The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is dedicated to implementing education, research, and outreach programs designed to provide a safe, nutritious, and affordable food supply that enhances human health. To this end, students and faculty work collectively toward learning, discovering, and disseminating new knowledge and in applying novel technologies to achieve the departmental mission. The basic human need for high quality food for optimal health and wellness drives the core of student training within the FSHN Department.
Undergraduate concentrations leading to the B.S. degree include Dietetics, Food Science, Hospitality Management, and Human Nutrition. Career opportunities for graduates of our program are excellent and include position titles including nutritionists, dietitians, food technologists, product research and development and food systems management. Graduate students may pursue M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, focusing on original research in the general concentrations of Food Science or Human Nutrition. The FSHN Department also offers a non-thesis Professional Science Master’ s degree that includes foundational courses within the department along with business and marketing courses. The University of Illinois Online Food Science Master’ s Degree Program is a popular option for individuals working full-time and who desire a non-thesis M.S. degree in Food Science. Advanced degrees lead to accelerated careers in industry, government, and academia.
The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition has excellent research facilities including fully equipped chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, nutrition, and molecular biology laboratories; food-processing pilot plant complex; specialized soybean-processing plant; bioprocessing/fermentation pilot plant; and sensory science lab.
