Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
The program is designed to prepare students for employment in the food industry, government and for graduate study. Principal areas of instruction are food engineering, food processing, food safety and sanitation, quality assurance, food microbiology, food chemistry and analysis, Culinology, product development, and sensory evaluation. Employment opportunities are strong in each of these areas.
Concentrations
Culinology®
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Culinology® is designed for students who want to blend culinary arts and food science principles in ingredient development, food product development, or in entrepreneurial pursuits. Successful completion of courses in this concentration fulfill the requirements for the Research Chefs Association Culinology® program.
Food Safety
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Food safety concentration delves deeper into the principles of food safety and is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). You are strongly advised to follow this concentration for graduate study or if you have a strong interest in working in the area of food safety. Students enrolled in this concentration are eligible for IFT scholarships.
Sustainable Food Technology
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Sustainable food technology delves deeper into the principles of food science as well as sustainability in the food industry and is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). You are strongly advised to follow this concentration if you plan on graduate study. Students enrolled in this concentration are eligible for IFT scholarships.
Program Learning Objectives
- Employ critical thinking skills in addressing food science issues.
- Implement discipline specific knowledge, ethics, and technical skills needed to succeed in food science fields and post-graduate studies.
- Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills to a nontechnical and technical audience related to food science.
- Participate actively as part of a problem-solving team to address issues that arise in the production of food.
- Demonstrate cultural competence in interactions with diverse populations within and outside the food industry.
- Formulate solutions to practical problems in food safety, production, development, and sustainability.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major, Support or Concentration courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| FDSC 1101 | Orientation to the Food Science Major | 1 |
| FDSC 1110 | Introduction to Food Science and Sustainability | 3 |
| or FSN 1111 | Elements of Food Processing | |
| FSN 2202 | Introduction to Human Nutrition | 3 |
| FSN 2250 | Food and Nutrition: Culture and Customs (USCP) | 3 |
| FDSC 3310 | Food Laws and Regulations | 3 |
| FDSC 3330 | Food Processing and Engineering I | 4 |
| FDSC 3340 | Food Quality Assurance and Prerequisite Programs | 4 |
| FDSC 3345 | Food Safety and Sanitation | 4 |
| FDSC 3350 | Food Chemistry | 4 |
| FDSC 3355 | Food Analysis | 3 |
| FDSC 4420 | Sensory Evaluation of Food | 3 |
| FDSC 4425 & FDSC 4426 | Food Product Development and Food Science Exit Exam | 3 |
| Concentrations | ||
| (See list of Concentrations below) | 12 | |
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| BIO 1111 | General Biology (5B) 1 | 3 |
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 1122 | Fundamentals of Chemical Reactivity | 4 |
| CHEM 2240 | Organic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | 4 |
| CHEM 3350 | Biochemistry: Fundamentals and Applications (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1261 | Calculus I (2) 1 | 4 |
| MCRO 2221 | Introduction to Microbiology | 4 |
| MCRO 4421 | Food Microbiology | 3 |
| PHYS 1121 | College Physics I | 4 |
| STAT 1110 | Applied Statistical Concepts and Methods | 3 |
| STAT 3320 | Statistical Methods for Food Science | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 30 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives | 0 | |
| Total Units | 120 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
Concentrations
Culinology®
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| FSN 1121 | Fundamentals of Food | 3 |
| FSN 3304 | Culinology | 3 |
| FSN 3323 | Culinary Internship | 1 |
| FSN 3346 | Institutional Food Service | 3 |
| FDSC 4462 | Senior Project - Internship | 2 |
| Total Units | 12 | |
Food Safety
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| FDSC 4430 | Food Processing and Engineering II | 4 |
| FDSC 4445 | Food Safety Modernization Act: Human Food Safety and Produce Safety | 3 |
| Select from the following: | 2 | |
| Senior Project - Scientific and Technical Writing Course | ||
| Senior Project - Research | ||
| Senior Project - Internship | ||
| Approved Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 3 | |
| HACCP for Meat and Poultry Operations | ||
| Dairy Microbiology | ||
| Quality Assurance and Control of Dairy Products | ||
| Advanced Food Safety | ||
| Public Health Microbiology | ||
| Postharvest Technology | ||
| Total Units | 12 | |
Sustainable Food Technology
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| FDSC 4430 | Food Processing and Engineering II | 4 |
| Select from the following: | 2 | |
| Senior Project - Scientific and Technical Writing Course | ||
| Senior Project - Research | ||
| Senior Project - Internship | ||
| Select from the following: | 6 | |
| Energy for a Sustainable Society | ||
| Water for a Sustainable Society | ||
| Food and Agriculture Process Water Engineering | ||
| Social Dimensions of Sustainable Food Systems | ||
| Total Units | 12 | |
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 13 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 30 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 30 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.