Culinary Science and Nutrition

The Culinary Science and Nutrition Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates principles of food science, nutrition, and the culinary arts.

Highlights

Culinary Science and Nutrition majors examine the functions of ingredients in foods and food products. Students also learn how to conduct analytical evaluation of foods, including color, pH, viscosity, and moisture content. Sensory characteristics (appearance, aroma, taste, flavor, texture) which impact consumer acceptance of food products when ingredients are modified or removed are also examined. Students learn to apply this knowledge to the selection, preparation, and processing of food in commercial and industrial environments.

Courses

All students take a core group of courses. Students confer with their advisors to select among the remaining foods-related courses which best meet their interest and career goals.

Experiential Learning

In addition to the experiential learning opportunities at FACS for all undergrads, students also have the opportunity to participate in culinary-oriented study abroad programs in other locales, such as LaSalle Institut Polytechnique in Beauvais, France. They also have an opportunity to be a part of our study abroad program, Food and Nutrition of the British Isles, or Food and Nutrition of Italy, which are both 6 credit programs offered alternating Maymesters.

View Study Away Programs

Internships

Internships allow qualified students to apply classroom experiences to real life and "try on" various careers. In today's competitive job market, many employers require work experience. Opportunities range from food service to consumer research to FACS education.

Students can learn more about culinary science and nutrition related professions by completing a 3-credit hour internship course. By working with experienced professionals in the field, students apply knowledge from their classes in a real world setting and may begin to develop professional contacts in the field.

• FDNS 5930: Culinary Science and Nutrition Internship

  Internship sites may be located on campus, in Athens, or out of the area.

  Instructor: Dr. Ginnefer Cox

  Course Credits: 3 semester hours, 135 hours or experience

  See the FDNS 5930 Culinary Science and Nutrition Internship Advisement Checklist below for prerequisites and suggested coursework. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 of higher is required in order to register for FDNS 5930.

  1. Students who are interested in participating in this program must complete the FDNS 5930, Culinary Science and Nutrition Internship Advisement Checklist and bring it and an unofficial transcript to your advisor at a scheduled meeting for your advisor's approval.
  2. ​After the course instructor reviews and approves your submitted Advisement Checklist, you will be invited by email to complete a Request Form for Internship Site from the instructor. Your instructor will inform you of your internship site and inform you of any orientation, or specific requirements of your internship site. You are responsible for any costs related to internship site requirements ( for example, chef's coat, apron, uniform, non-slip shoes, safe food handling certification, etc. ).
  3. Call the internship site manager to introduce yourself and set an appointment to discuss a schedule.
  4. Once you are informed of the requirements for your internship site, the orientation, and other needed procedures,should be started. It takes as long as 2 months to complete this process, so you must plan to start this in June for a Fall practicum, in early November for a Spring practicum, and by March 1 for a summer practicum.
  5. Once you speak with the site manager, finalize your internship schedule. You should log approximately 9 hours per week (in summer, 16 hours per week) to total 125 hours (and one hour per week should be obtained in related experiences or assignments). These hours are flexible, and some weeks you may work more or less in your internship facility.
  6. Once you have submitted the requirements for your site, your course instructor will clear you to register for the course, and you should now register for FDNS 5930.
  7. Dr. Cox will communicate with internship students periodically during the semester to discuss the experiences of the internship.
  8. At the midpoint of your internship, you should complete and submit the Mid-Point Evaluation form.
  9. Keep an Internship Activity Log of hours and types of activities throughout the semester.
  10. Be certain to call your internship site manager if you are not able to be there when you are scheduled. You must make up the hours that you miss. Discuss with your manager how best to do this.
  11. At the completion of your internship, your internship site manager must complete and submit the Final Evaluation Form, which will be sent to them directly from your instructor.

  Interested students must submit a completed advisement checklist no later than January 30th for the fall semester or July 31st for the spring or October 31st for summer semester.

Sample Course Plan

• View Here

  Students taking chemistry courses outside of University System of Georgia (USG) institutions must pass the American Chemistry Society (ACS) end of course examination in order for the course to fulfill the requirement within the department.

  Fall Semester Year 1	Credits	Spring Semester Year 1	Credits
  ENGL1101	3	ENGL1102	3
  MATH1113	3	CBIO 2200/2200L	4
  BIOL 1107/1107L	4	World Language & Culture	3
  World Language & Culture ( ANTH 1102 Preferred)	3	HIST 2111 or HIST 2112	3
  POLS 1101	3	FYOS	1
  		FACS 2000	1
  Total :	16	Total:	15
  Fall Semester Year 2		Spring Semester Year 2
  CHEM 1211/1211L	4	CHEM 1212/1212L	4
  PSYC 1101	3	COMM 1100 or 1500	3
  STAT 2000	4	FDNS 2100 Intro to Food & Nutrition	3
  World Language & Culture	4	HDFS 2100 or FHCE 2100	3
  		Major Elective	3
  Total:	15	Total:	16
  Fall Semester Year 3		Spring Semester Year 3
  FDNS 3600/3600L Food Principles	4	FDNS 3100 Macronutrients	3
  FDNS 4630 Cultural Aspects of Foods	3	FDNS 4600 Food & Nutrition Policy	3
  AAEC 3100 or ADPR 3100 or FHCE 3100	3	FDNS 3610/3610L Quantity Food	4
  CHEM 2211/2211L	4	FDST 3000 Intro to Food Science	3
  FDNS 5900 Professional Development FDN	1	FDNS 4660S Nutrition Education or COMM course	3
  Total:	15	Total:	16
  Fall Semester Year 4		Spring Semester Year 4
  FDNS 4050 or FDNS 4510 Lifecycle	3	FDNS 4620 Mgmt. of Foodservice Organizations	2
  FDNS 4610 Procurement & Financial Mgmt.	1	FDNS 4650 Experimental Foods	3
  FDNS 4640 Food Safety and Sanitation	3	Elective	3
  FDNS 4645 Functional and Nutritional Aspects of Food	2	MIBO 3000/3000L	4
  Major Elective	3	PE	1
  FDNS 3010 Sensory Evaluation	3
  Total:	15	Total:	13

Careers

• Options

  Food Technologist: Food technologists research and develop new food products as well as improve the quality of existing products. They may also develop or improve the processing, packaging, storage, and safety of food products and menu items.

  Sensory Scientist: Sensory scientists conduct research and testing to help industry guide new product development in order to determine what the consumer wants and what they are prepared to buy. Sensory Scientists develop and executive testing methods in order to determine if differences are perceivable to the consumer and evaluates how much the consumer likes the product.

  Research Chef: Research chefs use their training in food science and culinary arts to contribute to research and development of a food product within a food company. They apply their knowledge of food chemistry and nutrition to create recipes and food products that appeal to consumers.

  Quality Specialist: Quality Specialists supports the testing (chemical, physical, microbial) and reporting of food products to assure the quality and safety of the product in line with federal and industry standards.

  Foods Regulatory Affairs Specialist: Foods Regulatory Specialists coordinate and document regulatory processes pertaining to the food product, such as any internal audits, inspections, or labeling registrations including ingredient allergens and nutrient content claims.

  Technical Sales: Food Technical Sales Representatives work with food companies and foodservice corporations to and provide scientific information regarding food ingredients and food products and that will assist in the ingredient and/or product being utilized in a commercial setting.

  Food Writer: Food Writers develop written and/or online content for food articles, recipes and books. Food Writers produce content for a variety of settings, including magazines, cookbooks, and online blogs.

• Positions held by recent grads

  • Coca Cola Operations Specialist
  • Field Representative, KIND
  • Assistant Scientist, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Area Sales and Marketing Manager at Snack Factory, LLC
  • Territory Manager, Hormel Foods Pittsburg PA
  • Quality Assurance Manager at Honey Baked Ham, Alpharetta GA
  • Quality Assurance Manager at Waffle House, Inc.
  • Assistant Scientist for Product Guidance, Coca Cola
  • Anti-Hunger Program Associate, D.C. Hunger Solutions at Food Research and Action Center
  • Senior Manager of Franchise Training for Zaxby's Franchising LLC
  • Sensory Technologist at JM Smucker Co. Orrville OH
  • Buyer, Atlanta Foods International
  • Sales Consultant at Reinhart Foodservice

Double Major

• Dietetics/Culinary Science & Nutrition

  Dietetics/Culinary Science and Nutrition is a popular double major. The additional coursework required and a sample course plan is presented here. Dietetics often involves counseling clientele about what they are eating, thus increased knowledge about food and factors that influence food selection are a key to your success. For most people, food quality, including taste, rather than health concerns determines what foods are on the dinner plate. Much of the coursework in these two majors is similar. By selecting appropriate courses in the electives category, only 5 additional courses are required to complete both majors. Scheduling is a key to successfully completing both degrees in a timely manner, as many upper division Culinary Science courses and Dietetics courses are only offered once per year.

  Sample Course Plan

  Courses: Year 1, Fall Semester	Hrs	Courses: Year 1, Spring Semester	Hrs
  ENGL 1101 MATH 1113 CHEM 1211/1211L World Language & Culture POLS 1101	3 3 4 3 3	ENGL 1102 BIOL 1107/1107L World Language & Culture CHEM 1212/1212L PEDB____	3 4 3 4 1
  Total Credit Hours	16	Total Credit Hours	15
  Courses: Year 2, Fall Semester	Hrs	Courses: Year 2, Spring Semester	Hrs
  CBIO 2200/2200L PSYC 1101 STAT 2000 HIST 2211 OR 2212	4 3 4 3	CBIO 2210/2210L COMM 1100 or 1500 HDFS 2100 or FHCE 2100 HACE 3100 or ECON 2106 or AAEC 2580 FDNS (FACS) 2000 FDNS 2100	4 3 3 3 1 3
  World Language & Culture	3
  Total Credit Hours	17	Total Credit Hours	17
  Courses: Year 3, Fall Semester	Hrs	Courses: Year 3, Spring Semester	Hrs
  FDNS 3600/3600L CHEM 2211/2211L ADPR 3100 or AAEC3100 or RLST 3130/RLST 3130L FDNS 4630 FDNS 4660	4 4 3-4 3 3	FDNS 3100 FDNS 4600 FDNS 3610/3610L FDST 3000 BCMB 3100	3 3 4 3 4
  Total Credit Hours	17-18	Total Credit Hours	17
  Courses: Year 4, Fall Semester	Hrs	Courses: Year 4, Spring Semester	Hrs
  FDNS 4610 FDNS 4100 FDNS 4500 FDNS 4510 FDNS 4640	1 3 3 3 3	FDNS 4620 FDNS 4650 FDNS 4520 FDNS 4530 FDNS 4540 MIBO 2500/2500L or 3000/3000L	2 3 2 4 3 4
  FDNS 4645 and FDNS 4646	3
  Total Credit Hours	16	Total Credit Hours	18

• Job Opportunities

  Having a double major often affords additional job opportunities. A background in Culinary Science and Nutrition enhances majors in many fields:

  • Dietetics
  • Food Science
  • Health Promotion and Behavior
  • Consumer Journalism
  • Education
  • Management
  • Consumer Economics
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Child and Family Development

  A double major may require less additional coursework than completing a minor. The decision to pursue a double major vs. a minor should be made after careful review of your program of study by the Consumer Foods program director.

Program Director

• 

  Ginnefer Cox

  Associate Professor

   gocox@uga.edu

   706-542-4834

I often get asked, “How is your major different than food science and/or culinary school?” This major combines food sciences, culinary arts and nutrition to create and improve products. I gained experience with networking, teamwork, and professionalism. Now, for my capstone project, my group and I are formulating new recipes and testing and sharing products.