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Food science is a degree program focused on the role of the food industry in producing safe, nutritious, and acceptable foods for consumers. Food scientists apply basic science (chemistry, biology, physics) to improve processing, preservation, and safety of food and to develop new food products. The food science major is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon graduation, students should be able to:
- Communicate effectively in their field of study using written, oral, visual and/or electronic forms.
- Demonstrate proficiency in ethical data collection and interpretation, literature review and citation, critical thinking and problem solving.
- Participate effectively in a group or team.
- Integrate creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship in ways that produce value.
- Explain how human activities impact the natural environment and how societies are affected.
- Meet program specific learning outcomes for the Food Science major.
The department also offers a food science minor.
Administered by the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Courses listed below are required.
Total Degree Requirement: 120 cr.
Students must fulfill International Perspectives and U.S. Cultures and Communities requirements by selecting coursework from approved lists. These courses may also be used to fulfill other area requirements. Only 65 cr. from a two-year institution may apply to the degree which may include up to 16 technical cr.; 9 P-NP cr. of electives; 2.00 minimum GPA.
International Perspectives: 3 cr.
U.S. Cultures and Communities: 3 cr.
Communications and Library: 10 cr.
| ENGL 1500 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 2500 | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition | 3 |
| LIB 1600 | Introduction to College Level Research | 1 |
| SPCM 2120 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| Total Credits | 10 | |
Humanities and Social Sciences: 6-12 cr.
| Select Humanities course from approved list | 3 | |
| ECON 1010 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| If HSCI student, select: | 6 | |
Additional Humanities course | ||
Additional Humanities or Social Science course | ||
Ethics: 3 cr.
| FSHN 3420 | World Food Issues: Past and Present | 3 |
Mathematical Sciences: 7-8 cr.
| Select 4 credits from: | ||
| MATH 1600 | Survey of Calculus | 4 |
| or MATH 1650 | Calculus I | |
| Select at least 3 credits from: | ||
| STAT 1010 | Principles of Statistics | 3-4 |
| or STAT 1040 | Introduction to Statistics | |
| Total Credits | 7-8 | |
Physical Sciences: 17-19 cr.
| CHEM 1770 & 1770L | General Chemistry I and Laboratory in General Chemistry I | 5 |
| CHEM 1780 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 2310 & 2310L | Elementary Organic Chemistry and Laboratory in Elementary Organic Chemistry | 4-6 |
| or CHEM 3310 & CHEM 3320 | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry II | |
| PHYS 1150 & 1150L | Physics for the Life Sciences and Laboratory in Physics for the Life Sciences | 5 |
| or PHYS 1310 & 1310L | General Physics I and General Physics I Laboratory | |
| Total Credits | 17-19 | |
Biological Sciences: 10-11 cr.
| BBMB 3010 | Survey of Biochemistry | 3 |
| or BBMB 3030 | General Biochemistry | |
| or BBMB 3160 | Principles of Biochemistry | |
| BIOL 2120 | Principles of Biology II | 3 |
| BIOL 2120L | Principles of Biology Laboratory II | 1 |
| MICRO 2010 | Introduction to Microbiology | 2-3 |
| or MICRO 3020 | Biology of Microorganisms | |
| MICRO 2010L | Introductory Microbiology Laboratory | 1 |
| or MICRO 3020L | Microbiology Laboratory | |
| Total Credits | 10-11 | |
Food Science and Human Nutrition: 49 cr.
| FSHN 1010 | Food and the Consumer | 3 |
| FSHN 1100 | Professional and Educational Preparation | 1 |
| FSHN 1670 | Introductory Human Nutrition and Health | 3 |
| FSHN 2030 | Contemporary Issues in Food Science and Human Nutrition | 1 |
| FSHN 2070 | Processing of Foods: Basic Principles and Applications | 3 |
| FSHN 3050 | Food Quality Management and Control | 2 |
| FSHN 3110 | Food Chemistry | 3 |
| FSHN 3110L | Food Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| FSHN 3140 | Professional Development for Culinary Food Science and Food Science Majors | 1 |
| FSHN 3150 | Professional Skills for Culinary Food Science and Food Science Majors | 1 |
| FSHN 3510 | Introduction to Food Engineering Concepts | 3 |
| FSHN 4030 | Food Laws and Regulations | 2 |
| FSHN 4060 | Sensory Evaluation of Food | 3 |
| FSHN 4070 | Microbiological Safety of Foods of Animal Origins | 3 |
| FSHN 4100 | Food Analysis | 3 |
| FSHN 4110 | Food Ingredient Interactions and Formulations | 2 |
| FSHN 4120 | Food Product Development | 3 |
| FSHN 4200 | Food Microbiology | 3 |
| FSHN 4210 | Food Microbiology Laboratory | 3 |
| FSHN 4710 | Food Processing | 3 |
| FSHN 4720 | Food Processing Laboratory | 2 |
| Total Credits | 49 | |
| Select 5-6 credits from the following Professional Electives: | 5-6 | |
| Biorenewable Systems | ||
| Legal Environment of Business | ||
| Financial Accounting | ||
| Managerial Accounting | ||
| Entrepreneurship in Human Sciences | ||
| Issues in Sustainable Agriculture | ||
| Foods of Animal Origin | ||
| Foods of Animal Origin Laboratory | ||
| Fresh Meat Science and Applied Muscle Biology | ||
| Science and Technology of Value Added Meat Products | ||
| Quantitative and Environmental Analysis | ||
| Quantitative and Environmental Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis | ||
| Instrumental Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Introduction to Agricultural Markets | ||
| Intermediate Microeconomics | ||
| Labor Economics | ||
| The Economics of Global Agricultural Food and Bio-energy | ||
| Agricultural Marketing | ||
| Applied Ethics in Agricultural Business | ||
| Agricultural, Food, and Trade Policy | ||
| Entrepreneurship and Innovation | ||
| Food Preparation Laboratory | ||
| The Biochemistry of Beer | ||
| Biochemistry of Beer Laboratory | ||
| Scientific Study of Food | ||
| Advanced Food Preparation Laboratory | ||
| American Food and Culture | ||
| Introduction to Manufacturing Processes for Plastics | ||
| The US Food System | ||
| Metabolism, Nutrition and Health | ||
| Grape and Wine Science | ||
| Analysis of Food Markets | ||
| Food, Culture, and Sustainability | ||
| Global Nutrition, Health and Sustainability | ||
| Independent Study: Food Science | ||
| Supervised Work Experience: Food Science | ||
| Supervised Work Experience: Culinary Science | ||
| Undergraduate Research | ||
| Food Science and Human Nutrition Travel Course: International travel | ||
| Sensory Evaluation of Wines | ||
| Introduction to Global Resource Systems | ||
| Globalization and Sustainability | ||
| Agricultural, Food and Natural Global Resource Systems | ||
| Principles of Horticulture Science | ||
| Fruit Crop Production and Management | ||
| Vegetable Production and Management | ||
| Vegetable Production and Management Lab | ||
| Food Safety Certification | ||
| Organizational Behavior | ||
| International Management | ||
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Organizations | ||
| Management Information Systems | ||
| Principles of Marketing | ||
| Consumer Behavior | ||
| Global Marketing | ||
| Total Credits | 5-6 | |
Electives: 2-13 cr. Select from any university coursework to earn at least 120 total credits. Food science internship experience is strongly recommended during the summers, and students can earn elective credits for the internship experience by enrolling in FSHN 4910B.
Food Science, B.S.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| FSHN 1010 | 3 | FSHN 1670 | 3 |
| FSHN 1100 | 1 | CHEM 1780 | 3 |
| CHEM 1770 | 4 | BIOL 2120 | 3 |
| CHEM 1770L | 1 | BIOL 2120L | 1 |
| ENGL 1500 | 3 | ECON 1010 | 3 |
| LIB 1600 | 1 | Humanities | 3 |
| Humanities or Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CHEM 2310 and CHEM 2310L or CHEM 3310 | 3-4 | BBMB 3010, 3030, or 3160 | 3 |
| FSHN 2030 | 1 | CHEM 3320 (if CHEM 3310 taken) or Elective | 3 |
| ENGL 2500 | 3 | MICRO 2010 or 3020 | 2-3 |
| PHYS 1150 or 1310 | 4 | MICRO 2010L or 3020L | 1 |
| PHYS 1150L or 1310L | 1 | STAT 1010 or 1040 | 3-4 |
| MATH 1600 or 1650 | 4 | FSHN 2070 | 3 |
| 16-17 | 15-17 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| FSHN 3110 | 3 | FSHN 3050 | 2 |
| FSHN 3110L | 1 | FSHN 3510 | 3 |
| FSHN 3140 | 1 | FSHN 4030 | 2 |
| FSHN 3150 | 1 | FSHN 4110 | 2 |
| FSHN 4200 | 3 | FSHN 4210 | 3 |
| SPCM 2120 | 3 | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| FSHN 4060 | 3 | FSHN 3420 | 3 |
| FSHN 4100 | 3 | FSHN 4120 | 3 |
| FSHN 4710 | 3 | FSHN 4720 | 2 |
| FSHN 4070 | 3 | U.S. Cultures and Communities (if not already taken) or elective | 3 |
| Elective* | 2 | Humanities/social science (CHHS) or elective (CALS) | 3 |
| 14 | 14 | ||
- *
Choose elective courses to total equal to or greater than 120 credits.
- Note:
This sequence is only an example. The number of credits taken each semester should be based on the individual student's situation. Factors that may affect credit hours per semester include student ability, employment, health, activities, and grade point considerations.
More information on the Food Science, Food Safety, and Food and Society minors can be found here: http://catalog.iastate.edu/collegeofagricultureandlifesciences/foodscienceandhumannutrition/#undergraduateminortext.
The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition offers a Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Food Science and Technology. More information can be found here: https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/academics/programs/apresults.php?id=50.