Ranked among the top programs of its kind, the program is interdisciplinary and integrative . It focuses on consumers as individuals and household members and their interactions within the marketplace and in the public sector. Retailing is a second major within the department. The major meets the needs of students interested in qualifying for employment or graduate study in business, economics, finance, consumer law, specialized areas of family and consumer finance, family economics, or the retail industry. Environment, Textiles and Design ETD provides comprehensive education in all phases of architectural interior design and of the textile and apparel industry.
Students have several options of focus within the Graduate Study.
The departments' graduates are design positions across the United States. Course work includes fine arts courses in painting, drawing, and color, as well as design-oriented classes in fashion illustration, printing and dyeing on fabric, weave design, and a variety of courses in apparel design. Because the program is a collaborative program with the Department of Life Sciences Communication, students take approximately half their courses in SoHE and half in Life Sicences Communication. Most students combine several of these and participate in an internship as part of their educational experience . Ranked among the top programs of its kind, HDFS offers an interdisciplinary approach to family relationships, child and adolescent development, early childhood education, adult development and aging, as well as child and family intervention, prevention, and policy studies.