If you’re interested in using the latest in food manufacturing to turn agricultural commodities into products that consumers want to buy, then a career in food science and nutrition is for you.
A degree in food science and nutrition provides the skills needed to succeed in a variety of food science careers.
The degree can be individualized by choosing between degree tracks:
- Food Science
- Food Business
- Culinary Science
Career Opportunities
A bachelor’s of science degree in food science and nutrition from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) will provide you with all the skills you’ll need to succeed in a wide variety of food science and nutrition careers.
You can individualize your degree program by choosing between four degree options that prepare you for the career field that most interests you. Some careers you might consider include:
- Food engineers are employed by some of the world’s largest and most respected private industry companies, including Del Monte Foods, General Mills, H.J. Heinz and Kellogg. They apply the principles of many scientific disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, molecular biology, nutrition and microbiology to the challenges of food production.
- Product developers find employment with many of the same companies as food engineers. Their job, however, focuses more on other aspects of food manufacturing such as consumer acceptability, economics, production feasibility and marketing. Developers also explore new ways to enhance nutritional value and health benefits.
- Quality assurance supervisors work in private industry but also are employed by government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration. They are responsible for reviewing safety and manufacturing protocol to ensure that the food you eat is safe and of the highest quality.
Other typical job titles include:
- Brand manager
- Corporate executive
- Environmental sanitarian
- Food technologist
- Food scientist
- Plant manager
- Production manager
- Sensory scientist
- Technical sales representative
Educational Mission and Learning Objectives
It is the educational mission of the Food Science Program of the University of Missouri to provide our students with the scientific knowledge required to become successful food scientists that can work in industry, government or academia. We believe that the characteristics that best describes a successful graduate of our Food Science Program at MU include not only the ability to understand and solve technical problems in the food and related industries, but also the ability to function well as a team player with excellent time management and communication skills. We create experiences for and develop these skills in our students in a variety of ways, including lectures, discussions, case studies, projects, laboratories, field trips, internships and study abroad experiences.
Students graduating from the University of Missouri Food Science Program are able to:
Use their knowledge to
- anticipate, understand, and describe the chemical changes occurring during food processing and storage
- preserve and ensure the safety and microbial stability of food products by applying the principles of HAACP and GMP
- determine and execute the appropriate processing steps to assure that food products undergo desired chemical changes and become microbiologically stable
- adapt and/or develop methods to analyze raw ingredients and finished food products chemically, microbiologically and sensorially
- develop new economically and environmentally sustainable food products in an increasingly global context
- conduct experiments on ingredients and food products, statistically evaluate and interpret the results to make inferences about the need for food processing applications
Use their skills to
- work independently or in interdisciplinary teams in the food industry, government or academia, domestically or globally
- increase their knowledge to stay current in the area of food science by independently seeking out, reviewing, excising and learning new pertinent knowledge from the scientific literature
- express their opinions and knowledge about food science verbally and in written format
- manage their time between several projects to maximize their efficiency
- locate, apply and competitively interview for job opportunities in the food industry, government of academia