Frequently Asked Questions

Freshmen are advised by First Year Experience advisors. Those freshmen who have decided to declare a major in either family science or family and human services may do so at any time. They will be assigned department advisors at the start of their sophomore year. Freshmen who would like to begin taking family studies courses should register for FMST 101 Introduction to Family Studies, which satisfies University Core 6 - Social and Behavioral Sciences, and is a pre-requisite for most undergraduate level FMST coursework.

You may choose one major - Family and Human Services. A Minor in Family Science also is offered for students. To determine the best fit for you, you can find a comparison of our undergraduate major and our minor here.

The Towson University Academic Advising, Retention & Completion Office schedules incoming transfer students to attend orientation a few weeks prior to the start of their first semester at Towson. Transfer students who have declared a family science or family and human services major will meet with a family studies advisor during the orientation session. The advisor and student will work together to select the student's first semester courses. Once the new semester starts, the student will be assigned a permanent department advisor who will guide him/her in developing a course plan for future semesters.

Transfer credits will be awarded for most academic courses completed at a regionally accredited two- or four-year college or university. Coursework completed at institutions that are not regionally accredited but hold national or specialized accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) may be considered for transfer credit in consultation with the academic department on a case-by-case basis. Coursework completed at an international institution may also be considered for transfer credit on a case-by-case basis. See Transferring Credits for more information. You can also check out the ARTSYS Articulation System for more information on course transferability from Maryland community colleges.

Yes, but there is a maximum number of credits that you are allowed to transfer. Towson will accept up to 64 credits from a two-year college and up to 90 from a four-year institution (or from a combination of two- and four-year institutions.)

Outside credit taken before you enrolled at Towson must be approved by the University Admissions Office. Outside credits taken after you enrolled at Towson must be approved by the Academic Standards Committee. You may also use ARTYS to check if/how your credit from other colleges will transfer to Towson.

You can find the petition form and instructions on the process here.

You may choose one major - Family and Human Services. A Minor in Family Science also is offered for students. To determine the best fit for you, you can find a comparison of our undergraduate major and our minor here.

Students currently attending Towson University may change their major to family science or family and human services at any time. Select the link Changing Your Major or Minor on the Registrar’s website and complete the online form. When we receive notification of the change we will send you a welcome email with your new Academic Advisor’s contact information.

Be advised that changing your major may potentially affect your progress toward graduation.

You can view this information online at any time by using the “what if” feature in PeopleSoft. This provides you with a preview of your Academic Requirements report showing how the new requirements will be satisfied/not satisfied. The Registrar’s website has multiple helpful guides for faculty, staff & students for navigating PeopleSoft. You can reference the guides My Academic Requirements Functionality and What-if/Planner Guide to learn how to use these features.

Be advised that to be eligible for graduation, you must fulfill the minimum 120 credit requirement, your major requirements and the Core requirements. 

If you have 45 or more earned credits, you are required to fill out a Degree Completion Plan (DCP) form with your advisor.

Filing an Individualized Degree Completion Plan is required by Maryland Senate Bill 740, the Career and College Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013. A DCP can help students save time and money by articulating sequential coursework and planning a path to graduation. 

Perhaps. In order to graduate, you will need to fulfill the requirements of your new major, and you may have to take more than 120 total credits in order to do so.

Be advised that to be eligible for graduation, you must fulfill the minimum 120 credit requirement, your major requirements and the Core requirements. 

There are three requirements you need to fulfill in order to graduate:

• You must take a minimum of 120 credits
• You must complete the requirements for your major
• You must fulfill the Core requirements

These requirements, prerequisite courses and sequential coursework will affect your graduation date. 

No, Family Science Minors are not assigned to an advisor. You can consult your course catalog for minor requirements. 

If you have 45 or more earned credits, you are required to fill out a Degree Completion Plan (DCP) form with your advisor.

Filing an Individualized Degree Completion Plan is required by Maryland Senate Bill 740, the Career and College Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013. A DCP can help students save time and money by articulating sequential coursework and planning a path to graduation. 

If you need an academic advising hold lifted, schedule a meeting with your Family Studies advisor. You may need to be flexible in your schedule if your registration date is approaching.

Consult the Academic Calendar for the deadlines for adding/dropping a course.

Yes. Students are advised to consult their catalog and department advisor for more information regarding sequential coursework.