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Major · Family & Consumer Sciences

A bachelor’s umbrella across family and consumer fields

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General (CIP 19.0101) is a bachelor’s-only umbrella major covering how individuals develop and function in family, work, and community settings. About 1,853 students complete it across 101 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $46,287 — modest pay, with most named higher-paying careers requiring graduate credentials.

Schools offering
101
Annual completions
1,853
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$46k

About this major

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General (CIP 19.0101) is a bachelor’s-only umbrella major in the family and consumer sciences family — a generalist credential covering how individuals develop and function across family, work, and community settings. The CIP definition emphasizes physical, social, emotional, and intellectual environments as core context, and most accredited programs cover family relationships, child development, nutrition and food science, textiles and apparel, consumer economics, housing and interior environments, and family resource management. Programs intentionally maintain breadth rather than specializing in a single FCS sub-field; some bundle a teacher-preparation track aligned with state FCS-teacher licensure.

The major fits students drawn to applied human-sciences work who haven’t yet committed to a single specialty. It rewards comfort with multidisciplinary research, flexibility across content domains, and an interest in extension-education or family-service work. Day-to-day at the bachelor’s level looks like cooperative-extension education at land-grant universities, family-services casework, consumer-affairs analysis at retailers or financial-services firms, FCS high-school teaching with state license, and Head Start or community-program coordination work.

One grounded observation about scale and earnings: 1,853 students complete this CIP across 101 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $46,287 — modest entry pay that reflects how generalist the credential is. The packet names three BLS occupations and only the doctoral-level postsecondary FCS teacher role pays meaningfully more ($77,280, 3.4% growth, doctorate required). The Farm and home management educator role at $58,120 is projected to decline 2.5% — a directional signal for cooperative-extension positions in shrinking rural-budget states. The named secondary-school teacher pathway ($64,580, -1.6% growth) requires a paired teacher-prep track and state license. Top producers — Texas Tech (324), Cal State Long Beach (195), Montana State (129), Cal State Northridge (114), University of Alabama (111) — concentrate at land-grant universities and California State campuses with established FCS schools.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Farm and home management educators $58k -2.5% Master's degree
Family and consumer sciences teachers, postsecondary $77k +3.4% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$46k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re drawn to applied human-sciences work but haven’t yet committed to a single specialty (nutrition, child development, family studies, consumer economics, textiles), you’re comfortable with multidisciplinary research, and you’re open to cooperative-extension, family-services, or FCS-teaching career paths. Land-grant universities (Texas Tech, Montana State, Alabama) anchor the strongest extension-placement pipelines. The bachelor’s pays $46,287 in the data — modest but stable — and the FCS-teaching path at $64,580 with state licensure adds a clean entry option.

Reasons to pause: the bachelor’s caps low without a specialty or graduate study. Most named higher-paying careers require master’s or doctoral credentials, and the named secondary-school teacher pathway requires a paired teacher-prep track and state licensure that not all 19.0101 programs include — verify before enrolling. Both relevant teaching tracks (secondary school at -1.6%, farm and home management at -2.5%) are projected to decline modestly. If you know you want development and family work specifically, the larger CIP 19.0701 (Human Development and Family Studies) is more direct. If you’re drawn to nutrition science specifically, an RDN-eligible nutrition program is a stronger pre-graduate-school pathway.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX 0 324 324
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA 0 195 195
Montana State University Bozeman, MT 0 129 129
California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA 0 114 114
The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 0 111 111
Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX 0 92 92
Shasta College Redding, CA 90 0 90
University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 0 48 48
California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 0 43 43
University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM 0 37 37
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Human Development and Family Studies, General

6,801 completions/yr

Child Development

2,480 completions/yr

Apparel and Textiles, General

1,581 completions/yr

Family Resource Management Studies, General

577 completions/yr

Family Systems

316 completions/yr

Business Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences

313 completions/yr

Family and Consumer Economics and Related Services, Other

238 completions/yr

Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education

168 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does this major actually cover?
Coursework spans family relationships, child development, nutrition and food science, textiles and apparel, consumer economics and personal finance, housing and interior environments, family resource management, and applied human-sciences research. The CIP definition emphasizes the broad umbrella — programs intentionally cover multiple FCS sub-fields rather than specializing. Most accredited programs require a senior capstone and many include practicum or internship components in extension education, family services, or consumer research.
What jobs do graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
The packet names three BLS occupations and the higher-paying ones require graduate credentials. Realistic bachelor’s-entry destinations include cooperative extension educator at land-grant universities, family-services caseworker, consumer-affairs specialist at retailers or financial-services firms, child-life specialist trainee, family and consumer sciences (FCS) high-school teacher with state licensure, and Head Start program coordinator. Pay typically starts in the $35,000-$50,000 range — the packet’s $46,287 bachelor’s median lands in that band.
Will this make me an FCS teacher?
Only if paired with a state teaching license. The cross-referenced CIP 13.1308 (Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education) is the named teacher-prep credential. Some 19.0101 programs include teacher-preparation tracks leading to state licensure; others are non-licensure-track. Always verify the program’s teacher-prep approval and Praxis II eligibility if FCS classroom teaching is your target — many K-12 districts hire FCS teachers, especially for high-school nutrition, child-development, and personal-finance courses.
Do I need a master’s for the higher-paying tracks?
For most named tracks in the data, yes. Postsecondary FCS teachers ($77,280) require doctorates; Farm and home management educators ($58,120, but declining 2.5%) require master’s; school FCS teachers and dietetics-track work move toward master’s expectations as well. Common ramps include Master’s in Human Development and Family Studies, Master’s in Public Health, MSW (social work), or RDN-eligible nutrition programs after the bachelor’s.
How does this compare to Human Development and Family Studies (CIP 19.0701)?
Human Development and Family Studies (19.0701, 6,801 completions) is the larger named sibling focused specifically on lifespan development and family systems. This CIP (19.0101, 1,853 completions) is the broader "general" umbrella covering all FCS sub-fields. If you want depth in development and family work specifically, 19.0701 is more direct. If you want flexibility across nutrition, textiles, consumer economics, and family content, 19.0101 keeps more doors open.
Where are the strongest programs concentrated?
Texas Tech (324 completions) leads, with Cal State Long Beach (195), Montana State (129), Cal State Northridge (114), University of Alabama (111), and Stephen F Austin (92) following. Land-grant universities with established FCS schools — Texas Tech, Montana State, Alabama, the Cal States — dominate the producer list. Programs at land-grant universities tend to have stronger cooperative-extension placement pipelines and access to Family Science research labs.