HDFS Introduces New Department Name Change

We are thrilled to announce the new name for the HDFS department from Human Development and Family Studies to Human Development & Family Sciences!

The HDFS department has a long trajectory at Texas Tech University since the time when Texas Tech University was called Texas Technological College (TTC) in the mid-1920s. When TTC opened its doors for the first time on October 1st, 1925, the college was composed of four schools: Liberal Arts, Engineering, Agriculture, and Home Economics (see TTU's First College Catalogue dated 1925-1926). The School of Home Economics offered four majors from 1925 to 1928: General Home Economics, Teacher Training, Clothing and Design, and Foods and Nutrition. By summer 1928, the School of Home Economics had grown into five departments: Home Economics Education, Clothing, Design, Home Management, and Food and Nutrition.

A college bulletin from July 1929, located at the TTU Library Repository, documents the formation of a new concentration in the School of Home Economics called Child Care and Family Relationships, which represented the early stages of the HDFS department at TTU (see http://hdl.handle.net/10605/67357). Later, in 1961, another college bulletin documents that HDFS was then called Home and Family Life, with two main concentrations - namely Child Development and Family Relations and Home Management, offering a double bachelor's option and a master's degree.

The HDFS department name appeared as Human Development and Family Studies for the first time in January 1986 in the TTU undergraduate and graduate catalogs for the 1986-1987 academic year. At that time, the department offered both a bachelor and master of science degree in Home Economics along with a doctoral degree in Home Economics with a concentration in HDFS. They also offered three main areas of specialization: Human Development, Teachers of Young Children, and Family Studies (see https://swco-ir.tdl.org/handle/10605/63732).

Why Family Sciences?

As described by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), Family Sciences is the "Scientific study of families and close interpersonal relationships". The foundations of family sciences are rooted in rapidly evolving family dynamics in the late 70s and early '80s, as well as the complex socio-political changes that required a more specialized field to understand families and interpersonal relationships in-and-outside of the family from a holistic perspective. Prior to that so-called "Pioneering Stage" of Family Sciences, the study of families was approached by several academic disciplines including sociology, psychology, education, anthropology, political sciences, and religion, among others. From 1982 to 1985, NCFR efforts supported by a large body of professionals across disciplines culminated in a nation-wide recommendation to change the name from Family Studies to Family Sciences in 1987.

The field of Family Sciences has continued to evolve during the last three decades and has advanced the knowledge on families and interpersonal relationships from an interdisciplinary perspective and its contribution has expended global views, paradigms, assumptions, methodologies, and practices around the world. Thus, Family Sciences play a significant role in advancing knowledge, research, and practice on constantly evolving complex issues including, but not limited to, globalization, family inclusiveness, racial justice, income and employment gaps, community outreach, well-being, education, economics, and more. As described by NCFR, "family science is a discipline of study in which the primary goals are the discovery, verification and application of knowledge about the family".

Our faculty and students have made, and continue to make, significant contributions to the evolving Family Sciences field and thus, we are excited to embrace this new departmental name!