About the Family and Consumer Sciences Bachelor’s Program
Faculty
Associate Professors: Alexander, Allison
Assistant Professor: Godfrey
The family and consumer sciences teacher certification program is designed to prepare students for teaching careers in middle and high school family and consumer sciences; adult- and community-based education; Extension Service; educational support services such as curriculum development and media, business, government, human services; and other fields. It includes coursework in all family and consumer sciences content areas and required professional education courses.
The program meets Texas standards for the Family and Consumer Sciences Composite Certificate that qualifies individuals to teach all family and consumer sciences courses offered in Texas secondary schools. Texas has a critical shortage of teachers, and the demand for family and consumer sciences teachers remains strong.
Students seeking teacher certification must meet all requirements outlined in the College of Education section of the catalog. Admission requirements include completion of a minimum of 60 semester hours (including current enrollment) with a 2.75 or better overall GPA and college-level skills in reading, oral and written communication, critical thinking, and mathematics. To be recommended for certification, graduates must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA and also a 2.75 or better GPA in all professional education courses and in the teaching field. In addition, graduates must complete a finger print background check and achieve a satisfactory level of performance on the appropriate examinations prescribed by the State Board for Educator Certification.
Students also may earn the Family and Consumer Sciences Composite Certificate as part of a major in human development and family studies. A Specialized Family and Consumer Sciences Certificate in Hospitality, Nutrition, and Food Sciences is available as part of a major in nutrition or in restaurant, hotel, and institutional management. For more information, see the catalog sections for the Department of Human Development and Family Studies , the Department of Hospitality and Retail Management , and the Department of Nutritional Sciences .
Family and consumer sciences certification students may take online courses through the Texas Family and Consumer Sciences Distance Education Alliance. For more information, see www.fcsalliance.org or contact an FCSE advisor. Permission is required to enroll in these courses.
All teacher certification programs at Texas Tech University are accredited by the Texas Education Agency and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
Communication Literacy Requirement. Students attending Texas Tech University for the first time in the Fall 2017 term or later will complete a Communication Literacy requirement in their program(s) of study.
Texas Tech University’s transition from the Writing Intensive requirement to the Communication Literacy requirement signals the university’s awareness that in addition to the fundamental role that writing plays in enabling students to explore, develop, focus, and organize a message, other types of communication must also be taught as appropriate for a student’s discipline. Throughout each program of study, then, students must be given ample opportunity to develop their skills in forms of communication central to that program.
Communication literacy in the Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences degree is evidenced by competence in analytical, aural, interpersonal, oral, written, and visual communication. The B.S. degree will use a sequence of four courses to help students achieve expected communication literacy in this program. The courses should be taken in the sequence indicated to build upon the skills and knowledge acquired in the previous courses. The required communication courses in this degree are FCSE 3301 , FCSE 4325 , FCSE 4302 , FCSE 4012 .
