The Family and Consumer Studies Department is dedicated to understanding and enhancing the well-being of individuals as well as the families and communities in which they live. In the Family, Community and Human Development (FCHD) undergraduate major, we examine how social, economic, political, and physical environments affect families and the development of the individuals within those families.
Our core courses provide a foundation of knowledge for students to spring from into their electives, where they can choose to focus on a theme or study a variety of different topics. Lawyer to law maker, pre-med to pre-school, financial expert to family advocate, the Family, Community, and Human Development major can help you land a career that you love.
The Family and Consumer Studies Department has been offering online classes for more than a decade, improving and upgrading along the way to ensure a fantastic student experience. Whether you are planning to complete your degree fully online or in a combination of in-person and online courses, we can create a graduation plan that fits your needs!
This is an open major. No application other than the University of Utah application
is required.
At the University of Utah, our courses combine the flexibility of online teaching with the advantages and direct engagement of traditional teaching. Enjoy the benefit of studying online at your own pace while still engaging with classmates and instructors. This flexible way of teaching improves your overall experience and your ability to retain what you learn.
Interactive learning comes in a variety of ways:
- Group assignments, where you collaborate via email or a discussion forum to answer a problem set.
- Contributions to a discussion forum, where you directly respond to previous posts.
- Peer reviews, where you review and comment on assignments from other students.
Our classes also offer multiple routes to stay connected and get help:
- Communicate directly with the instructor via email.
- Participate in and guide online discussions.
- Attend online office hours in discussion threads or on the phone.
- Instructors are available in “real” office hours for students on or near campus; for some courses we offer Q&A sessions in a classroom.
46 Credit Hours: 34 program credits plus 12 allied credits. This does not include gen ed/bachelor degree requirements or the university's 122 hour rule.
FCHD is one of the shortest majors offered at the U and can be completed quickly. A student who can manage 4 major classes each semester could finish the program in 3 semesters. Download THIS PDF document for a sample schedule.
There are no prerequisites to the FCHD major. Students will complete 34 credits in the FCS department and 12 allied credits (most students who come to our program with previous college coursework have already fulfilled this requirement).
Core Courses
|
FCS 1500 |
Lifespan Human Development |
|
FCS 2400 |
Modern Families |
|
FCS 3010 |
Intro to FCS Careers |
|
FCS 3200 |
Research Methods |
|
FCS 3210 |
Statistics |
|
FCS 3450 |
Family Economic Issues OR FCS 3500 Financial Skills for Life |
Community Course (choose one). Online options are:
|
FCS 2180 |
Family School and Community Connections |
|
FCS 3420 |
Housing Policy and Issues (fulfills upper division writing requirement) |
|
FCS 3600 |
Consumer and Community Policy |
|
FCS 4890 |
Internship (time spent at internship placement + online assignments) |
Elective Courses (choose 12 credits). Online options include:
|
FCS 2570 |
Middle Childhood |
|
FCS 2600 |
Intro to Early Childhood Education |
|
FCS 3215 |
Beginnings: Development in Infancy and Early Childhood |
|
FCS 3370 |
Parenting across Cultures (fulfills international requirement) |
|
FCS 3380 |
Social Science and Medicine |
|
FCS 5230 |
Adolescence |
|
FCS 5380 |
Family Problems |
|
FCS 5390 |
Gender and Minorities across the Lifespan (fulfills diversity requirement) |
|
FCS 5430 |
Families, Consumers, and Health |
|
FCS 5510 |
Building Family Wealth: Investment and Life Insurance Planning |
|
FCS 5520 |
Retirement and Benefits Planning for Families |
|
FCS 5530 |
Income Tax Planning for Families |
|
FCS 5540 |
Protecting Family Wealth: Insurance and Estate Planning |
Allied Requirement (12 credits)
The goal of this requirement is to foster a broader educational base for FCHD majors, consistent with the general aims of a liberal arts degree. Courses from 35 different departments can count towards this requirement. See catalog or Degree Audit for list. Class must be completed with a letter grade of C- or better to count. The allied requirement is waived with the completion of a second major or a minor from any department.
To calculate an estimate of tuition costs please use the University of Utah Tuition Estimator. Tuition for online courses is based on residency and is the same whether you take
an online or on campus course.
Please visit What Does It Cost? for more information about UOnline tuition.
Bachelor of Science in Family, Community, and Human Development
Job opportunities with an FCHD degree are diverse! The list below are just SOME examples of what people have gone on to do after graduation. To best understand what you can do with a degree in FCHD, we recommend you meet with a Career Coach.
Bachelors only:
- Certified Financial Planner*
- Early Childhood Interventionist
- Human Resource Assistant
- Preschool Teacher
- Public Affairs Assistant
- Community Education Coordinator
- Social Service Worker
- Psychiatric Technician
- Afterschool Program Director
*Requires specific course sequencing; discuss with academic advisor.
Bachelors + Further Education:
- Pediatric Cardiologist
- CEO/Program Director (various nonprofits and government agencies)
- School Counselor/Psychologist
- Lawyer
- Special Education Consultant
- Occupational Therapist
- Behavior Analyst
- Social Worker
- Developmental Screening Coordinator
- K-12 Public School Teacher
Department Contacts
Jennifer Stout
Lead Advisor, Family & Consumer Studies