This program is directed toward students who have graduated in food science or a closely related discipline.
The course requirements include, in addition to a seminar course, 10 graduate-level courses (a total of 45 credits). At least five courses (chosen in consultation with the project advisor) must be selected from the Department of Food Science's offerings (see below).
The student will complete a 12-week, full-time research project under the direction of a staff member or external supervisor and submit a detailed report to the department. In the form of a literature review, the project will critically evaluate and summarize the current stage of development and suggest ways to resolve issues associated with the topic. The project also normally includes wet or dry lab work analyzing data that points to a current research problem in food science.
It is up to the project instructor and program advisor to allow a student to be involved in a project external to the department or the University. An industry internship is not guaranteed. Students are permitted to receive funding for their participation in a research project or internship.
This M.Sc. non-thesis program only admits students in September. The duration is typically three academic terms, usually completed in a 12-month period. However, the program may be extended to accommodate, for example, a modified course load and/or additional required preparatory courses.
The typical course load and sequence is:
- 12-15 credits of lectured courses in fall term (full-time)
- 12-15 credits of lectured courses in winter term (full-time)
- 15 credits for a research project and graduate seminar in summer term (full-time)
Optional: An additional (part-time) term in the fall may be required depending on actual course loads and/or additional required preparatory coursework.
You can view the current cost of tuition and ancillary fees for three academic terms (fall/winter/summer) using the McGill Student Accounts fee calculator. Select the appropriate residency and select Master's Non-Thesis Programs. The amount shown is for the fall and winter terms (two full-time terms, 30 credits). To estimate the total fees required for an M.Sc. non-thesis program, prorate the 30-credit estimate to 45 credits.
There is no financial assistance nor demonstratorship associated with this program. All applicants to this program must agree to be self-funded. Work for a co-op, research project, or internship will form an integral part of the student’s program. International students are required to have a work co-op permit in addition to a study permit.
Program Advisor: Prof. H. Ramaswamy
Required Courses (15 credits)
FDSC 697
M.Sc. Project Part 1
6 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: A critical review of the current state of knowledge of some aspect of Food Science or Technology.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Restriction: Must be registered in the M.Sc. in Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry; Non-Thesis Food Science.
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 698
M.Sc. Project Part 2
6 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: A critical review of the current state of knowledge of some aspects of Food Science or Technology.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Prerequisite: FDSC 697.
- Restriction: Must be registered in the M.Sc. in Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry; Non-Thesis-Food Science.
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
A minimum of 3 credits selected from the following:
FDSC 695
M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Presentation on a selected topic, research proposal or research results based on progress in degree work (M.Sc.1).
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Terms
- Instructors
- Varoujan Yaylayan
- Varoujan Yaylayan
FDSC 696
M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Presentation on a selected topic, research proposal or research results based on progress in degree work (M.Sc.2).
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Terms
- Instructors
- Varoujan Yaylayan
- Varoujan Yaylayan
Complementary Courses (30 credits)
A minimum of five courses (15 credits) selected from the following:
AGRI 510
Professional Practice
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Agriculture: The ethical issues that face a professional in the workplace; professional ethics and deontology, professional responsibilities as related to the laws of labour, health, safety and risks to the environment, risk management and communication.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Restriction: Course restricted to senior undergraduate and graduate students.
FDSC 515
Enzymology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Selected advanced topics on the biophysical and kinetic aspects of enzymatic reactions, particularly the fundamentals and applications of laws of biothermodynamics, biochemical equilibrium, electrochemistry and biochemical kinetics as related to the enzymatic reactions.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisites: FDSC 211 or LSCI 211 and FDSC 233 or permission of instructor
- Course offered in even years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 516
Flavour Chemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The chemistry of the flavour constituents of foods, thermal and enzymatic generation, mechanistic pathways of formation, analysis synthesis and applications in food.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 305 or permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken FDSC 410
FDSC 519
Advanced Food Processing
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Advanced technologies associated with food processing studied in more detail. Topics include food irradiation, reverse osmosis, super critical fluid extraction and extrusion.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 330
- Course offered in even years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 520
Biophysical Chemistry of Food
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: This course will cover recent advances in the application of spectroscopic techniques, including infrared, Raman, near-infrared, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy, to the study of biomolecules of relevance to food. Particular emphasis will be placed on the molecular basis of structure-function and structure-functionality relationships.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 233
- Course offered in odd years. Check with Graduate Program Supervisor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 536
Food Traceability
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Concepts and processes associated with the identification, tracking and tracing food forward and backward through the food continuum.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 425 or permission of instructor.
- Course offered in odd years.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 537
Nutraceutical Chemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The origin, classification, mechanism of action and chemical properties of potential and established nutraceutical compounds and their applications in functional foods.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
FDSC 538
Food Science in Perspective
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Food industry, food properties, nutritive aspects, quality factors, and key preservation processes, with self-study linking these elements directly to specific commodities and product groups, their characteristics, chemistry and distinct manufacturing processes.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- Restriction: Not open to students with an undergraduate degree in Food Science or currently majoring in Food Science. Open to U3 students and above.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
FDSC 540
Sensory Evaluation of Foods
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Principles and procedures for sensory evaluation of food products, applications of sensory tests, their strengths and weaknesses, factors affecting their responses, data analysis and interpretation of results. Analysis of sensory data in relation to the instrumental analyses will also be emphasized.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: FDSC 305 or NUTR 346, or permission of the instructor
- Offered in alternate years
FDSC 545
Advances in Food Microbiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: An advanced level food microbiology course providing a perspective on advanced topics in food microbiology (microbial biofilms, antimicrobial resistance, bacterial endospores) and describing the fundamental principles of advanced techniques in food microbiology (microbiological, biochemical, immunological, genetics methods).
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures
- Prerequisite: MICR 230 or LSCI 230, or permission of instructor
- Offered in alternate years only
FDSC 634
Food Toxins & Toxicants
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Toxins and toxicant residues in food are explored from an analytical perspective. New techniques of analysis and strategies are emphasized.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- Prerequisite: FDSC 213 or permission of instructor.
FDSC 651
Principles of Food Analysis 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: The fundamentals of food analysis are presented with the emphasis on the major food components. Topics include: sampling, method selection, official methods, proximate analysis, moisture, protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, nutraceutical compounds and infra-red analyses.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Fall
- 3 lectures; one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
FDSC 652
Separation Tech in Food Anal 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Food Science: Advanced detailed treatment of the principal chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques associated with the analysis of carbohydrate, lipid and protein constituents of food.
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry
- Winter
- 3 lectures; one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
The remaining course credits (at the 500/600 level) are chosen in consultation with your academic supervisor.