Two Complementary Fields, One Program
Earn two concurrent BSc degrees: one in Food Science and one in Nutritional Sciences
About
Can’t decide between Food Science and Nutrition? Why not do both! This 4-year, dual degree program allows you to study both complementary disciplines at the same time, earning two degrees upon graduation. It is unique in North America and opens the door to a multitude of career paths.
In the Food Science part of the program, you will focus on the chemistry of food, and the scientific principles of food preservation, processing and packaging. You will also work on discovering new ingredients and how they can be incorporated into foods. The goal? To provide consumers with food that looks better, tastes better, lasts longer and, above all, is safe to eat.
The Nutritional Sciences part of the program will teach you all about the nutritional aspects of food and metabolism, and the role of nutrition in health and disease.
In this dual program, you will be able to combine what you have learned in both disciplines, creating better-tasting, longer-lasting, safer food, that also meets our nutritional requirements. You will have the chance to start applying what you have learned by doing a work placement (a stage) in your final year, either an Industrial Stage or a Nutrition Stage.
Stages
■ Industrial Stage: Students will be trained to carry out specific functions within a company that may involve: new product development, quality control, sensory analysis, food analysis, food processing and other related tasks
■ Nutrition Stage: Completed in a professional working environment; Could include international placements in non-governmental agencies involved in nutrition promotion in
developing countries; Some placements will be doing research in clinical settings working with medical practitioners; Other activities you could take part in include: food product development, nutritional labeling, developing promotional nutritional literature, website editing, writing nutrition articles for consumer education or consulting services
Note: If you are an international student, check if you need to apply for a “Co-op/internship” Work Permit. If that is the case, you can download this letter to include with your application.
Courses
Required Courses: 80 credits
Complementary Courses: 30credits
Elective Courses: 12 credits
(Total 122 Credits)
The concurrent program B.Sc.(F.Sc.) and B.Sc.(Nutr.Sc.) is designed to give motivated students the opportunity to combine the two fields. The two disciplines complement each other with Food Science providing the scientific foundation in the fundamentals of food science and its application in the food system, while Nutritional Sciences brings the fundamental knowledge in the nutritional aspects of food and metabolism. The program aims to train students with the fundamental knowledge in both disciplines to promote the development of healthy food products for human consumption. The overall program is structured and closely integrated to satisfy the academic requirements of both degrees as well as the professional training or exposure to industry.
Refer to "Faculty Information and Regulations" > "Minimum Credit Requirements" in this publication for prerequisites and minimum credit requirements.
For information on academic advising, see: Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
Offered by: Plant Science Animal Science: Metabolism in humans and domestic animals. The chemistry of alimentary digestion, absorption, transport, intermediary metabolism and excretion.
Offered by: Animal Science Animal Science: A study of the organization, functions and regulation of various organ systems in mammals. The nervous, endocrine, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, digestive and reproductive systems are discussed.
Offered by: Animal Science Animal Science: A detailed study of the endocrine system and its role in the maintenance of homeostasis in higher vertebrates, including the endocrine regulation of energy balance.
Offered by: Animal Science 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 Food Science: Theoretical aspects of wet chemical techniques including gravimetric and volumetric analyses, redoximetry, and separation techniques.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Food Science: Toxins and toxicant residues in food including heavy metals, persistant organic pollutants (POPS) and microbial toxins are explored from an analytical perspective; new methods and strategies of analysis are emphasized.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry 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 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 Food Science: A capstone course which requires a student to research a topic relevant to an industrial aspect of Food Science, prepare a report and communicate that information to a peer audience in a succinct and professional manner.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry 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 Life Sciences: Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
Offered by: Parasitology 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 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 Nutrition and Dietetics: Food composition and structure. Scientific principles underlying physical, chemical, and nutrient content changes during food preparation. The role of ingredients and nutrients, and their interaction in food preparation. Culture of food including historical context and sustainability. Sensory evaluation and food safety.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: This course looks at the importance of nutrition from the molecular to the organismal levels in human health and disease. The focus will be on the significance of nutrients in regulating metabolism, and impact of genotype in the metabolism of nutrients.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrient utilization, requirements and recommended allowances as related to physiological development throughout the life cycle. Physiological, psychological and environmental determinants of eating behaviour.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: Clinical nutrition assessment and dietary modification of pathological conditions including hypertension, lipid disorders and cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, COPD, introduction to diabetes, dysphagia.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: A capstone course which requires a student to research a topic relevant to an industrial aspect of Nutritional Science, prepare a report and communicate that information to a peer audience in a succinct and professional manner.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: An overview of the use of herbal ۲ݮƵ and food phytochemicals and the benefits and risks of their consumption. The physiological basis for activity and the assessment of toxicity will be presented. Current practices relating to the regulation, commercialization and promotion of herbs and phytochemicals will be considered.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Complementary courses are selected as follows:
At least 9 credits from the following: Agricultural Economics: The field of economics as it relates to the activities of individual consumers, firms and organizations. Emphasis is on the application of economic principles and concepts to everyday decision making and to the analysis of current economic issues.
Offered by: Agricultural Economics Agricultural Economics: The overall economic system, how it works, and the instruments used to solve social problems. Emphasis will be on decision-making involving the entire economic system and segments of it.
Offered by: Agricultural Economics Agricultural Economics: Nature and organization of agricultural and food markets as economic institutions, including the application of economic theory to problems within the agri-food marketing chain. Spatial and temporal price relationships, and the role of market structure.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences Agricultural Economics: Examination of North American and international agriculture, food and resource policies, policy instruments, programs and their implications. Economic analysis applied to the principles, procedures and objectives of various policy actions affecting agriculture, and the environment.
Offered by: Agricultural Economics Agricultural Economics: The course deals with economic aspects of international development with emphasis on the role of food, agriculture and the resource sector in the economy of developing countries. Topics will include world food analysis, development project analysis and policies for sustainable development. Development case studies will be used.
Offered by: Agricultural Economics Agricultural Economics: Strategic management of agricultural and food businesses. Analysis of internal and external factors and competitive forces affecting agribusinesses. Formulation of business strategy and solutions to strategic problems. Case-based course designed to enhance students' problemsolving and decisionmaking skills. Integration of knowledge and tools from various economics and business disciplines.
Offered by: Agricultural Economics Nutrition and Dietetics: This course provides a solid foundation of HR essentials and a philosophy from which to navigate in the work place, familiarity with federal and provincial legislation and knowledge of current challenges and issues; a discussion on the employee life cycle from recruitment and selection to termination and everything that happens in between; a paradigm for leadership and creating a culture of engagement and effectiveness.
Offered by: Human Nutrition At least 9 credits from the following: Animal Science: Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of carbohydrate and lipid from the cellular level through the multi-organ of the whole organism. Main topics will include biothermodynamics, calorimetry, cellular metabolism and functions of carbohydrate and lipid, digestion, absorption and utilization of dietary carbohydrate and lipid.
Offered by: Animal Science Animal Science: Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of amino acids and proteins from the cellular level on through the multisystem operation of the whole organism. Main topics include cellular metabolism and functions of amino acids and proteins, digestion, absorption and utilization of dietary protein. Comparison between farm animals and humans.
Offered by: Animal Science Environment: Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
Offered by: Bieler School of Environment 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 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 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 Nutrition and Dietetics: The principles and techniques of communicating applied sciences to individuals and groups in both the professional and public milieu. Effective public speaking and group interaction techniques. Communication materials selection, development, use, and evaluation. Writing for the media. Balancing risk and reason in communicating scientific findings.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: Food insecurity is one of the most critical issues humanity has faced in history. The magnitude of this phenomenon, reflected in its worldwide presence and in the number of individuals affected, makes it an imperative component of all nations' and of all internaltional agencies' agendas. Its complexity of determinants and its numerous consequences require the involvement of multipe disciplines and sectors. ۲ݮƵ undergraduate students as future professionals tackling global issues require an integrated and multidisciplinary training on food security.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Nutrition and Dietetics: Interaction of exercise physiology with nutrient and energy metabolism in healthy adults. Principles of physical training and role of physical activity and exercise in weight management and food intake regulation. Importance of physical activity in childhood, during pregnancy, in healthy adults and in improving functional capacity in the elderly.
Offered by: Human Nutrition 12 credits from the following: Food Science: Intership with an approved host organization in the food industry.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry Nutrition and Dietetics: Internship with an approved host organization in the nutrition product industry.
Offered by: Human Nutrition Electives are selected in consultation with an academic adviser.
* Not all courses may be offered every year, please consult with your adviser when planning your program.
Program Requirement:
Required Courses (80 credits)
Complementary Courses (30 credits)
Elective Courses (12 credits)
Careers
■ Pharmaceutical industries
■ Food product research and development
■ Public health services
■ Food labeling and packaging
■ Food inspection
■ Food chemistry
■ Agri-food companies
For more career options: