This program is geared towards students who have a first degree in a science-related discipline to acquire the basic knowledge in food science area to enter food industry at entry level jobs or food science graduate program. Students must complete a core course which introduces the field of food science to those who are coming from other related disciplines. Students then must complete other courses selecting from a suggested list of complementary courses which covers听 different areas that are important for giving a broad based exposure for the student to be able to meet the demands of food industry or to pursue graduate studies. The courses cover areas of food chemistry/analysis, food microbiology/nutrition, quality assurance/safety, processing/engineering, communication skills and ethics.
Academic advisor: hosahalli.ramaswamy [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. H. S. Ramaswamy)
Application for admission:
On the second page of the on-line form under "application type", choose Undergraduate/Professional, NOT graduate. Under the "highest level of education", do not enter anything lower than Bachelor鈥檚 degree/Equivalent, Master鈥檚 or Doctorate otherwise the certificate will not be listed as an option. On the third page, the first entry "Faculty" should be Agric-Environ-Sci and the second entry, for "Program", should be Cert in Food Science. The third entry, asking for 鈥淢ajor or Subject鈥� will default as Food Science.
Minimum Admission Requirements:
- An undergraduate degree in a related science program, completed within the past 5 years.
- If the degree was completed more than 5 years ago, a CV outlining any related experience in the field.
- A minimum CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
- Proof of English proficiency (Proof of English proficiency)
Documents will only be evaluated after an application has been submitted and that all documents have been provided and the application file is ready for review.
Total requirements: 30 credits
听
Required Course (3 credits)
FDSC 200
Introduction to Food Science
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: This course enables one to gain an appreciation of the scope of food science as a discipline. Topics include introductions to chemistry, processing, packaging, analysis, microbiology, product development, sensory evaluation and quality control as they relate to food science.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
听
Complementary Courses (27 credits): (select no more than two 200-level courses)
听
Select from the list below (Fall Term):
FDSC 213
Analytical Chemistry 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Theoretical aspects of wet chemical techniques including gravimetric and volumetric analyses, redoximetry, and separation techniques.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
FDSC 300
Principles of Food Analysis 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The fundamentals of food analysis are presented with the emphasis on the major components of foods. Topics include: food components, sampling, method selection, official methods, proximate analysis, moisture, protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and nutraceutical compounds.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 251 or permission of instructor.
- Corequisite: FDSC 251 or permission of instructor.
FDSC 305
Food Chemistry 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: A study of the chemistry and functionality of the minor components comprising food systems, such as enzymes, anthocyanins, carotenoids, additives, vitamins and essential oils. The relationship of these components to food stability in terms of degradative reactions and processing.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 251
FDSC 310
Post Harvest Fruit&Veg Technol
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The post harvest chemistry and physiology of horticultural crops as they affect quality and marketability, handling methods pre and post harvest, principles and practices in cooling, storage, transportation and packaging.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- This course carries an additional charge of $125.00 to cover the cost of transportation with respect to field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
FDSC 405
Food Product Development
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Fundamental principles of food product development from an innovative concept to the marketplace. Emphasis will be on the application of basic knowledge of food chemistry, food technology and related disciplines in developing new products or improving the existing ones.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 4-hour lab.
- Pre-/Co-requisite: FDSC 305 or permission of instructor
FDSC 442
Food Microbiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Topics in Food Microbiology including an overview of the natural flora and microbiological spoilage of food products, methods of control and shelf-life extension, methods of detection and control food-borne pathogens and the use of suitable microorganisms in the production of a variety of food products.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- Prerequisite: MICR 230 or LSCI 230 or permission of instructor.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have completed MICR 442.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Vincent Somerville, Zhixuan Feng
FDSC 495D1
Food Science Seminar
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Two 20-minute presentations (1 per term) on an assigned or selected topic. The purpose is to research a subject and present to a peer audience the essence of the subject investigated. Development of presentation and communication skills at a professional level is stressed and rapport with the industry will be established through guest speakers.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 2 lectures
- Students must register for both FDSC 495D1 and FDSC 495D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both FDSC 495D1 and FDSC 495D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
FDSC 520
Biophysical Chemistry of Food
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: This course will cover recent advances in the application of spectroscopic techniques, including infrared, Raman, near-infrared, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy, to the study of biomolecules of relevance to food. Particular emphasis will be placed on the molecular basis of structure-function and structure-functionality relationships.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 233
- Course offered in odd years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 535
Course not available
FDSC 537
Nutraceutical Chemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The origin, classification, mechanism of action and chemical properties of potential and established nutraceutical compounds and their applications in functional foods.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
NUTR 207
Nutrition and Health
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Nutrition and Dietetics: Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle.
Offered by: Human Nutrition
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Corequisites: FDSC 230 [for students that have not taken the CEGEP equivalent OOXV].
- Prerequisites: AEBI 122 or BIOL 112 or CEGEP equivalent OOXU
- Restriction: Not open to students who take NUTR 200 or EDKP 292
- Restriction: Science students in physical science and psychology programs who wish to take this course should see the Arts and Science Student Affairs Office for permission to register.
LSCI 211
Biochemistry 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
Offered by: Parasitology
- Co-requisite: FDSC 230
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken FDSC 211
- Terms
- Instructors
- Igor Cestari, Thavy Long
- Thavy Long, Igor Cestari
BREE 324
Elements of Food Engineering
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Bioresource Engineering: A course in basic food engineering for non-engineering students, covering heat transfer, mass and energy balances, food process unit operations, material transport/ steam/refrigeration systems.
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering
- Two 1.5-hour lectures and one 3-hour lab per week
- Restriction: Not open to students in any of the B.Eng.(Bioresource) programs.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken BREE 325.
- Corequisite: FDSC 330
BREE 535
Food Safety Engineering
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Bioresource Engineering: The application of engineering principles to address microbial and chemical safety challenges in food processing, including intervention technologies (traditional and novel non-thermal intervention technologies, chemical interventions, and hurdle approach); control, monitoring and identification techniques (biosensors); packaging applications in food safety (active packaging, intelligent or smart packaging); and tracking and traceability systems.
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering
听
Select from the list below (Winter Term):
FDSC 251
Food Chemistry 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: A study of the chemistry and functionality of the major components comprising food systems, such as water, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. The relationship of these components to food stability will be studied in terms of degradative reactions and processing.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
FDSC 315
Separation Tech in Food Anal 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: A detailed treatment on the principal chromotographic and electrophoretic techniques that are associated with the analysis of carbohydrate, lipid, protein constituents of food.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 300 or permission of instructor.
FDSC 319
Food Commodities
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The relationship between the chemistry of food constituents present in common commodities, such as milk, meat, eggs, cereals, oilseeds etc. and the common processing technologies associated with their transformation into stable food products.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 251 or permission of instructor
FDSC 330
Food Processing
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The principles and practices of food processing with an emphasis on canning, freezing, and dehydration. A survey of the newer methods of food preservation such as irradiation, reverse osmosis etc.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 251
FDSC 400
Food Packaging
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: An integrated approach to the materials used for the packaging of food products, considering the physical, chemical and functional characteristics of such materials and their utility, relative to the chemistry of the food system they are designed to enclose and preserve.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: FDSC 305
- This course carries an additional charge of $52.69 to cover the cost of transportation with respect to field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
FDSC 495D2
Food Science Seminar
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: See FDSC 495D1 for course description.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- Prerequisite: FDSC 495D1
- No credit will be given for this course unless both FDSC 495D1 and FDSC 495D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
FDSC 515
Enzymology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Selected advanced topics on the biophysical and kinetic aspects of enzymatic reactions, particularly the fundamentals and applications of laws of biothermodynamics, biochemical equilibrium, electrochemistry and biochemical kinetics as related to the enzymatic reactions.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisites: FDSC 211 or LSCI 211 and FDSC 233 or permission of instructor
- Course offered in even years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 516
Flavour Chemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The chemistry of the flavour constituents of foods, thermal and enzymatic generation, mechanistic pathways of formation, analysis synthesis and applications in food.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 305 or permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken FDSC 410
FDSC 519
Advanced Food Processing
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Advanced technologies associated with food processing studied in more detail. Topics include food irradiation, reverse osmosis, super critical fluid extraction and extrusion.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 330
- Course offered in even years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 525
Food Quality Assurance
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The principles and practices required for the development, maintenance and monitoring of systems for food quality and food safety. The concepts and practices of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point; ISO 9000; Total Quality Management; Statistical Sampling Plans, Statistical Process Control; Tools of Quality; Government Regulations.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: AEMA 310 or permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken FDSC 425
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 536
Food Traceability
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Concepts and processes associated with the identification, tracking and tracing food forward and backward through the food continuum.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 425 or permission of instructor.
- Course offered in odd years.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
LSCI 230
Introductory Microbiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: The occurrence and importance of microorganisms in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, humans and animals.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
AGRI 510
Professional Practice
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Agriculture: The ethical issues that face a professional in the workplace; professional ethics and deontology, professional responsibilities as related to the laws of labour, health, safety and risks to the environment, risk management and communication.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Restriction: Course restricted to senior undergraduate and graduate students.