Food Science is basically anything that happens to your food from the time it is harvested until it is purchased. From helping to ensure that organic fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer to creating the ultimate in convenience foods—that's food science. The food industry is the world's largest industry, and as a part of it, you'll be developing foods and beverages in response to society's needs and demands.

Food Science is science—no doubt about it. But it's hands-on science, with real-world applications. You'll actually understand how people use chemistry and microbiology. You'll learn to use it—and, quite often, you'll be able to taste your success!

What are the primary areas of food science?

SENSORY SCIENCE
New Product Development: Create new flavors, develop products that are more convenient, more nutritious, more fun. This means everything from winning an award for a new flavor of iced tea to developing a more nutritious cracker for children in a developing country.

Taste Panels: Work with consumers and trained experts to determine what's most desirable in a product. There's lots of interaction with people here—it's a highly valuable part of product development!

FOOD CHEMISTRY
Understand the structure and function of foods and ingredients: Ensure product stability, consistent flavor and texture, ease of processing. This is where chemistry comes to life—instead of questions in a textbook, you answer real-world questions, like how to ensure an even distribution of peppermint flavor in breath mints, how to keep cereal crunchy in milk, or how to make a low-fat product seem like the real thing.

Make foods healthier: Add nutrients, lower fat content, increase fiber content—whatever the market demands.

MICROBIOLOGY
Food Safety: Ensure that our food supply is safe—from initial storage through processing, transportation, and retail channels, until the consumer purchases the product—and beyond. Develop processes, monitor conditions, test foods for contamination.

Fermented Foods: Beverages, fermented dairy products, soy and vegetable fermentation. From wine to sauerkraut, from tofu to yogurt—add science to the art of preserving foods in this ancient, yet very modern method.

ENGINEERING
Packaging: Package foods in such a way that their shelf life is extended, flavor and nutrition is preserved, and that is convenient and appealing to the consumer.

Processing: Develop processes to ensure product quality and to maximize processing efficiency. From peeling peaches without bruising them to creating candy bars that are identical—it's the process engineers who design the processes and make them work.

Fermentation science involves the creation of wines, beers, and fermented food products. It is an ancient art, combined with modern science. It's all the aspects of food science—sensory science, food chemistry, microbiology, and engineering, focused in on a specific set of products. Fermentation scientists know how to analyze ingredients, how to monitor processes, how to adjust procedures to obtain a desired outcome—and how to create a product that is appealing to the consumer. When you're creating a million gallons of wine, you'd better get the job done right!

Fermentation science students often come into our program knowing exactly where their interest lies—from dreams of owning their own microbrewery to creating an award-winning wine. Our fermentation science program is attracting students from around the country, and a number of our students study throughout the world.

Our graduates get jobs—good ones. Our students have historically enjoyed a 100% placement rate. Starting salaries vary, but according to a recent industry survey, nationwide, food science graduates with a B.S. have a median starting salary of around $40,000.

You may work for a small company or a large corporation—or start your own business. You may work in a government laboratory or for a university. Our graduates work in Oregon as well as throughout the United States—even internationally. Some have jobs that keep them close to home, while others travel extensively.

You may be developing new foods or beverages, improving packaging or processing techniques, ensuring food safety, producing more convenient or nutritious foods, or any number of other exciting possibilities.

Whether you like to be around a lot of people or just a few—whether you enjoy working more with machines or people, whether you are interested in things at the cellular or molecular level, or dealing with issues at the corporate level, food science and fermentation science offer a wide variety of job settings, with plenty of upward and lateral mobility.

Are Scholarships Available?

Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, and because we have great support from industry and the Institute of Food Technologists, about half of our undergraduate students receive scholarships through the department! This is in addition to scholarships they may receive through the College of Agricultural Sciences, and from OSU. Incoming Freshmen are eligible for scholarships as well as returning students. For more information on application procedures and deadlines, please go to the Undergraduate Students section of our webpage.

Courses

Imagine— taking a course called Maraschino Cherry. Or, Introduction to Wines, Beers, and Spirits. Food Law. Food Chemistry. Sensory Evaluation of Food. Sound interesting? To check out our course offerings, visit the OSU catalog website.

Our students aren't required to complete internships, but many choose to do so. It's a great opportunity to gain work experience—and for some students, it means the excitement of living in another country for a few months!

Our undergraduate students have the opportunity to do research. It's not required, but many students take advantage of the opportunity. Here are some examples of undergraduate research projects:

One student developed a pilot plant scale process for making Feta cheese. This process is now used in the dairy processing lab class.

Another student's project involved malting and brewing with gluten-free materials, with the purpose of creating a beer for gluten-sensitive individuals. This project included developing the equipment and processing protocol to malt sorghum, modifying the brewhouse conversion process to accommodate barley-free formulae, and quantifying chemical and physical properties of gluten-free beer.

Another student is developing a simple method for dairy processors to determine the quality of their whey powder.

Another student has examined the relationship of beer acidity and its effect on bitter quality.

One student developed a beef jerky product preserved with raisins rather than with chemicals. Raisins naturally have an antimicrobial activity, and they also added nutritional value to the jerky, without negatively affecting the flavor.

How to Major in Food Science

If you are currently a high school student, we recommend that you visit the OSU homepage to become familiar with admissions requirements. We also recommend that you apply early to the university so that you may apply for our scholarships! If you have any questions about admissions, please contact Linda Dunn or Dan Smith in our department.

If you are currently a community college or university student, we recommend that you contact our head advisor, Dan Smith, as soon as possible to ensure that you have a smooth transition into Food Science. You can reach Dan by calling him at 737-2590 or e-mailing him at Dan.Smith@oregonstate.edu.

Student Life

We take care of our students. You'll have all the benefits and excitement of being part of a Pac-10 school, but you'll also be in a department with a family feel. Our students consider Wiegand Hall a home away from home. We have a student lounge with a microwave, couches, and study tables. There's a student computer lab with printer, copier, and scanner. Eat, sleep, and do your homework. Visit with friends. Just like home.

Our students love our advising system. You'll have three people on your team. Linda Dunn is our academic programs coordinator. She's in the main office and is there to help answer your questions and help you learn to navigate any red tape you might encounter. Dan Smith, our Head Advisor, helps new students transition into Food Science and acts as a secondary advisor. In addition, each student has a faculty advisor.

Food Science classes are typically small classes, so you get to know your fellow students and the professor. We also have departmental gatherings for students, faculty, staff, and families. Our annual Oktoberfest and Bean Blowout involve some great food, and in the spring, the annual graduation picnic is a special time as we say goodbye to our graduates. Most of our students enjoy being part of the Food and Fermentation Science Club. Check out their link on our homepage!

Learn More

If you'd like to learn more about Food Science and Technology, we recommend that you visit the following website. Institute of Food Technologists; http://www.ift.org

Visit Us

We'd love to have you visit our department. To ensure that you have the best experience possible, we'd like to request that you make an appointment prior to your visit. Please contact Linda Dunn at (541) 737-6486 or email her at Linda.Dunn@oregonstate.edu to schedule your visit./

Updated on 07/10/08