About This Degree

Instant, four-course meals consumed by astronauts. Convenient Caesar salads in plastic bags. C-rations sent overseas to feed our military are designed by food scientists.

Whether the food product is canned, frozen, pre- packaged, dried or preserved in any way, a food scientist had a role in its development.

Food scientists are the people who design new products for your grocery shelves, the ones who improve our lifestyles by shortening the time it takes busy people to prepare a meal.  They may also work for international health and service organizations, finding ways to make our world’s food resources safe and meet the needs of growing populations.

Students enrolled in VU’s two-year academic transfer program can transfer to any baccalaureate institution but the course of study was particularly designed to transfer to Purdue University’s School of Agriculture and earn a baccalaureate degree from the Food Science Department.

Career Outcomes

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS

Expanding populations offer steady growth for the food industry because of the need to improve the quantity and quality, variety, and safety of consumable products.  Food scientists may choose to work in:

• Food safety
• Environmental regulations
• Food standards 
• Equipment engineering
• Nutrition education
• Product development
• Sales

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a job growth in the field to be about average and the annual salary for food scientists is more that $60,000