Originally the Department of Home Economics, founded 1903, the School of Home Economics originally offered three courses of study: general home economics, foods, and textiles. In the 1920s the department operated a teaching lab, cafeteria, and tearoom on campus. It awarded its first BS degree in 1911 and first Ph.D. in 1939. Reorganization in the 1970s saw the School renamed School of Family Research and Consumer Sciences (FRCS) with departments of Child and Family Studies, Consumer Science, Environment, Textiles and Design, Home Economics Education, and Home Economics Communication. FRCS was moved outside of the College of Agriculture and made an independent school in 1976. It has had the title of School of Human Ecology since 1996.
