Food Science & Technology, B.S.

Where else do you get to play with your food and earn your bachelor's degree?

In the food science and technology program, you can combine your creativity with chemistry, microbiology, statistics, and engineering and processing technology to create healthier foods that taste better, are easier to process, ship well, and last longer.

With a food science and technology degree, you can work in the food processing or biotech industries or start down a pre-professional track toward medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary school.

Food scientists are in high demand: with a bachelor's degree, you can start at around $48,000 annually and — with experience — eventually make more than $100,000.

Our program is the only one in Southern California approved by the Institute of Food Technologists and the Research Chefs Association. 

Options within the Major

Culinology is a trademark of the Research Chefs Association (RCA). This option is one of the few programs approved by RCA in the United States. The curriculum blends food science and culinary arts and will provide tools to successfully develop new foods for retail and food service consumption. This option is particularly attractive to those interested in product development. Students will receive a bachelor’s degree in food science and technology while taking courses in culinary arts.

The General Option provides students with a more flexible pathway for graduation, while still completing the core requirements of the food science and technology major. In this option, students have more flexibility in choosing elective courses that could meet the requirements of a pre-professional degree or several minors such as plant-based foods and nutrition, business, nutrition, and some other minors.

The Science and Technology Option is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). It stresses learning scientific concepts with the application of theoretical principles. It provides the opportunity to expand beyond the background provided by the required courses of the major. The elective courses under this option provide additional background to prepare students to become food chemists, food microbiologists, or food-processing technologists. This option is also a good fit for students who are interested in pursuing a master’s and/or a doctoral degree in a science or technology field in the future.