About the Master of Science in Food Science
The Department of Animal and Food Sciences offers non-thesis, 36-hour Master of Science degrees in animal science or food science with concentrations in livestock production (beef cattle, swine, sheep and goat, dairy cattle, equine, and poultry), agricultural product processing (meats, food, or feeds emphasis), companion animal, feedlot management, and ranch management. An internship is required for these degrees. The non-thesis Master of Science degree is considered a terminal degree.
The master’s degree in food science emphasizes the scientific and technological aspects of pre- to post-harvest food processing and distribution. Knowledge of the physical and biological sciences, economics, marketing, and engineering is applied to product development, food processing, packaging, food microbiology and safety, food defense, food security, quality control/assurance, technical sales, and distribution. Research programs involve food safety, food security, food processing, food microbiology, food quality and composition, and processing. Consumer demands for a variety of highly nutritious and convenient foods of uniformly high quality create many and varied career opportunities in the food and allied industries. These careers include management, research and development, process supervision, quality control/assurance, procurement, distribution, sales, and merchandising. This degree requires a thesis in addition to at least 24 semester credit hours of coursework and 6 thesis hours.
