in the following areas:
Community services
Business organizations, policy agencies, non-profit organizations
Mental Health and substance abuse prevention/treatment
Child care, foster service, and adult day services
Recreational services
Pastoral services and youth ministry
Educational services and early/head start programs
Legal services and federal and state agencies
For more information, visit the HD Master's website
at:
http://www.humandevelopment.vt.edu/HDmasters.htm
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Marriage
and Family Therapy
The Ph.D. program in Marriage and Family Therapy is
offered on the Blacksburg campus and the Master's program
in Marriage and Family Therapy is offered at the Northern
Virginia Center. Both programs are accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy
Education.
The Ph.D. program in Marriage and Family Therapy is
one of the oldest in the United States. The course sequence
normally takes two years for graduates of accredited
masters MFT programs, with a clinical practicum during
the second year and a clinical internship during the
third. Students enrolled in practicum will see clients
at the Family Therapy Center of Virginia Tech. The third
year internship can be in a variety of settings. Clinical
and theoretical courses cover a wide range of therapy
styles. Supervision is conducted by clinical faculty
members using a variety of supervision modalities such
as reflecting teams, behind-the-mirror, and videotaped
approaches. Students and faculty engage in numerous research
projects from both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Faculty and students frequently also pursue their own
interests independently with the support of the faculty
and have published their work in such journals as Family
Process, American Journal of Family Therapy, Journal
of Marital and Family Therapy, and Family Relations.
Graduates of the program enter careers in universities
and colleges, medical schools, mental health agencies,
therapy training centers, and private practice.
The accredited masters level MFT program is located
at the Northern Virginia Center*. For more information
regarding the Northern Virginia Center programs please
write/call:
- Human Development
- Northern Virginia
- 7054 Haycock Road
- Falls Church, VA 22043-2311
- (703) 538-8460
- http://www.nvc.vt.edu/mft
-
Faculty: Scott
Johnson, Eric
McCollum*,Margaret Keeling, Megan
Dolbin-MacNab, Fred
Piercy
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More information
on the Ph.D. Program in Marriage & Family Therapy
More information
on the M.S. Program in Marriage and Family Therapy
Marriage
and Family Therapy Post-Masters Certificate
The certificate program is a non-degree, post-masters
certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. It is aimed
at the mental health professional who wishes to pursue
studies in marriage and family therapy, but who cannot
or does not wish to pursue a doctoral program.
The certificate program requires 24 semester credit
hours of work past the master's degree.
No clinical supervision, practicum or internship experiences
are available to non-degree, post-masters students in
this program. They may wish to arrange for such experiences
at other sites on their own. It is assumed, however,
that most post-masters students will generally be engaged
in clinical practice of some form.
The application process is similar to other departmental
graduate applications: Graduate School application and
transcripts from bachelor and masters programs, supplementary
department application, and three letters of reference,
then departmental decision on admission. NO GRE SCORES
ARE REQUIRED.
Students may enroll full or part-time, and are expected
to complete the program within six (6) years. Non-degree
students are not eligible for assistantships or tuition
scholarships.
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