Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Family and consumer sciences
Happy, healthy, empowered individuals and families are the foundation of a strong society. As a student in the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS), you’ll help others live their best life.
The apparel, textiles and design program follows a product development model that will prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities. With dedicated equipment for each student, you’ll have uninterrupted access during class.
In our food and nutrition or nutritional sciences programs, you'll explore human nutrition and its impact on health. The Carmelita Spencer Foods Laboratory gives you access to both commercial and residential kitchen equipment while you study the role of food in nutrition.
If you’re interested in working with children, we offer child development and early childhood education degrees. In these programs you’ll develop the specialized skills needed to help families create an environment for healthy development. Through the completion of the early childhood education degree, you’ll be eligible for a teaching certificate.
In the human development and family studies program, you’ll explore family and relationship dynamics across the lifespan. The family and consumers sciences degree offers a broad education covering diverse topics and the FCS teacher education program will prepare you to teach FCS at middle or high schools.
In FCS you will learn by doing. You'll gain experience working in the apparel product development studio, Carmelita Spencer foods laboratory, child development laboratory, dietetics simulation and the Leila Old Historic Costume Collection. Minors in apparel, textiles and design, human and community engagement, and nutrition are available to complement a wide range of majors.
In addition, the child feeding certificate provides a comprehensive understanding of child development from prenatal stages through age 12, coupled with essential knowledge in basic human nutrition and practical feeding practices. This is the first and only child feeding certificate offered in Idaho.
Academics
We offer undergraduate programs in apparel, textiles and design, child development, early childhood education, family and consumer sciences, food and nutrition, human development and family studies, nutritional sciences and FCS teacher education. Each year, FCS students are awarded endowed scholarships that total nearly half a million dollars.
FCS also offers master's degrees in family and consumer sciences, dietetics, nutritional sciences and child development, and a doctoral program in nutritional sciences. In these programs you’ll work with professors who actively conduct research on a variety of topics and customize your program based on research interests.
Explore FCS degrees
- Apparel, textiles and design, B.S.
- Child development, B.S.
- Early childhood education, B.S.
- Family and consumer sciences, B.S.
- Food and nutrition, B.S.
- Human development and family studies, B.S.
- Nutritional sciences, B.S.
- FCS teacher education, B.S.
- Child development, M.S.
- Dietetics, M.S.
- Family and consumer sciences, M.S.
- Nutritional sciences, M.S.
- Nutritional sciences, Ph.D.
- Certificate child feeding
- Certificate food, nutrition and wellness
Explore degrees
Our programs will prepare you to meet the world’s most critical challenges.
Get involved
FCS offers the Apparel, Textiles and Design Club, Child Development Club, Food and Nutrition Club, Collegiate FCCLA and Phi Upsilon Omicron. In addition, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences offers more than 30 clubs, making it easy to find your passion and get involved. Learn about clubs and organizations. Learn about clubs and organizations.
Discover
What current FCS students are up to, from internships to undergraduate research projects.
Human milk researchers earn first-ever doctorates
Student pioneers sports bra with biometric sensors
Teaching labs
As an FCS student you will benefit from several experiential learning environments located on campus.
The Apparel Product Development Studio is located on the third floor of the Niccolls Building and is used exclusively by apparel, textiles and design students and faculty for classes, research and independent work. You will have access to industrial lock stitch machines, sergers, home sewing machines, pressing equipment and specialty machines. The studio can be accessed after hours and on weekends, giving you flexibility to complete your projects. Available equipment includes: Juki lockstitch sewing machines, Bernina sewing machines, 5-thread sergers, 4-thread sergers, Janome embroidery machine, BabyLock embroidery machine, industrial irons, ironing presses, KnitKing knitting machine, table and floor weaving looms, Consew industrial shoe repair/leather sewing machine, industrial coverstitch, covered button hole press and a grommet press.
The Apparel Technology Lab includes a Glowforge Laser, two Lulzbot 3D printers, one Elegoo 3D printer, one Baby Lock embroidery machine, one Cricut cutter, two industrial lockstitch machines, three sergers, two Bernina home sewing machines, two computers, a heat press and e-textile materials.
The Weaving Studio is one of only a few in the Western Region and offers students the opportunity to learn woven fabric structures and create woven fabrications on looms.
The Carmelita Spencer Foods Laboratory features up-to-date technology and a demonstration area where instructors and students can lead lessons that focus on our nutrition and dietetic degrees. You will have access to both commercial and residential kitchen equipment, where you can learn and practice meal service, preparation and presentation in the eating laboratory and dining room. The lab is also equipped with two monitors that are used for presentations and a video camera above the demonstration area that allows students to see a more detailed view. Commercial equipment available includes: Groen steam jacketed kettle, Groen frying/braising pan, Globe Slicer, Hobart stand mixers 20-quart and 30-quart, Wolf gas stove with griddle, Alto-Shaam combi-oven, Alto-Shaam smoke/cook/hold, Blodgett double convection oven, Salamander broiler, Hobart dishwasher and a Menu Master high speed oven. Residential equipment includes: Wolf induction and gas cooktops, ovens, Kitchen Aid, LG dishwasher and microwaves. The foods lab is available for rent to the U of I campus community. Contact Katie Miner to learn more.
The Computer Research Lab is located on the second floor of the Niccolls Building and is used primarily by food and nutrition and apparel, textiles and design students, but is open to all FCS students. Digital tools include: 12 student computers and one teaching computer, each equipped with Adobe Creative Suite, Optitex Digital Patternmaking software, Microsoft Office and R for statistical analysis of research data; and a 42” color printer (can print patterns and large research posters).
The Leila Old Historic Costume Collection includes over 18,000 items gathered from residents of Idaho, alumni and friends of the university, and reflects the clothing across lower, middle and upper class society in Idaho from around 1850 to present.
Research and Extension
FCS faculty provide programs that improve the quality of life for Idaho's individuals and families.
Key FCS research programs and projects
- Extension programs in food safety focus on consumers and the food industry.
- The Eat Smart Idaho program provides nutrition and physical activity education for low-income Idahoans.
- The COBRE-Nutrition and Women’s Health program aims to build capacity in the area of nutrition and women’s health. Research will span the entire lifespan to include all nutrients and food bioactives important for health.
- Personal and Family Finance Extension programming focuses on financial education and youth financial literacy.
- Apparel, textiles and design research is conducted by faculty and students on a variety of topics. The apparel product development studio includes industrial lock stitch machines, sergers, home sewing machines, pressing equipment and specialty machines.
Recent student research projects
- Claire Smith, 2024, Improving Biometric Data Collection for Female Athletes, funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Read Claire’s story.
- Tess Richardson, 2023, Knitting Machine Exploration: A Comparison of Knit Stitches and Materials, funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
- Asiah Brazil-Geyshick, 2023, Kombucha as a Sustainable Textile Source, funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Read Asiah's story.
- Torrey Long, 2023, Using Wet Molding to Transform Post Consumer Leather, Undergraduate Research Project, funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
- Micayla Dougherty, 2023, Best Dressed in the West: Western Rodeo Menswear Tailoring Project, funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
- Rachel Houle, 2022, Intersection of Function & Form Through Convertibility in Women's Outdoor Jackets.
- Maggie Zee, 2023, The Effect of Different Retting Methods on hop (H. lupulus) Fiber Quality for Small-Scale Textile Production.
- Patrick Brown-Hayes, 2021, Redefining Fashion Consumption and Closing the Gap of Circularity Within the Fashion Supply Chain.
- Joyce Sun, 2020, Priceless or Price-less: Challenges of Understaffed Collections, A case study of the Leila Old Historic Costume Collection.
Meet our people
Specialty areas include maternal and infant nutrition, human milk composition, milk microbiome, human development, intimate relationships, metacognition, gut barrier function, personal finance, food security, child development, sibling relationships, apparel technology, product development and more.
Michelle (Shelley) McGuire
Katie Miner
Hydee Becker
Erin Chapman
Shiyi Chen
Yimin Chen
Sarah Deming
Adrianne Griebel-Thompson
Luke Erickson
Virginia (Ginny) Lane
Sara Matthews
Chelsey Lewallen
Annie Roe
Mojtaba Shafiee
Ling-Ling Tsao
Lori Wahl
Ann Frost
Emily Dorigo
Sandi Klingler
Kristin Hansen
Christina Roe
Islamiyat Bolarinwa
Angel Shears
Cami Moss
Patricia Villamediana
Emeritus faculty
Sonya Meyer
News and events
FCS Connections
This biannual newsletter provides updates on current research, news and events from the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences.
FCS Base Camp
This FCS teacher professional development program offers workshops in apparel, textiles and design; early childhood development; and food, nutrition and culinary arts.
Margaret Ritchie Distinguished Speaker Seminar
The Margaret Ritchie Distinguished Speaker Seminar brings an outstanding authority in family and consumer sciences to campus. Margaret Ritchie Distinguished Speakers stimulate public interest, promote the field of family and consumer sciences, provide the opportunity for student and faculty interaction with FCS leaders and honor Margaret Ritchie’s contributions to FCS and to University of Idaho.
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History
The Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences has a long and rich history at University of Idaho. The school was founded in 1902 as the Department of Domestic Sciences and later became known as the Department of Home Economics. The department officially changed to the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences in 1993, after Margaret Ritchie, a beloved professor and head of the former Department of Home Economics from 1938-1959.
With humble yet powerful beginnings in Ridenbaugh Hall and an all-female cadre of faculty and students, initial courses included topics such as combustion, food principles, fermentation and preservation of foods, dairy foods, marketing, bacteriology, physiology, home economics and chemistry. Classes related to clothing and textiles, interior design, housing, child development and family studies were later added.
Since 1952, the Niccolls Building on the Moscow campus has been home to our programs. In 1982 the department was moved from the College of Letters and Sciences to the College of Agriculture where it continues to reside. We also offer programming at the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene and Boise centers.
Our holistic and interdisciplinary programs address issues facing individuals and families by seeking solutions to improve the quality of their lives in their near environment. Financial illiteracy, childhood obesity, issues of fast fashion and social responsibility, family violence, parent/child relationships and aging population are but a few of the issues addressed by FCS professionals.
Today, the school boasts more than 200 students, eight undergraduate majors and five graduate degrees. The foundation of the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences is inspired by the principle that happy, healthy, empowered individuals and families are the foundation of a strong society.