Brief History

The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, formerly The Department of Home Science was established as an academic unit by the University of Ghana in 1965. The BSc Degree programme started in 1966 with eight female science students and three academic faculty.

From its small beginning, the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences has revolutionized the concept of Home Economics Education in Ghana from the narrow perspective of cooking, sewing and general housecraft. It now has an enviable broader curriculum of teaching and  research  that embraces programmes not only in Foods and Nutrition, Family and Child Studies, Textiles and Clothing, Family Resource Management but also includes programmes in Housing, Consumerism, Livelihood issues, Gender, Environmental as well as contemporary and emerging issues of the Family and Human Development.

Our student numbers, curriculum, as well as academic and support staff numbers have increased over the years. Currently, the curriculum allows for courses leading to the award of: a BSc Degree in either Food and Clothing or Family and Child Studies; an M. Phil Degree in different areas of specialization (Food Utilization and Community Nutrition; Child and Family Studies; Textiles and Clothing; Family Resource Management); and a PhD in different areas of specialization (Textiles and Clothing, Family Resource Management, Family and Child Studies).

The Family and Consumer Sciences as a field of study, is application-oriented so based on your area of specialization,  it opens avenues for a wide number of employment opportunities like: Research, Consumer Education Specialists, Consultants in Private and Public Organizations, Advisors in Foods, Textiles and Household Equipment Industries, Entrepreneurs, Teaching/Lecturing, Nutrition, Dietetics, Fashion Designing, Extension, Sensitization and Advocacy, Food Technologists, Human Resource Managers, Social Welfare Officers, Banking and Finance, Food Product Development, Quality Assurance Experts, Human Resource Managers, Early Childhood Education Specialists, Consumer Education Specialists, Fitness and Sports and Hospitality Services.