FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES
at Meredith College
As a family and consumer sciences (FCS) major, you will prepare for a career that improves the lives of families and individuals. Through multidisciplinary studies, you’ll gain broad knowledge of child development, fashion merchandising and design, food and nutrition, and interior design.
About Our Family and Consumer Sciences Degree
The family and consumer sciences degree develops the knowledge, skills, and practice of professionals who help individuals and families manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse, global society across the life span.
At Meredith, our program focuses on empowering individuals, strengthening families, and enabling communities through teaching, research, and service. We prepare students for a variety of career fields such as education, business, industry, social agencies, and government, or to enter a graduate program for further study.
Family and Consumer Sciences Programs
Students can choose to major or minor in family and consumer sciences. They may also pursue licensure, which prepares them to teach grades 6-12 in North Carolina.
Family and Consumer Sciences Major
- Students earning a major in family and consumer sciences are required to complete 37 hours, which includes 19 hours core classes and 18 elective hours.
Family and Consumer Sciences Minor
- Students earning a minor in family and consumer sciences are required to complete 21 hours, which includes 12 hours of core classes and 9 elective hours.
Teaching Licensure
A student may combine family and consumer sciences major requirements with those for secondary licensure in order to become qualified to teach 6–12 family and consumer sciences in North Carolina.
Learn more about Meredith’s education licensure programs.
Why Study Family and Consumer Sciences at Meredith?
- All students are required to complete a supervised internship. Students who seek licensure have internships with the Wake County Public School System. Students who seek a major without licensure have completed internships with
- North Carolina Cooperative Extension
- TriangleBlvd.com
- Communities in Schools of Wake County
- Center for Aging at Duke University Medical Center
- Community Hope Mentoring Program, YMCA
- Students gain experience and build professional connections by participating in the student sections of the North Carolina Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
- Students may choose to pursue licensure to teach grades 6-12 consumer sciences in North Carolina.
- Scholarship opportunities available for FCS majors include the Sue Ballard Scholarship for Child Development and FCS students and the Willene Yost Vincent Scholarship for FCS students. Other scholarships are available through the Human Environmental Sciences Department.
- Study abroad opportunities specific to interior design (a component of FCS) are the summer program at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), Copenhagen, and Denmark. Additional study abroad opportunities include Meredith College programs in Italy, the United Kingdom, and more.
- The family and consumer sciences program has a 100+-year history at Meredith. The program that is now FCS began in 1914, and hundreds of alumnae have since gone on to successful lives of service to the field and their communities.
- Student organizations for FCS majors include the Meredith Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and Kappa Omicron Nu, a national honor society.
What Can I Do With a Family and Consumer Sciences Degree?
Students who study family and consumer sciences want to
- Make the world a better place and strengthen communities
- Improve the quality of life for individuals and families
- Address global issues such as poverty, violence, obesity, and food insecurity
- Help others improve their health and wellness, financial literacy, environments, and relationships
- Study a variety of subjects in areas such as child development, family relationships, food and nutrition, fashion, interior design, and financial and resource management
Jobs in Family and Consumer Sciences
Professional positions for FCS graduates include
- Family and consumer sciences teacher (6-12)
- Cooperative Extension Service agent
- Youth leader such as 4H, YMCA, or YWCA
- After school director
- Nonprofit staff or director
- Event planner
Meredith FCS graduates are employed in a variety of positions, including
- Director of the Arts and Career & Technical Education, Orange County Schools
- Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent, NC State University
- Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Mooresville Graded School District
- Career Development Coordinator, Wake County Public School System
- Director Of Agriculture and Natural Sciences Academy, Cumberland County Schools
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for family and consumer science graduates is $42,000.
Graduate School
FCS graduates attend graduate school to
- Study family and consumer sciences to teach at higher education institutions
- Pursue further education in one of the specialty areas of family and consumer sciences such as child development, fashion merchandising and design, food and nutrition, or interior design.
- Meredith FCS graduates have attended graduate programs at Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, NC State University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and UNC-Greensboro.
Teaching Licensure
A student may combine family and consumer sciences major requirements with those for secondary licensure in order to become qualified to teach 6–12 family and consumer sciences in North Carolina.
Learn more about Meredith’s education licensure programs.
Facilities
Dickson Foundation Community Garden
Meredith’s organic garden provides hands-on opportunities to learn about planting, harvesting, and preparing healthy food.
Nifong Nutrition Laboratory
With state-of-the-art equipment, the nutrition laboratory provides students with hands-on learning experiences that simulate the environment they will work in outside of Meredith.
Ellen Brewer House
The Ellen Brewer House (EBH) is an infant/toddler education program serving children ages six weeks to two years, and allows child development students to participate in real-world observation and work during the academic year.
Jasmine Lewis, ’21, a double major in family and consumer science and psychology, has learned how to be more authentic to herself since transferring to Meredith.
Family and consumer sciences major Kelly Fox, ’20, is an educator who loves helping people and connecting with her community.
Wings student Dana Oliver, ’19, strengthened her communication skills, confidence, and leadership abilities while earning her degree as an adult student at Meredith.
News
Dr. Sheryl Long has been named the next dean of Meredith College’s School of Education, Health and Human Sciences (EHHS). Her appointment was announced by Senior Vice President and Provost Matthew Poslusny on May 9, 2023.
Jill Bromenschenkel, ’21, attended the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences virtual conference June 25-26, 2020. Bromenschenkel is a Family & Consumer Science major who is also earning 7-12 licensure.
Norcross presented two posters at the virtual International Congress of Infant Studies conference, July 6-9, 2020, titled: Effects of Maternal Depression on Sensitivity to Infant Distress and Non-distress; and Novel Predictors of Women’s Social Cognition About Infant Crying: Sleep, Working Memory, and Inhibitory Control.
Contact Information
Chasity Johnson
Family & Consumer Sciences
Human Environmental Sciences
201 Martin Hall
(919) 760-8127
ctjohnson@meredith.edu
Human Environmental Sciences Department »
School of Education Health & Human Sciences »
