Family and Child Sciences and Law

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The College of Law and the Department of Family & Child Sciences joint-degree program in Law and Family & Child
Sciences, J.D./M.S., permits completion of both degree programs concurrently. Interested applicants must first begin their study at the College of Law. Once they are enrolled in their first year they will then complete all necessary documentation for the application process through the Department of Family & Child Sciences as well as a joint-degree application. All of these documents should be returned to the Florida State Law Admissions Office.

For the joint-degree program, both the GRE and LSAT must be taken in order to be considered. Applicants to the
Department of Family & Child Sciences program must have a bachelor’s degree, an upper division (junior and senior) grade point average of 3.0 or better or a minimum combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE. The GRE is required regardless of undergraduate GPA. At the College of Law, for the Fall 2009 entering class, the average LSAT score was a 161 and the median GPA was a 3.53.

How can you apply for the joint-degree program:

Step 1: Visit the Florida State Law Office of Admissions to obtain a joint-degree application and necessary documents for the Department of Family & Child Sciences
Step 2: Complete the documentation.
Step 3: Return all documents to the Office of Admissions at the College of Law by July 1st.
Step 4: Wait for good news!



The normal program sequence for a student in the joint-degree program is:
 
1st Year 30 hours of law courses
2nd Year

Thesis Option:

24 hours of FCS
Course Option:

24 hours of FCS
3rd & 4th Years 49 hours of Law Courses
Total Law Courses 82 hours (6 cross-credits)
Total FCS Courses

Thesis Option:

24 hours (6 cross-credits)
Course Option:

24 hours (9 cross credits)
Total JD/MS Courses 106 hours



The joint-degree program must be completed within 5 years, although most students complete the program in 4 years. For further information, contact both the College of Law and the Department of Family & Child Sciences.

Required Application Documents

The law school will provide:
• Copy of Law School Application
• Resume
• Law school Transcripts
• Undergraduate Transcripts

You will provide:
• Statement of Purpose

Family and Child Sciences Curriculum

CORE CURRICULUM
There are two options for student interested in the joint degree program. Those taking the thesis option will complete 6 required courses, a 6-credit thesis and 6 elective courses at the College of Law. Those taking the course option will complete 6 credits of required courses, 6 credits of FCS electives, and 9 credits of elective courses
at the College of Law. Below is a list of required courses for the Family & Child Science portion of the Joint-Degree Curriculum.
COURSE NAME
CREDITS
CHD 5266 Advance Child Development
3
CHD 5617 Professional Development
1
FAD 5263 Advance Family Studies

3
FAD 5934 Seminar in FCS: Applied Research in Human Sciences
4
CHD 5915 Research Methods I
4

CHD 6261

or

Theories — Child Development
3
FAD 6436 Family Science
3

Possible law electives include Family Law, Women in Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Arbitration, Reproductive Rights and Estate Planning.

 

The J.D. degree requires 82 credit hours of instruction. Specific course requirements can be found at: www.law.fsu.edu. Along with these courses, students are required to complete 20 hours of pro bono legal work.



JOINT-DEGREE ADVISOR CONTACT INFORMATION

J.D. PROGRAM (Law)
Professor Wayne Logan

Florida State Law

425 West Jefferson Street

Tallahassee, FL 32306
850.644.4759
E-mail: wlogan@law.fsu.edu
Web site: www.law.fsu.edu

M.S. PROGRAM
Mary Ann Moore, Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Research & Graduate Studies
Department of Family & Child Sciences
242 Sandels Building
Tallahassee, FL 32303-2161
Tel: 850.644.7221

Fax: 850.644.0700
E-mail: mmoore@fsu.edu
Web site: www.chs.fsu.edu/fcs_grad_fcs

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