College of Education and Human Development

Family Social Science

Undergraduate minor in family social science

Preparing students for the future

A minor in family social science will deepen your understanding of parents, children, and couples in today’s complex world. Focused on the fundamental building block of society – the family – an FSoS minor complements any career that works with people, from business to political science to medicine, law, and more. 

Choose from four options:

  1. Family and community engagement to work directly with families in community settings.
  2. Family therapy that will prepare you with foundational content and context for a variety of therapy settings or for graduate studies in therapy programs.
  3. Family social science where you will explore families from social science perspectives, including diversity and family systems.
  4. Family financial studies that will prepare you to guide families and individuals in developing successful strategies to achieve their financial goals as an Accredited Financial Counselor.

Basic course requirements include couple relationships, family systems, and diversity.

Career options

A minor in family social science from one of the top programs nationwide will complement any career path–from business to medicine, to law and public policy, to engineering and the sciences.

How to declare a minor in family social science

If you are a current undergraduate and are declaring a minor in family social science:

1. Choose the form for the minor you are seeking to complete.
2. Complete the form entirely. Print, sign, scan, and email to Kirsten Collins, senior undergraduate advisor, at coll0260@umn.edu
3. Once it is received, she will review, sign, and submit to CEHD for processing.
4. If the form is incomplete, she will send it back to you for completion.
5. Once approved, it takes two to three days for it to show up on APAS.

Application forms

(click on the title to review application and requirements)

  • Family and community engagement [PDF] to work directly with families in community settings.
  • Family therapy [PDF] that will prepare you with foundational content and context for a variety of therapy settings or for graduate studies in therapy programs.
  • Family social science [PDF] to study diverse families from a variety of perspectives.
  • Family financial studies [PDF] that will prepare you to help families and individuals navigate complex financial, economic and social service systems, and develop strategies to achieve their financial goals.

International opportunities

You have the option of fulfilling coursework or internship requirements on campus, in the Twin Cities, or during sponsored learning abroad programs, as well as national student exchange programs.

Questions?

Please contact us with questions:

Margaret Kelly
Director of undergraduate studies
deleh003@umn.edu

Kirsten Collins
Senior undergraduate advisor
coll0260@umn.edu