Overview of B.Sc. Home Science

Home science is offered as a bachelor degree of 3 years (both as B.A. and B.Sc. in Home Science). Home science is also known as Home Economics or Family and consumer sciences (FCS). B.Sc. Home Science is a professional degree course that deals with the economics and management of the home and community.

Home science is not just restricted to cooking and stitching, but it is truly multidisciplinary in nature and gives knowledge of social sciences, biological, and physical sciences in addition to all the five areas like Communication and Extension, Human Development, Resource Management, Fabric and Apparel sciences, and Foods and Nutrition.

Why Is B.Sc. Home Science Course Important?

It is the education for “better living” and the core of this education is the family ecosystem.

Home science has four dimensions of practice:

• as an academic discipline to educate new scholars, to conduct research and to discover new knowledge and ways of thinking for professionals and for society.
• everyday living in households, families, and communities for developing life skills and develop potential for growth.
• curriculum area that facilitates students to discover and further develop their own resources and capabilities.
• Influence and develop policy to advocate for individuals, families, and communities to achieve empowerment and well-being, utilize transformative practices, and facilitate sustainable futures.

 It prepares students for homemaking or professional careers, or to assist in fulfilling real-life responsibilities at home.

 As an academic profession, it includes educators in the field and human services professionals.  Home economists are concerned with promoting and protecting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities; they facilitate the development of attributes for lifelong learning.

Fields in B.Sc. Home Science

• Foods and Nutrition: The B.Sc. Home Science course provides understanding of both, biological and social sciences perspectives. It focuses on three major areas: – Public Health Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Science, and Quality Control of Food.

• Fabric and Apparel Science: It majorly deals with the techniques of textile designing and also provides the knowledge of current trends, new developments and technological changes in the field of fabric designing and creating.

• Human Development: The study of human development examines the developmental trends, principles and processes across several disciplines such as biology, physiology, sociology, anthropology, psychology and education that influence development. The thrust areas of study are Human Development; Early Childhood Care & Education and Family & Women Studies.

• Resource Management: Family Resource Management is an evolving field that deals with various aspects of management of resources, with special emphasis on the relationship of human beings (human resource), interior space (space as a material resource) and the activities that are carried out in the space.  The course is both relevant and significant due to the changing needs of human beings with their environment.

• Communication and Extension: It focuses on both educational and recreational needs in producing a variety of media material in traditional (Puppets), electronic media (audio-video/ computers) as well as writing. It deals with the education helpful in development in society.

Typical Course Structure of B.Sc. Home Science

• Communication and Extension: It focuses on the human communication and various types of communication used for human development.

• Resource Management: It talks about the basic concept and scope of management with the resources and functions of management in an organization.

• Fashion Studies: It provides knowledge about the importance of clothing and various designers and fashion centers of the world.

• Fundamentals of Nutrition and Home Science: This deals with the concept of food and nutrition defining the different nutrients, food groups, and methods of cooking.

• Life Span Development 1:  It focuses on the multidisciplinary nature of human development and the domains of development in prenatal period to middle childhood years.

• Fundamentals of Textiles: This involves the study of textile fibers and yarns, and methods of fabric construction and dyeing techniques.

• Physical Sciences: It deals with the basic concept of physics and chemistry.

• Life Span Development 2: This involves the developmental period of adolescence and adulthood.

• Nutrition for the Family: Basic concept of nutrition and meal planning for different sections of population is involved.

• Life Sciences: It focuses on the basic concept of two main sections of biology- botany, and zoology.

• Personal Finance and Consumer Goods: This involves the study of consumer problems, education, and protection in India involving the income and expenditure criteria.

• Communication System and Social Change: It focuses on the analysis and methods of mass media.

Higher Studies

After doing B.Sc. home science one can go for masters’ degree in any of the five major streams of home science or can do diploma in various subjects.

M.Sc. in: – Foods and nutrition, Fabric and apparel sciences, Human development, Communication and extension, Resource management

DIPLOMA in: – Dietetics and public health nutrition, Health and social gerontology, diploma in animations, diploma in radio and TV journalism, diploma in advertising and public relations

Can also opt for B.Ed.

Jobs

• Production jobs: this covers food preservation, dress-making, specialized cooking. Graduates of Home Science can go on to enter the textile business, fashion designing etc. or even work in hotels, the food industry etc.

• Research jobs: these projects involve educating specific segments of the population such as mothers, farmers, villagers on the food value of certain food items.

• Service jobs: maintenance and supervision of housekeeping departments at tourist resorts, hotels, catering facilities, restaurants etc.

• Teaching jobs: The recognized qualification for a primary school teacher is a Bachelors degree in Home Science and many postgraduates also are taken on as senior secondary school teachers and college professors.

• Technical jobs: manufacturing industries do require home science graduates to serve as research assistants, food analysts, food scientists etc.

• Assistant to an interior designer.

• Content writer

• Can work as an extension worker.

Videos

It talks about the different career scope in home science.

What is home science? Presented by a home science student.

Gives the detail information about food and nutrition management.

It talks about the human resource management.

It talks about the development in fashion and apparel designing.