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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.

“Attending Meredith gave me the opportunity to enrich my communication skills and the self-assurance to connect with people.”
Dana Oliver
Dana Oliver, ’19

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 Consumer Students Looking at Chart.

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.


FCS course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalog


FCS course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalog

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.

Learn more about Meredith’s teacher education program.

FCS course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalog

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

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.

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.

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.

Learn more about Meredith’s teacher education program.

FCS course descriptions

Undergraduate course catalog

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.

Wings student Dana Oliver, ’19, strengthened her communication skills, confidence, and leadership abilities while earning her degree as an adult student at Meredith.

News

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.