Welcome to our web site!

Family Social Sciences is an innovative and interdisciplinary department that focuses on how prevention can improve the lives on individuals, families and communities. Although our faculty members have differing backgrounds, such as epidemiology, health promotion, sociology, community health sciences, developmental and clinical psychology and yes—family social sciences!—we all feel at home teaching and doing research here. We are proud of our academic diversity. We make a point of encouraging a holistic point of view and valuing the connections between differing perspectives.

We all share the same passion for prevention that promotes well-being across the life course. In Family Social Sciences, you can learn about family violence, child and youth development, older adults, social development, families with developmental disabilities, indigenous communities, or any combination of any these! Our teaching and research go hand in hand--we all seek a better understanding of the processes that optimize the health of families and communities, both locally and globally.

In FSS, we encourage our students to apply what they learn. For example, six undergraduate students completed a global field experience in summer 2012 under the supervision of Dr. Wilder Robles. They spent 3 months in Brazil working with the Guarani people, learning about food security, youth and children issues, or community economic development. We are honored that Guarani students are planning to visit us in 2012-13. FSS is hoping to offer other global field experience opportunities in Kenya and India in the future—stay tuned!

I encourage you to browse the FSS site to learn more about our undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty members, research, and special events.

Dr. Caroline C. Piotrowski, PhD MPH

Associate Professor and Head of Family Social Sciences