Graduate Masters of Family and Consumer Sciences

 

MFCS admission requires:

a) transcripts that document completion of at least one and preferably two semesters of general inorganic chemistry
b) transcripts that document completion of at least one semester of organic chemistry
c) Graduate Coordinator or another faculty that is willing to serve as the applicant's advisor.

Applicants should submit their application to the MFCS program when they can satisfy criteria a and b. The following situations are examples of when students are admitted to the MFCS: have not completed science courses in biochemistry and/or physiology that are required for admission to the MS, minimal coursework in human nutrition, intention to complete the dietetics coursework needed to become a dietitian, no faculty member is available to serve as a masters thesis advisor (for the MS), and/or no plans to pursue doctoral studies.

Students enrolled in the MFCS are unlikely to receive financial aid in the form of a graduate assistantship for teaching or research, particularly in their first year of graduate studies. MFCS students are required to do a research project that is smaller in scope than an MS thesis.  Examples of MFCS projects include determining the prevalence of obesity in disabled adults, review of research methods for sensory evaluation of foods by children, and documenting the benefits of community-based nutrition and health promotion programs.  Most MFCS students are taking a large amount of coursework, which is generally completed in two to three years.  After graduation, many MFCS students can apply for dietetic internships to become dietitians or pursue careers in dietetics, the food industry, or government.