Family Studies
An 18-credit minor across human development, family systems, family policy, and the cultural realities that shape every family — for students serving families in real settings.
About the Minor
ACU’s Family Studies Minor is built for students stepping into work that revolves around families — family services, social work, nonprofit family ministry, family policy, marriage and family preparation, and the broader work of strengthening the family as an institution. Six required courses give you developmental literacy, family-systems theory, family resource management, public-policy engagement, parent/child dynamics, and a thoughtful Christian engagement with gender and culture.
The minor’s positioning is policy-and-systems-oriented. Where ACU’s Child Development Minor leans toward developmental psychology and trauma-informed care, Family Studies leans toward family structure, public-policy implications, and the resource-management realities that real families navigate. CHD 312 Human Development sets the developmental foundation; FAM 200 Family Resource Management, FAM 316 Family Structure and Function, FAM 332 Public Policy and the Family, FAM 425 Parent/Child Relations, and FAM 440 Gender Studies build the family-systems-and-policy stack on top.
Pairs especially naturally with Psychology, Christian Ministries, Communication, Political Science, and Education — and serves as strong preparation for ACU’s MS in Marriage and Family Therapy or for graduate social work programs elsewhere.
What You'll Learn
Understand Human Development
Trace cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development across the lifespan as it shapes families.
Engage Family Resource Management
Build practical literacy in family finances, budgeting, and resource decisions — the daily realities most families navigate.
Read Family Systems
Understand families as systems — how structure, function, and dynamics shape individual members.
Engage Family Policy
Examine how public policy affects family life — and how families affect public policy in return.
Address Parent/Child Dynamics
Study the parent/child relationship across developmental stages, family configurations, and cultural contexts.
Engage Cultural and Gender Realities
Examine how culture, gender, and family configuration shape every family — from a thoughtful Christian perspective.
Families Through a Biblical Worldview
A Biblical Worldview takes the family seriously as God's primary discipling structure — and takes the work of strengthening families seriously as one of the most consequential pursuits a person can take up.
The Family as Formative
Scripture presents families as the primary place where character, faith, and identity take shape. The minor's three family-systems courses (FAM 316, 425, 440) treat that conviction as the working assumption rather than the conclusion.
Equips you to work with families as the foundational social unit, not just as one social structure among many.Stewardship and Resources
FAM 200 Family Resource Management treats family finances, time, and energy as gifts entrusted for stewardship — not just budget items to balance. A Biblical Worldview takes that frame seriously: how families manage what they've been given shapes their flourishing across generations.
Anchors your work with families in the daily realities of stewardship.Families in a Public Context
FAM 332 Public Policy and the Family treats families as embedded in cultural and political systems that either support or undermine them. A Biblical Worldview engages those public-policy questions seriously — for the sake of families, not just for the sake of policy debate.
Prepares you to engage family-policy questions with conviction and care.Where This Minor Takes You
Family Studies opens doors across family services, social work, family ministry, nonprofit leadership, and graduate study in MFT or social work.
Family Services and Case Management
Move into family-services agencies, case-management roles, and family-strengthening nonprofits.
Marriage and Family Ministry
Lead pre-marital, marriage-strengthening, and family ministries in churches and parachurch organizations.
Foster Care and Adoption Work
Bring family-systems literacy into foster care, adoption services, and family-preservation work.
Family Policy and Advocacy
Pursue family-policy work at nonprofits, advocacy organizations, or in government — strengthened by FAM 332.
Bridge to MFT or Graduate Social Work
Build preparation toward ACU's MS in Marriage and Family Therapy or graduate social work programs elsewhere.
Christian School Family Liaison Roles
Serve in Christian school parent-and-family-engagement, counseling-support, or community-outreach roles.
Why Students Choose This Minor
The Family Studies Minor at ACU stands out for combining developmental, family-systems, policy, and cultural lenses — most family minors focus on only one or two.
Family Policy Required
FAM 332 Public Policy and the Family is mandatory. Most family minors leave policy out entirely.
Family Resource Management Built In
FAM 200 covers the practical financial and resource realities families navigate — uncommon at the undergraduate level.
Three Family-Systems Courses
Family Structure, Parent/Child Relations, and Gender Studies build deep family-systems literacy.
Pre-MFT Preparation
Strong foundation for ACU's MS in Marriage and Family Therapy and other graduate counseling or social work programs.
Same Faculty as the MFT Program
ACU's Department of Natural and Psychological Sciences faculty teach across the undergrad minor and the graduate MFT degree.
Getting Started
The Family Studies Minor has a light prerequisite chain — most students complete it across their sophomore through senior years.
Talk With Your Academic Advisor
Map the 18 credits into your degree plan and consider whether you want the minor to feed into ACU's MS in MFT after graduation.
Take CHD 312 Early
CHD 312 Human Development is the foundation course and the prerequisite that satisfies FAM 316's prereq requirement. Take it sophomore year at the latest.
View CHD 312 →Stack the Family Studies Courses
FAM 200, 316, 332, 425, and 440 can be taken in nearly any order once CHD 312 is complete. Spread them across junior and senior year.
Stack Toward Graduate Work (Optional)
If you're considering ACU's MS in MFT or graduate social work, talk with the department about which electives in your major best complement the minor.
Explore More Options
Ready to Work With Families?
The Family Studies Minor gives you the developmental, systems, policy, and cultural lenses real work with families requires. Apply or reach out today.
