Did you know?
T. Denny Sanford School of Social & Family Dynamics has hosted over $14.5 million in major federal and foundation grants over the past 5 years.
We are home to 35 tenured/tenure track faculty, 16 lecturers, 5 research faculty, 3 clinical professors, 2 professors of practice, 3 postdoctoral scholars, and 20 staff.
Family and Human Development at ASU
BS Family and Human Development
If you've dreamed of a rewarding career that impacts the lives of children, youth and families, you'll want to first develop the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills that are key to your success whichever field you plan to enter.
Family and Human Development, MS
Whether you wish to prepare for a rewarding human services career or enhance the one you have, you can do so with this program. Deepen your understanding of families, individuals, relationships and yourself.
Family and Human Development, PhD
Become trained to assume a leadership role as a researcher in a university, a public or privately funded agency, an industry or in government. Enjoy a flexible model of training with renowned faculty who provide professional opportunities.
MAS Marriage and Family Therapy
The MAS-MFT program is the only MFT program at a state university in Arizona. Our curriculum has been approved by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners.
Initiatives and Collaborations
The Link Enterprise is designed to break down the social barriers that interfere with effective relationships and to build positive relationships within schools, families, and community organizations, with the goal of fostering success for all. Members of the Link Enterprise conduct innovative research, train the next generation of scholars, and engage in community impact by developing and disseminating evidence-informed and evidence-based products and programs for use in schools and other institutions.
In the Children, Youth, and Family Google Trends Project, we use Google search data to analyze and gain insight into the issues of public interest and concern related to children, youth, and families. Because these data summarize billions of searches, they are a proxy for public interest in these topics.
The LRE includes a series of initiatives focused on using basic research to identify factors and develop programs that promote positive outcomes among Latino youth and their families. All initiatives in the LRE have a fundamental goal of conducting high quality research that results in advancing our understanding of how to improve the lives of Latino youth and their families.
SIRC was established as a Research Consortium in 2002 by an award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this program is to support specialized research centers to conduct multidisciplinary research, research training, and community engagement activities focused on improving minority health or reducing health disparities.
The Children's Equity Project (research, translation, policy, practice) is in partnership with universities across the country including Yale University, Bank Street College of Education, Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, University of Miami, University of Oregon, University of Chicago, and The Center for Racial Equity and Excellence.
Our methodology group is a vibrant group of faculty and students with strong interests and expertise in developing and applying advanced quantitative methods. Doctoral students in the Sanford School can elect to complete a methodology training specialization that includes in-depth study of statistical and measurement methodologies offering great utility for research in human development, sociology, family and relationship studies, and education, among other areas. Faculty in the methodology group also offer brownbag discussions and workshops in addition to over 15 courses in quantitative methods.
RISE initiative strives to create an interdisciplinary research collaborative that promotes understanding of how to survive and thrive in our social environments, particularly in light of the increasing and diverse stressors that people face. Our mission is to connects interdisciplinary researchers, scholars, students, and community members around three themes grounded in the study of resilience: emotions, social connection, and transitions across the life-span.
Globalization, social and cultural dislocation, and resulting social inequality can adversely affect the wellbeing of children and families around the world. Institutions of higher education such as ASU are generating scientific knowledge and evidence-based solutions that can mitigate and eventually address the root causes of unfolding social and health crises. Through transnational research partnerships, GCAHR serves as a bridge between ASU and universities and communities in other countries to increase their capacity to apply science-based solutions to pressing health and social problems.
The DISI is focused on creating opportunities for underrepresented students and scholars to enter the science pipeline and impact and improve the lives of children, youth and families.
The use of exclusionary discipline (ExD) – defined as discipline that removes a student from the school setting via expulsion or suspension – has been found to undermine students’ health, well-being, and educational achievement. With the support of a new federal grant, members of the Pre-K (and beyond) Exclusionary Discipline Study (PEDS) team will be examining and mapping the prevalence, disparities, and factors associated with the use of ExD in U.S. public schools, with a particular focus on the early years of schooling.
The Sanford Program for the Advancement of Compassion and Empathy is designed to enhance the capacity for empathy and compassion as a core of human functioning and flourishing. College-level classes accomplish these goals in adult students at both the undergraduate and graduate/professional school levels.
The Sanford Program for Reducing Bullying and Victimization at Schools is a training program that help both pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as other school staff (e.g., counselors, principals, etc.), better understand and address bullying and victimization at school.
The mission of the ASU REACH Institute, which is within the Department of Psychology, is to bridge the gap between university-based research and practice to promote children’s mental and physical health and academic achievement. Scientists at the institute are leaders in developing and evaluating child and family interventions for culturally diverse and international communities.
The Better Together Challenge was developed by the Center for Child and Family Success (CCFS) at Arizona State University (ASU) to work in partnership with Maricopa County public schools to support students' success by challenging and supporting students to develop programs within their school that address inclusion and safety.
The Center for Child and Family Success is an interdisciplinary research center focused on producing pioneering research on the structures and processes that impact daily life for children and families in a rapidly evolving world. We seek to forge alliances among scholars across the social, behavioral, and health sciences who are dedicated to furthering knowledge about human and family dynamics and to join them with community partners and policy makers so the knowledge derived will be highly relevant to daily life and directly applicable to professional practice and social policy.
The CDL provides supervised training opportunities for child development students pursuing careers serving children and families.
The Connect Center is dedicated to providing entrepreneurial information related to projects, services, and materials that focus on promoting the well-being of children, youth, and families.