»Master of Science in Food Science

• Students will apply core knowledge in food science to assess factors that impact the safety, quality and nutritional value of food.

• Through individual research projects, students will apply the scientific method to solve problems in food science.

• Students will be able to communicate scientific and technical knowledge in food science to professional audiences using written, visual, and oral means.

• Students will function effectively in the food and allied industries to solve practical, real world problems.

Today, food science represents one of the healthiest industries in the world, with the various food industries – from processing to sales – contributing close to $42.2 billion to our national economy. Locally, more than 1,500 food-processing companies are located within a 90-mile radius of our Orange campus. Through the food science program, our graduating students have a high internship and job placement rate.

.  Some of the companies graduates are employed by include, but are not limited to:

Baskin-Robbins Bloomfield Bakers Cheesecake Factory Con-Agra Contessa Foods Dean Foods Dole Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc. Fresh Express Golden Cheese Company Hain Celestial Jamba Juice

Kellogg's Kraft Masterfoods USA Mastertaste Nestle, USA Nutrilite Ready Pac Royal Crown Company, Inc. Sunkist Growers, Inc. Senomyx Taco Bell Unilever Ventura Foods

Graduate students also readily gain admission into graduate programs of their choice, including medical school. The program is also beneficial for students who are about to attain medical or dental degrees, as they can complete the food science coursework in the same year that they are applying to medical school and taking exams.

Prerequisites:

Recently admitted applicants hold degrees in chemistry, biology, pharmacy, business, chemical and mechanical engineering as well as food science and nutrition. We encourage applicants from a broad range of disciplinary interests. If you hold an undergraduate degree in anything other than food science, you must provide evidence of satisfactory coursework in the following areas:

• General Chemistry with Laboratory (two semesters)
• Organic Chemistry with Laboratory (two semesters or one semester organic and one semester biochemistry)
• Microbiology with Laboratory (one semester)
• Statistics (one semester)
• Human Nutrition (one semester)

All prerequisites must be met by the end of the first academic year.

Admission Requirements

• Online application for admission (including $60 non-refundable application fee)
• Official transcript from degree granting institution
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are required (GMAT scores may be accepted in lieu of GRE); Applicants must achieve the following minimum GRE scores which are listed as previous version test scores and new version comparative test scores, respectively:
  
                               Verbal:
                               Quantitative:  550/146
                               Analytical Writing: 3.5/3.5
  
  
• Letters of recommendation; two letters of recommendation are required which describe your professional and academic abilities
• Statement of Intent; an essay addressing your reasons for wishing to attend Chapman University and the M.S. Food Science program
• Resume; a resume or curriculum vitae is required
• TOEFL (International Students Only) – applicants who have completed their undergraduate degree outside of the United States are required to achieve an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), minimum 550 (paper-based), or 80 (internet-based)
• Financial Certification Form (International Students Only)

Program Requirements

Thirty semester credits in food science and nutrition-related courses must be completed. Students entering the program without a degree in food science or a food science background will be required to take the minimum food science core courses (11 credits) as part of their 30-credit degree requirements. The food science courses may have been taken as an undergraduate at Chapman University or at another academic institution. If these requirements or their equivalents have been met, a student will not be expected to repeat this material. The student would then build a program by selecting courses from the approved list of electives for graduate students in consultation with their advisor. Essentials of Food Science (FSN 500) and Research Methods (FSN 660) are required of all graduate students. Thus, a typical student will take the 11 credit core, 1 credit for Essentials of Food Science, 3 credits for Research Methods, and 15 elective credits.

Core Courses (11 credits)

FSN 501	Food Chemistry	3
FSN 502	Food Chemistry Lab	1
FSN 520	Food Processing and Preservation	3
FSN 530/530L	Food Microbiology/Food Microbiology Lab	3, 1

Required Courses (4 credits)

FSN 500	Essentials of Food Science	1
FSN 660	Research Methods	3

Electives (15 credits)

FSN 503	Government Regulation of Foods	3
FSN 505	Quality Control and Assurance	3
FSN 506	Effective Communications for the Real World Scientist	3
FSN 510	Food Industry Study Tour	3
FSN 512	Sensory Evaluation of Foods	3
FSN 515	Food Ingredients	3
FSN 517	Food Analysis	3
FSN 538	Nutrition and Human Performance	3
FSN 539	Life Cycle and Clinical Nutrition	3
FSN 540	Food Engineering	3
FSN 560	Current Topics in Food Science and Nutrition	3
FSN 580	Management and Marketing Fundamentals for Food Scientists	3
FSN 594	Food Product Development	3
FSN 600	Advanced Food Science: Selected Topics	3-12
FSN 601	Food Packaging	3

FSN 602	Food Flavors	3
FSN 603	Chemistry and Technology of Fats and Oils	3
FSN 606	Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods	3
FSN 690	Internship for Graduate Students	½-3
FSN 695	Thesis I	3
FSN 696	Thesis II	3
FSN 697	Thesis III	1-3
FSN 699	Independent Research	1-3

Total Credits (excluding prerequisites)

30

Thesis and non-thesis options

A non-thesis coursework option or thesis/research project must be completed.

Option 1 (Non-thesis project):
Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.000 "B" (See the Academic Policies and Procedures section for additional guidelines). Students must complete the core and relevant coursework including a research writing project before taking the five-hour comprehensive exam. The research writing project will be developed as a part of the Research Methods (FSN 660) course. The project is a proposal or comprehensive review of the literature on a food science topic. It must summarize and critically evaluate the current state of knowledge in a subject area, and include suggestions for future research in this area. The intent of the option 1 project is to give the student a chance to understand (independent of courses) the research process. For the five-hour comprehensive examination, students must select the three basic and two elective areas from which questions will be presented. For example, a student might select an examination with questions covering the area of food chemistry, food microbiology, and food processing, with elective areas of sensory evaluation and food ingredients. The examination covers subject matter from courses listed below and requires the ability to integrate coherently and analytically knowledge gained from coursework and relate it cogently to different applications. Successful completion of coursework alone does not assure the candidate of passing the comprehensive exam.

Comprehensive Examination Subject Areas:

Basic areas:

FSN 501	Food Chemistry
FSN 520	Food Processing and Preservation
FSN 530	Food Microbiology

Elective Areas:

FSN 503	Government Regulation of Foods
FSN 505	Quality Control and Assurance
FSN 512	Sensory Evaluation of Foods

FSN 515	Food Ingredients
FSN 538	Nutrition and Human Performance
FSN 539	Life Cycle and Clinical Nutrition
FSN 580	Management and Marketing Fundamentals for Food Scientists
FSN 601	Food Packaging
FSN 602	Food Flavors
FSN 603	Chemistry and Technology of Fats and Oils
FSN 606	Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods

Option 2 (Thesis/Research Project):
Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.000 "B" and be accepted by a faculty member as a research advisee to enroll in Option 2 (See the Academic Policies and Procedures section for additional guidelines). Only students with a strong research potential will be accepted. Students in the Thesis/Research Project option must complete 30 credits to graduate, including 21 credits of coursework and 9 thesis credits (FSN 695, FSN 696, FSN 697). Students must complete a publication-worthy research project and pass a final oral exam given by the Oral Examination Committee. The advisor and graduate student will select three faculty to serve as the Oral Examination Committee. Committee members should be chosen to reflect breadth in the food science discipline and can include appropriate colleagues from outside the program that are familiar with the field of study.