Now that you have been admitted to the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, we, as faculty and graduate students, say Welcome! We are delighted that you have chosen to embark with us on your journey toward a Ph.D. in Human Sciences with a specialization in Child, Youth and Family Studies or Medical Family Therapy. Our intent is to provide an engaging environment that encourages faculty and graduate students to pursue excellence in building on an already rich and varied existing knowledge base about individuals, children, youth and families through the pursuit of research and creative and scholarly activities. Throughout this Handbook many references are made to the UNL Graduate Studies Bulletin (http://bulletin.unl.edu). Students are encouraged to read the online version of the Graduate Studies Bulletin and to review relevant sections at each stage of the graduate experience. Occasionally, changes are made in the Bulletin and the most current version is online.