6 univs join hands to offer global MA in family studies

Updated on: Monday, April 04, 2011

A consortium of six universities across the world is working on a global academic experiment. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences ( Mumbai), University of Nebraska (USA), South China University (Guangzhou), Aristotle University (Greece,) Seoul National University (South Korea) and the University of Newcastle (Australia) have come together to offer an MA in family studies.

The course, to be offered online using state-of-the-art software, will involve group projects, where students will have to work together across latitudes. There will be a great deal of interaction between faculty and students, keeping different time zones in mind. Students who sign up for the degree will be given a password to access the course.

The degree aims at introducing students to the field of family studies from a global perspective.

The fee for the course, which looks set to roll by 2012, will vary for the different universities and will depend on the market rate for that particular country. So, for instance, a student in the US will have to pay around $16,000 while his Indian counterpart will be charged $2,000. In countries like China and Greece, where the higher education system is free, this course will be offered free of cost.

The coalition of six universities was largely stitched together by the University of Nebraska. John DeFrain, a professor at the university, has studied families across the world for over two decades. "According to DeFrain, there are more similarities than differences in the family system of different countries," said Dr Lina Kashyap, deputy director, TISS, and one of the architects of this new degree. "The family system has shown remarkable resilience and adaptability, despite widespread fear that it will not survive the pressures of globalization," said Kashyap.

"Nevertheless, one needs to take cognizance of the fact that globalization has pushed a large number of families around the world into vulnerable situations, often leading to their marginalization and exclusion from social welfare schemes,'' she added.

In the Indian scenario, she points to the fact that the family is not a monolithic construct. "There are different forms of the family In India. There are families with a single parent to those headed by women. Even in the West, not all families are nuclear. You have so many restructured families, which include a combination of 'yours, mine and ours','' said Kashyap.

When faculty from the University of Nebraska first discussed plans to start such a course two years ago, Kashyap was not sure how such a degree would work out. Even after a trip to Nebraska, the details of the programme were rather fuzzy. Two years down the line, not only have the contours of the course been charted out, but the course itself looks set to roll by 2012. The course will start with an estimated 36 students, with each university registering six students. A student from any of these six countries will have to register with the university in their country.

Students in other parts of the world have the option of registering with any of the universities, provided seats are vacant.

There are both local as well as global employment opportunities for those with such a degree, including working with government organizations, as well as bodies such as the United Nations.

Times of India

6 univs join hands to offer global MA in family studies

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