The Department of Food and Animal Sciences undertakes, in the land-grant tradition, teaching, research and extension functions in food and animal sciences. The Department is student-centered and dedicated to the pursuit of higher education and professional development of students, staff and faculty and pursuit of excellence through teamwork and partnerships.
Degree Offerings:
The Department offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
The BS Food Science program (with a concentration of 25 hours in Animal Sciences and minors in Chemistry, Animal Sciences, Nutrition and Business) is certified by the Institute of Food Technologists and prepares students for careers in quality assurance, food inspection, product development, as well as training them for medical or graduate school. The Animal Science concentration prepares students for productive careers in animal production, harvesting, nutrition and breeding, as well as training them for medical and veterinary schools.
The Food Science MS and PhD programs train our students for careers in the food industry, government or academia in the areas of Food Engineering/Processing, Food Chemistry, Food Toxicology, Food Biotechnology, Nutritional /Food Biochemistry, Food Microbiology and Sensory Science.
The graduate and undergraduate degrees in Food Science are among the best in the nation as recognized by our peers with awards at the local, regional and national levels. Our faculty serve on numerous industry, professional and governmental review boards.
Undergraduates are highly encouraged by motivated faculty to undertake internships and experiential learning opportunities. Graduate students conduct research on the novel topics related to food safety and processing, product development and improving the quality and nutrition of food.
The objectives are designed to train technically skilled and theory understanding graduates proficient in the areas of animal and food production, processing and safety. Specific objectives are as follows:
To ensure sustainable and healthy animal and food production systems;
To be involved in basic and applied disciplinary and multidisciplinary research with active participation of students, staff and faculty;
To train highly skilled and thoughtful employees for the ever increasing and demanding animal and food industries;
To continue networking with industry, academic and government contacts as a means to further our programs as well as promote our students;
To understand the interactions pre-harvest (animals) and post-harvest (food) that influence product quality and consumer perceptions;
To develop novel, nutritious and economically feasible value-added food products;
To facilitate the academic interests of students through discussions, research, tours, and professional functions outside of the traditional classroom environment;
To supply various entities with consultancy, advisory and analytical services;
To contribute internationally with student and faculty exchanges via research and teaching opportunities;
To guide students into their professional and technical career areas with extensive theory and experiential learning opportunities; and
To produce graduates who will think critically and creatively and be team players and leaders who are principled, innovative, confident and articulate.
http://www.aamu.edu/academics/alns/foodandanimalsciences/pages/food-science-program.aspx