Consumer Affairs Concentration

The Consumer Affairs concentration offers an applied approach to understanding consumers in home and market environments.  With coursework in consumer economics, consumer policy, consumer communications, and family resource management, the Consumer Affairs concentration prepares students for careers as consumer specialists in government, business, research, and non-profit settings.  This concentration builds students’ capacity to analyze markets and matters of personal finance from the perspective of consumers, and to communicate these issues to stakeholders.

Graduates enjoy careers as analysts, entrepreneurs, sales professionals, customer care and engagement specialists, financial professionals, and similar in private, public, and non-profit sectors. The skills learned in this concentration also prepare students for law school and graduate school.


Curriculum - BS in HES, Consumer Sciences, concentration in Consumer Affairs

This 120 semester hour program includes General Education requirements, 6 hours HES requirements, Major requirements, Consumer Affairs concentration requirements, and electives.

Consumer Sciences (Required)
  • CSM 201 Individual Family Resource Management
  • CSM 204 Introduction to Personal Financial Planning
  • CSM 303 Intro to Consumer Economics
  • CSM 381 Consumer Marketing Management
  • CSM 401 Consumer Protection
  • CSM 405 Public Policy
  • ST 260 Statistical Data Analysis  or  BER 345 Educational Statistics


Consumer Affairs Concentration
  • CSM 403 Consumer Economics
  • CSM 415 Customer Service Management
  • CSM 425 Consumer Conflict Resolution
  • CSM 441 Consumer Communications
  • CSM 445 Computers in Consumer Sciences
  • CSM 451 Consumer Demographics and Trends
  • CSM 461 Managing in a High Performance Organization


Consumer Science Electives (Choose two courses)
  • CSM 427 Emotional Intelligence
  • CSM 428 Consumer Conflict Mediation, Management and Negotiation II
  • CSM 430 Family and Consumer Law
  • CSM 435 Psychology of Money
  • CSM 437 Developing the Leader Within
  • CSM 440 Maximizing Social Media Marketing
  • CSM 475 Entrepreneurship in Human Environmental Sciences
  • CSM 480 e-Commerce in HES
  • CSM 486 Consumer Management Human Capital

View more information about this program through the University’s catalog. Please note that courses are subject to change.
This program is offered on main campus and online. To apply for the online program, visit the Bama By Distance website.