Check out these great undergraduate degrees:
- Bachelor of Science in Food Science
- Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Food Business Management)
- Bachelor of Science in Nutrition
Join the People Who Serve The Nations Largest and Most Vital Industry!
Why does ice cream sell for more than twice the value of the milk used to make it? Why is the food industry the nation's largest and most recession-resistant business? Why do people traveling outside the U.S. get sick, yet foreign travelers in the U.S. do not?
Value added means something worth paying for is contributed to life. Value added is why the U.S. leads the world in food quality, safety, technology and abundance. It is the result of the millions of men and women who work to improve the largest and most efficient food processing system the world has known.
A career in food science and technology means you contribute to the quality of life. Post-harvest processing is vital to Agriculture, the nation's largest industry. Consumers demand high quality, nutritious, healthy foods that are quick and easy to prepare. The government sets rigid standards on processing, handling and ingredient use. As a result, there is a wide range of jobs for our graduates. Students are encouraged by over $25,000 in scholarships awarded annually.
Our nationally approved curriculum produces graduates who are well prepared to work in the public or private sector. Many continue studies towards a M.S. or Ph.D. degree. They learn the chemistry, microbiology, structure, engineering, safety and nutrition of food as it is processed, packaged, distributed, stored and used. For a list of required courses
Majors learn nutrient use by humans and higher animals. Whereas food science is the study of what people do to food, nutrition is concerned with what food does to people. A new emphasis is the role of diet in prevention or treatment of chronic illnesses. Many graduates in nutrition are well prepared to enter graduate fields including medical school. For a list of required courses
There is a demand for people with skill in food science and knowledge of business, accounting and personnel management. The Food Business Management curriculum prepares you for managerial positions. The advance of many food science graduates into business-oriented employment creates the demand for the new Business major. For a list of required courses
Today there are about one-hundred Food Science and Technology undergraduates at OSU. This will increase as word spreads. Over 90% of the graduates of this program are now employed and we have frequent requests from employers for more graduates. This program provides industry with employees who are well prepared at the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. level. The demand for graduates will continue to grow at a rate that exceeds enrollment.
Recent Employers of our FS&T Graduates
| Anderson-Clayton Anheiser-Busch Baskin-Robbins Beatrice Foods Bob Evans Borden Broughton Foods Campbell Soup Capital City Products Carnation Club Chef Coca Cola Combibloc Crepaco Dairypak |
Dean Foods Diehl, Inc. Frito Lay Gerber Hershey Foods Hormel I&K Distributors Kellogg Kraft-General Foods Kroger's Land O'Lakes Loma Linda Marzetti M&M Mars Candy Nabisco |
Nestle Pepsi Pet Pierre Frozen Foods Pillsbury Procter and Gamble Quaker Oats Ralston Purina Reiter Dairy Ross Laboratories Roxanne Labs Schreiber Cheese Seiberling & Associates Smucker's Stouffer Foods Worthington Foods |
Typical Careers
Our Graduates now hold these titles:
| Associate Scientist Brewmaster Trainee Chairman of the Board Communications and Marketing Director Consultant Director of Research and Development Director, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Director of Food Microbiology and Safety Director of Logistics and Process Control Process Control Executive Director Food Technologist Graduate Research Associate Manager, Technical Sales and Business Development Manager, Industrial Product Development Marketing Manager Specialty Products M.D. (Medical Doctor) |
Physician Plant Manager President Product Development Scientist Production Manager Professor Quality Control Supervisor Radiologist Regional Agro-Industries Officer Research Leader Senior Vice President for Research Senior Scientist Senior Food Process Engineer System Coordinator Technical Director Unit Leader Vice President and General Manager Vice President Research Division Veterinarian |
Distinguished Faculty!
The Department of Food Science and Technology has an outstanding nationally recognized faculty that includes two endowed research chairs. Most of our faculty members are nationally or internationally known experts, journal editors, scholars and award winners.
John B. Allred, Professor, Ph.D. U. of California, Davis. Nutrition research on regulation of metabolic processes. Nationally known speaker on diet and health. Co-author of a new popular book "Taking the Fear Out of Eating." Editorial board, Journal of Nutrition. Recent recipient of the National IFT Cruess Award for Teaching Excellence. Teacher of 201 and 761
Valente B. Alvarez, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Michigan State U. Advancement of Ohio's dairy industry, particularly in Latin-American relationships. Teaches 610 and coaches the Dairy Products Evaluation Team
Sheryl S. Barringer, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. University of Minnesota. Processing effects on product quality and production efficiency. Structure-function relationships in microwave heating. Teaches 423,613 and 630
Grady W. Chism, III, Professor, Ph.D. U. of Massachusetts. Food science research on enzyme reactions in plants. Popular expert on contemporary food issues. IFT Fellow. Associate editor, Journal of Food Science. A dedicated teacher, invited by the College of Biological Sciences to teach Biology 101. Recipient of the National IFT Cruess Award for Teaching Excellence. Also teaches 201 and 621 advisor to the Food Science Club.
Polly D. Dinsmore. Assistant Professor (Ph.D., North Carolina State University)Newest member to the Food Science and Technology. Expertise in microbiology and biotechnology programs, with a specific interest in molecular biology applied to studies in food safety and fermentations. Teaches 611 and Food Biotechnology
James Harper, J.T. Stubby Parker Endowed Chair in Dairy Foods, awarded 1992. Honorary Research Fellow, New Zealand Dairy Research Institute; Consultant. Ph.D., U. of Wisconsin. Internationally recognized for establishing new directions in dairy research. Teaches 401, 650 and 696
C. Lynn Knipe. Associate Professor (Ph.D., Iowa State University). Primary responsibilities include processed meat extension activities for the Ohio meat industry. He is involved in research and teaching and serves a joint appointment with the Department of Animal Sciences. teaches Animal Science 550, Meat Processing.
Ken Lee, Professor & Chair, Ph.D. U. of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mineral nutrient interactions in processed foods. Editorial board of the CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Invited speaker on food safety. Chair of this department.
Michael E. Mangino, Professor, Ph.D. Michigan State University, 1976. Research on food proteins. As undergraduate coordinating advisor, a primary contact for food science majors. An outstanding teacher sought by the College of Biological Sciences to teach a large enrollment Biology 101. . Recipient of the National IFT Cruess Award for Teaching Excellence. Also teaches 201, 589, 605 and 822
Sylvia A. McCune, Associate Professor, Ph.D. Indiana University. Developed a unique colony of 'fat' rats that may help find a cure for heart disease, hypertension, obesity or insulin-independent diabetes. Courses include 762 and 830
David B. Min, Professor, Ph.D. Rutgers University. A flavor chemist using highly sophisticated lab instrumentation. Editorial Board of Crit Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition and Food Chemistry (England). Associate Editor of the JAOCS. IFT Steven S. Chang Award, 1995. Courses include 601, 820 and 821
Dr. Steven Schwartz, Ph.D. The University of Wisconsin at Madison. Haas Endowed Chair in Food Industries- 1996-pres. He served NCSU as Professor and Site director for the Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies. Nationally renowned research program studying carotenoids and antioxidants in foods. He works on an international project involving food industry development in the Pacific Rim and creates linkages throughout Asia. Teaching expertise in food toxicology, food chemistry and aseptic processing and packaging.
Thomas H. Shellhammer. Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of California, Davis). Engineering expertise in mass transport phenomena, liquid-liquid extraction, separations, reaction kinetics, rheology and active packaging Teaches 489 and 649
Ahmed E. Yousef, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., U. of Wisconsin-Madison. Investigating new measures to control pathogenic bacteria in food. Courses taught include Food Microbiology
Qinhua "Howard" Zhang, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Washington State U. Non-thermal food processing emphasizing high voltage pulse and related electro-technologies. Recently joined the faculty with several years research and teaching experience in this field Teaches 541 and 649
Adjunct and Courtesy Faculty
Winston D. Bash, Director, Food Industries Center, Ph.D., OSU. Applied areas of the food preservation industry. Answers the Food Industries Center Food Safety Hotline, runs the Better Process Control School.
Christopher T. Cordle, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University. Manager, Immunology Research and Development, Ross Laboratories, Columbus. Chair of OARDC Support Council and research collaborator.
John H. Litchfield, Adjunct Professor, Ph.D., University of Illinois. Battelle Memorial Institute scientist, Past-President of the IFT. Food, environmental and industrial microbiology. Teaches 201 and 605
Randal P. McKay, Adjunct Assistant Professor, J.D. Pace U. School of Law, B.S. Chemistry St. Peter's NJ. Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs at Ross Laboratories, Columbus. Teaches FS&T 640 Food Law.
Denis M. Medeiros, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition and Food Management. Ph.D., RD. Clemson University. Biochemical impact of trace element deficiencies. Nutrient composition of foods as it pertains to human health. Editorial boards of Nutrition Research and Biological Trace Element Research.
Donald L. Palmquist Professor of Dairy Science, OARDC. Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Nutrition of dairy cattle (feeding and metabolism) with special reference to lipid metabolism and milk synthesis. Metabolism in the rumen. Graduate education in lipid metabolism and dairy cattle nutrition.
Edward R. Richter, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Ph.D., OSU. As Vice President of Silliker Laboratories of Ohio, he is in charge of an independent food microbiological testing, research and consulting company. Courses taught include Advanced Food Microbiology.
Sudhir K. Sastry, Professor of Agricultural Engineering. Ph.D., University of Florida. Transport phenomena in food processing; aseptic processing of particulate foods. Courses taught include Advanced Food Process Engineering (Ag Eng) and Food Thermodynamics.
S.T. Yang Associate Professor of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, OSU; Ph.D., Purdue University. Teaches transport phenomena, process control, biochemical engineering and biotechnology. Established biochemical engineering labs for fermentation and protein research. Research on bioreactor design, anaerobic methanogenesis and biodegradation of toxic wastes.
Undergraduate Scholarships!
This Department awards over $25,000.00 annually to qualified majors. We welcome your application.
Abell Endowment Scholarship
Carl and Marjorie Obenauf
Cincinnati Dairy Technology
Dayton Milk Foundation
Forbes Leadership Scholarship
Forbes Senior Leadership Award
General Mills Total Quality Scholarship
George Harper Memorial Fund
I & K Distributors
Julie A. Klein Junior Award
Paul G. Korn Junior-Senior Scholarship (Mid-America Food Processors Assoc.)
Kroger Company Minority Scholarship
Kroger Dairy Scholarship
Maumee Valley Scholarship
Moores Centennial
Northeastern Ohio Dairy Tech
Ohio Dairy Boosters Association Senior Award
Ohio Valley Institute of Food Technologists
Ross Laboratories Minority Fellowship
R.B. Stoltz Memorial Award
R.B. Stoltz Scholarship
Stouffer Foods
Wilbur A. Gould Scholarship (Mid-America Food Processors Assoc.)
H.D. Brown Freshman/Sophomore Scholarship
H.D. Brown Junior/Senior Scholarship
What do Seniors graduating from Food Science and Technology plan to do after graduation? [From senior survey]:
"I hope to further my education by pursuing my M.S. in food science. I hope to work in research and development in the food industry."
"I want to feed people. I would like to work for a world organization which concentrates on the well-being of humans. I want to develop food programs and teach people to survive!"
"I am applying to medical school."
"I hope to specialize in the are of quality control or plant management. I want to apply the knowledge that I have acquired at OSU to improve productivity and quality..."
"enter the food industry in quality control or sales for 3 to 4 years before returning to a MBA or possibly a dual MBA/Law degree. My goal is to work for the FDA or a large food company in government compliance"
"Would like to work for a pharmaceutical company like Ross Laboratories doing quality assurance or research and development."
"I plan on working in management in a major food company."
"I would like to have my own consulting firm."
"I am very interested in graduate school in food science and technology, preferably OSU."
"The first possibility would be to enter medical school and go into family practice. The second possibility would be graduate work in food science."
"My plans are to enroll in graduate school for a M.S. in food science. I plan to enter the food industry under research and development or as a food processing manager."
"I would like to work in a major food company specializing in quality assurance; if I get the opportunity I would like research and development or food product development..."
Leadership Development: Join The Club!
The Food Science and Technology Club is an excellent opportunity to meet others with common interests and develop leadership and networking skills. The club attracts over 80 undergraduate and graduate students who share experiences about employment (many have internships), interact with faculty, create social events and have fun. Club members attend professional society meetings and many attend our large 23,000 member annual national meeting. Through this you learn the field, gain valuable contacts for future employment and meet industry, academic and government leaders.
The Club sponsors a picnic, a nationally competitive college bowl team, an employment round-table with interested industries, ice cream sales at major events and a host of other educational or entertaining activities. Club members earn support for travel and work with faculty and staff while preparing for an exciting career in Food Science and Technology.
Students are encouraged to gain work experience. Practical industry internships are available for credit. If you qualify for financial aid you may be employed in the department through the University Work-Study program and gain valuable work experience. Undergraduate research projects are available to exceptional students where valuable experience is gained in laboratory research or product development.
For admission information write or visit the Admissions Office, OSU, 3rd Floor Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH 43210.
Key Contacts &emdash If you would like to more, call or write any of the following:
The mailing address of all is