Course Overview

This major is concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork." It prepares you to develop new food products, design innovative processing technologies, improve the nutritional value of foods, and enhance the safety of our food supply. Food Science and Technology majors apply the principles learned in the basic sciences such as food chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, food engineering and nutrition to provide consumers with safe, wholesome and attractive food products that contribute to their health and well-being. The undergraduate curriculum is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and offers two tracks, a Food Science Option and an Industry Option.

The Food Science Option provides a strong knowledge base and fundamental understanding of chemistry, biology, engineering, physics, statistics, genetics, biochemistry, microbiology and nutrition that is applied toward the preservation, processing, packaging and distribution of foods that are wholesome, affordable and safe. The goal of the curriculum is to prepare Food Scientists for career opportunities in the food and allied industries or for further studies in graduate or professional schools.

General Eligibility

Undergraduate students who meet the following general admission requirements at the time of application are assured admission to  A&M-Central Texas:

• Minimum 2.0 cumulative transfer GPA on a 4.0 scale;

• Minimum 30 academic, college-level transferable semester hours. Applicants pursuing an Applied Science or Aviation Science degree may meet this requirement utilizing select workforce education credit from an approved Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree upon completion of 45 hours, to include all general education courses within the AAS.

• Must be eligible to return to all previously attended colleges or universities.

Part Time Work Details

n/a

Language Requirement

• The University requires all students to take at least one year of a foreign language. This requirement is completed by having taken two units of the same foreign language in high school, completing one year of the same foreign language in college or completing the credit-by-examination process.

  Minimum TOEFL Essentials score of 8.5, or. Minimum IELTS Academic test score of 6.0 overall band (Texas A&M University does not accept the IELTS General test)