MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES


Graduate Faculty

Dr. Connie Ruiz

ruizcs@hal.lamar.edu

Research interests: Maternal and infant nutrition, weight management, nutrition education

Dr. Amy Pemberton

pembertoar@hal.lamar.edu

Research interests: Eating disorders, nutritional epidemiology, geriatric nutrition, sports nutrition, cutlural aspects of nutrition

Dr. Kim Chalambaga

walletka@hal.lamar.edu

Research interests: human sexuality, family violence, stress and relationships

Dr. Frances Droddy

droddyfm@hal.lamar.edu

Research interests: Child and adolescent development, education

The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCSC) is a part of the College of Education and Human Development.  The Master of Science Degree in FCSC,  allows students to choose courses in foods and nutrition, family studies, and other areas within the field.  An Approved Preprofessional Practice Program in Dietetics (AP4) is available at Lamar.  Twelve of the eighteen credit hours required in the AP4 may be applied toward the M.S. Degree.  Workshops and travel/study tours, along with daytime, evening, and weekend classes are available.

Graduate students attend classes in the newly renovated FCSC Building.  Conveniently located in the heart of the campus, the facility features classrooms fully equipped with the latest in multimedia technology.  In addition, the building houses laboratories for culinary arts, interior design, and computer applications.

Degree Requirements
 All graduate students in the Department are required to complete FCSC 5300 and FCSC 5314, which deal with research methods and data analysis and interpretation.  The remainder of each student's program of study is developed according to the student's professional goals and interests.

Thesis route:  This option consists of 30 credit hours.
The thesis counts for 6 credit hours and course work comprises 24 credit hours.  While all course work may be taken within the Department, students may elect to enroll in a maximum of 6 credit hours of supporting courses in other departments.  A student who completes a thesis is not required to complete a comprehensive written exam at the end of the program.  The oral exam will consist of the student's thesis presentation and questions related to the thesis.

Non-thesis route: A student electing this option will complete 36 hours course work;
12 credit hours may be taken in other departments. Students not completing a thesis are required to pass a comprehensive written and oral exam covering all course work completed during the graduate program.

Admission Requirements
 The Department of FCSC has adopted the minimum admission requirements of the Lamar University College of Graduate Studies.  Refer to the Lamar University Graduate Catalog for details.

Prerequisites
 If a student's undergraduate degree is in a discipline other than FCSC or one of its subject matter areas, the student is required to complete undergraduate course work.   The graduate advisor works closely with the student to determine any undergraduate deficiencies.  No more than 15 undergraduate credit hours will be required.

Transfer Credit
With the approval of the Department Chair students may transfer up to six credit hours graduate work from another institution.
 
 

GRADUATE COURSE WORK