Experience with and Thoughts about a
University Education in Consumer
Sciences
MARIE J. LACHANCE
CONSUMER SCIENCES
UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL, QUEBEC CITY
Academic Consumer Interest Research (CIR) in Policy Development:
Strengthening a Canadian Network
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
September 30, 2012
In Canada
 Université Laval
Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Certificate and B.A.
 M.Sc. Agricultural Economics, with major in Consumer
Studies
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 University of Guelph
College of Management and Economics

M.Sc. Marketing and Consumer Studies
Outside Canada
 Many programs in USA and UK

Consumer Sciences/Studies /Affairs/Economics
 Few in France
o
o
Master’s degree at Université de Haute Alsace (Eucorem)
Combined M.Sc. (Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland)
 Denmark (Management Consumer Economics)
 Norway + Sweden + Finland (Center/Institute for Consumer sc. or
research; National Consumer Research centre)
 Asia (Malaysia, Southern Korea, Malaysia)
 South Africa (Consumer Sciences)
Consumer Sciences at Université Laval
 Established in 1969, with the rise of the consumer society
from which the need to protect consumers arose (consumer
perspective)
 Original program objective:
Educate professionals to be able to help consumers take
personal responsibility for their actions and guide them in their
quest for well-being.
 Multidisciplinary education
 Consumer information, education and protection
 Food, housing, personal finance, clothing and textiles
Necessary Shift in 2000
 To improve job opportunities
 To satisfy and use an emerging societal/market need:
quality of service to clients/users
Consumer perspective integrated into public- or privatesector organizations: Consumer-organization relationships
Knowing and meeting consumers needs and expectations while
interacting with them (before, during and after)
 Current objective
Specialized education in consumer affairs focused on knowledge
of consumers and their relationships with organizations.
CS B.A. Curriculum at Université Laval
 Consumerism and consumer
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society
Young consumer socialisation
Aging people and consumption
Consumer behaviour
Consumption and ways of life
Consumer law
Consumer economics
Macroeconomics
Program planning in CS
Sustainable development in
organisations
Social medias, consumers and
organisations (next fall)
 Quantitative methods
 Qualitative methods of research
 Customer service
 Consumer satisfaction theories
and measures
 Quality of service mgt (2 courses)
 Marketing or food marketing
 Distribution management
 Commercial environment
 English (2 courses)
 Two internships
 Optional courses
Admission Statistics
B.A.
 100% increase in admissions from 2001 to 2006
 35% increase from 2011 to the present (325 students)
Certificate
 100% increase from 2011 (59 students)
New Master (MSc)
 6 graduate students after 2 semesters
What is the problem ?!?
 Awareness and recognition (employers and academic community)
E.g. Consumer Sciences often mixed with “Foods or Dietetic”
 Academic succession (CS university education and CI research)
But:
 More confidence in finding jobs
 Still, consumer perspective, into the organisations, includes
consumer interest and protection
 Interest in research and in CI research
Some University Education
Issues Influencing CI Research
• LOW AWARENESS OF B.A. (MASTER?)
PROGRAMS IN THE JOB MARKET
• DIFFICULT ACADEMIC SUCCESSION
PLANNING
Low awareness of B.A. and Master programs
in the job market
 Name of the program/diploma not specific enough
(multidisciplinarity)
 Affiliation
 Qualifications of students/professionals not well known
 Differences with business or marketing studies?
No university education without caring about career
opportunities for BA, Master and PhD graduates
 Programs content must attract employers
 Undergraduate programs must include minimum research training (to
arouse postgraduate studies and academic careers)
Difficult Academic Succession Planning
 Multidisciplinary ≠ any other disciplines
 Academics without initial training in CS/CI or closely-related
disciplines (such as Home Ec.) may
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show limited knowledge of the discipline/field of CS/CI;
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have limited conception of CS university education and of how it might
develop;
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present limited teaching versatility;
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stick to researchers from their own discipline;
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leave for positions in their original fields of expertise;
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not identify with CS (or be negative about it because …);
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be less concerned with educational development of our programs, the job
market and CI research.
A Vicious Circle
 Few CS/CI undergraduate and Master programs in Canada… and no
PhD
 Little or no CS/CI academic succession (teaching and research)
 Difficult (no) recruitment of PhDs in CS/CI because of few (no)
undergraduate and graduate programs
 No CS scientific conferences in Canada for professors and graduate
students
 Few or no relationships among academics and among (rare) CS
graduate students
 Not a specific field of research for granting agencies
 Low or no awareness and recognition
 Mix all and get back to top of the list!
Improving Academic Succession Planning and
Enhancing CI research in Canada
 Create more CS/CI (oriented) PhD programs: not only relevant thesis
but CS/CI course curriculum
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Appropriate affiliations
or combined Master or PhD programs specifically developed and identified
appropriately:
interdisciplinary and/or involving various universities
E.g. EURECA (European Master’s Programme in Consumer Affairs): Aarhus,
Warsaw, Munich, Wageningen
http://www.masterstudies.com/Masters-Degree/Business-Economics-and-Administration/Marketing/MSc-in-ConsumerAffairs/Germany/TUM-(Technischen-Universität-München)-Business-School/European-Master's-Programme-inConsumer-Affairs-(EURECA)/
 More CS undergraduate and Master programs: to stimulate future
careers and to employ PhDs
 Request (committee?) specific peer committee in national &
provincial research funding structures (SSHRC and others)
formally recognizing and specify CS/CI field
 Hold periodical Canadian research conference (peer-reviewed)
with publication of extended abstracts (available in electronic
data banks)
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In the USA
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ACCI (American Council of Consumer Interests), annual conference with
published proceedings, Journal of Consumer Affairs
ACR (Association for Consumer Research), annual conference with published
proceedings (USA and Europe), Journal of Consumer Research
In Europe
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ICSR, International Consumer Sciences Research Conference every 2 years,
International Journal of Consumer Studies
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May be held at Humanities and Social Sciences annual meeting
Thank you
HAVE A NICE DAY OF
DISCUSSION!