Food Science is a multidisciplinary field of study in which concepts of chemistry, physics, biology and engineering are applied to better understand food processes and improve food products for the general public. The scope of food science as a science discipline is growing in concurrence with global demand for safe, nutritious, and sustainable foods.
Our programs provide our students with the skills and knowledge required to deal with food development and safety in the modern world.
Bachelor of Science (Food Science)
Students in the Bachelor of Science (Food Science) program choose between a general food science option or a food chemistry option.
Foundation year
If you are entering university for the first time from a high school system (outside of the Quebec CEGEP system), you will need to complete 30 base credits of courses in your first year (known as a foundation year), before completing the credits that make up your major and option.
Foundation Program (B.Sc.(F.Sc.)) (30 credits)
Offered by: Food Science & Agr. Chemistry (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Bachelor of Science (Food Science)
Program credit weight: 30
Program Description
The B.Sc.(F.Sc.); Foundation Program is designed to provide core science prerequisites for those entering university for the first time from a high school system (outside of the Quebec CEGEP system).
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Required Courses (30 credits)
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| AEBI 120 | General Biology. | 3 |
General Biology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An introduction to core themes in biological sciences, including cell structure and function, cell replication, gene expression, genetic inheritance, biodiversity, evolution, and ecological interactions. See course page for more information |
| AEBI 122 | Cell Biology. | 3 |
Cell Biology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to key topics in cell biology, including chemical biology, cell membranes, enzymes in biological reactions, cellular energetics, cell signaling, DNA synthesis and repair, gene expression and regulatory mechanisms. Connections between cell biology and animal physiology. See course page for more information |
| AECH 110 | General Chemistry 1. | 4 |
General Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The course will be a study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, valence theory and the periodic table. See course page for more information |
| AECH 111 | General Chemistry 2. | 4 |
General Chemistry 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium, aqueous solution chemistry including applications to acids, bases and buffers and selected topics in organic chemistry. See course page for more information |
| AEMA 101 | Calculus 1 with Precalculus. | 4 |
Calculus 1 with Precalculus. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A review of precalculus: functions, graphs,polynomials and rational functions, exponentialand logarithmic functions, and trigonometry.Limits, continuity, and derivatives. Differentiationof elementary functions. Anti-differentiation. Applications. See course page for more information |
| AEMA 102 | Calculus 2. | 4 |
Calculus 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Integration, the indefinite and definite integral. Trapezoidal and Simpson's Rule approximations for the integral. Applications to areas between curves, distance, volume, length of a curve, work, area of a surface of revolution, average values, moments, etc. Improper integrals and infinite series. See course page for more information |
| AEPH 112 | Introductory Physics 1. | 4 |
Introductory Physics 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Kinematics in one and two dimensions. Newton's laws of motion. Circular motion and orbits. Rotation of a rigid body. Momentum. Work and energy, power. Conservation principles. Simple harmonic motion. Waves and sound.
See course page for more information |
| AEPH 114 | Introductory Physics 2. | 4 |
Introductory Physics 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Electric and magnetic properties of matter: electrostatics, electric currents, the link between electric and magnetic phenomena, geometrical optics, interference diffraction. See course page for more information |
Academic Advisor
Fernando Altamura
Food Science Option
This program is geared toward students interested in the general aspects of the food science discipline and covers various aspects of food chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology and processing. The program prepares students for a career as a scientist in industry or government in regulatory, research, quality control, or product development capacities. Graduates have the academic qualifications for membership in the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Institute of Food Technologists.
Program information not available.
Academic Advisors
U1: Professor Stéphane Bayen
U2: Professor Jennifer Ronholm
U3: Professor Saji George
Food Chemistry Option
This program is intended for those students interested in the chemistry of foods and aims to prepare you for a career as a scientist in industry or government in regulatory, research, quality control, or product development capacities. Graduates have the academic qualifications for membership in the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Institute of Food Technologists and may also qualify for admission to the Ordre des chimistes du Québec.
Program information not available.
Academic Advisors
U1: Professor Stéphane Bayen
U2: Professor Jennifer Ronholm
U3: Professor Saji George
Concurrent degree program B.Sc. (F.Sc.) / B.Sc. (Nutr.Sc.)
Two complementary fields, one degree program
Fall admission only
Unique in North America, McGill's concurrent degree program in Food Science and Nutritional Science offers the best education two complementary fields, and opens the door to a multitude of career paths by allowing students to earn two degrees at once.
The Food Science component of the program focuses on the chemistry of food and the scientific principles underlying food preservation, processing and packaging to provide consumers with quality foods. The Nutritional Science component deals with the science of the nutritional aspects of food and metabolism. The program has been carefully structured to ensure that students receive the training that Industry demands.
Note: The concurrent degree program is completed over 4 years, excluding foundational year
Program information not available.
Program information not available.
Academic Advisor
Professor Yixiang Wang
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Food Science
This program is geared towards students who have a first degree in a science-related discipline to gain the knowledge and skills required to enter careers in the food or to apply to a food science graduate program.
Food Science (Certificate) (30 credits)
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Certificate in Food Science
Program credit weight: 30
Program Description
This program is geared toward mature students, who have an undergraduate degree in a science-related discipline, to acquire the basic knowledge in the food science area to enter food-related industries or a food science graduate program. Students must complete a core course that introduces them to the basics of the field of food science and then choose complementary courses that allow a broad-based exposure in areas such as food chemistry/analysis, food microbiology/nutrition, quality assurance/safety, processing/engineering, communication skills, and ethics.
Required Course (3 credits)
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| FDSC 200 | Introduction to Food Science. | 3 |
Introduction to Food Science. Terms offered: Fall 2025 This course enables one to gain an appreciation of the scope of food science as a discipline. Topics include introductions to chemistry, processing, packaging, analysis, microbiology, product development, sensory evaluation and quality control as they relate to food science. See course page for more information |
Complementary Courses (27 credits)
27 credits (select no more than two 200-level courses)
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| AGRI 510 | Professional Practice. | 3 |
Professional Practice. Terms offered: Winter 2026 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. See course page for more information |
| BREE 324 | Elements of Food Engineering. | 3 |
Elements of Food Engineering. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A course in basic food engineering for non-engineering students, covering heat transfer, mass and energy balances, food process unit operations, material transport/ steam/refrigeration systems. See course page for more information |
| BREE 535 | Food Safety Engineering. | 3 |
Food Safety Engineering. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The application of engineering principles to address microbial and chemical safety challenges in food processing, including intervention technologies (traditional and novel non-thermal intervention technologies, chemical interventions, and hurdle approach); control, monitoring and identification techniques (biosensors); packaging applications in food safety (active packaging, intelligent or smart packaging); and tracking and traceability systems. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 213 | Analytical Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Analytical Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theoretical aspects of wet chemical techniques including gravimetric and volumetric analyses, redoximetry, and separation techniques. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 251 | Food Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Food Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A study of the chemistry and functionality of the major components comprising food systems, such as water, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. The relationship of these components to food stability will be studied in terms of degradative reactions and processing. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 300 | Principles of Food Analysis 1. | 3 |
Principles of Food Analysis 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The fundamentals of food analysis are presented with the emphasis on the major components of foods. Topics include: food components, sampling, method selection, official methods, proximate analysis, moisture, protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and nutraceutical compounds. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 305 | Food Chemistry 2. | 3 |
Food Chemistry 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A study of the chemistry and functionality of the minor components comprising food systems, such as enzymes, anthocyanins, carotenoids, additives, vitamins and essential oils. The relationship of these components to food stability in terms of degradative reactions and processing. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 310 | Post Harvest Fruit and Vegetable Technology. | 3 |
Post Harvest Fruit and Vegetable Technology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The post harvest chemistry and physiology of horticultural crops as they affect quality and marketability, handling methods pre and post harvest, principles and practices in cooling, storage, transportation and packaging. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 315 | Separation Techniques in Food Analysis 1. | 3 |
Separation Techniques in Food Analysis 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A detailed treatment on the principal chromotographic and electrophoretic techniques that are associated with the analysis of carbohydrate, lipid, protein constituents of food. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 319 | Food Commodities. | 3 |
Food Commodities. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The relationship between the chemistry of food constituents present in common commodities, such as milk, meat, eggs, cereals, oilseeds etc. and the common processing technologies associated with their transformation into stable food products. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 330 | Food Processing. | 3 |
Food Processing. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The principles and practices of food processing with an emphasis on canning, freezing, and dehydration. A survey of the newer methods of food preservation such as irradiation, reverse osmosis etc. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 400 | Food Packaging. | 3 |
Food Packaging. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An integrated approach to the materials used for the packaging of food products, considering the physical, chemical and functional characteristics of such materials and their utility, relative to the chemistry of the food system they are designed to enclose and preserve. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 405 | Food Product Development. | 3 |
Food Product Development. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Fundamental principles of food product development from an innovative concept to the marketplace. Emphasis will be on the application of basic knowledge of food chemistry, food technology and related disciplines in developing new products or improving the existing ones. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 442 | Food Microbiology. | 3 |
Food Microbiology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Topics in Food Microbiology including an overview of the natural flora and microbiological spoilage of food products, methods of control and shelf-life extension, methods of detection and control food-borne pathogens and the use of suitable microorganisms in the production of a variety of food products. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 495D1 | Food Science Seminar. | 1.5 |
Food Science Seminar. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Two 20-minute presentations (1 per term) on an assigned or selected topic. The purpose is to research a subject and present to a peer audience the essence of the subject investigated. Development of presentation and communication skills at a professional level is stressed and rapport with the industry will be established through guest speakers. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 495D2 | Food Science Seminar. | 1.5 |
|
| FDSC 515 | Enzymology. | 3 |
Enzymology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 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. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 516 | Flavour Chemistry. | 3 |
Flavour Chemistry. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The chemistry of the flavour constituents of foods, thermal and enzymatic generation, mechanistic pathways of formation, analysis synthesis and applications in food. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 519 | Advanced Food Processing. | 3 |
Advanced Food Processing. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Advanced technologies associated with food processing studied in more detail. Topics include food irradiation, reverse osmosis, super critical fluid extraction and extrusion. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 520 | Biophysical Chemistry of Food. | 3 |
Biophysical Chemistry of Food. Terms offered: Fall 2025 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. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 525 | Food Quality Assurance. | 3 |
Food Quality Assurance. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The principles and practices required for the development, maintenance and monitoring of systems for food quality and food safety. The concepts and practices of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point; ISO 9000; Total Quality Management; Statistical Sampling Plans, Statistical Process Control; Tools of Quality; Government Regulations. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 536 | Food Traceability. | 3 |
Food Traceability. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Concepts and processes associated with the identification, tracking and tracing food forward and backward through the food continuum. See course page for more information |
| FDSC 537 | Nutraceutical Chemistry. | 3 |
Nutraceutical Chemistry. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The origin, classification, mechanism of action and chemical properties of potential and established nutraceutical compounds and their applications in functional foods. See course page for more information |
| LSCI 211 | Biochemistry 1. | 3 |
Biochemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism. See course page for more information |
| LSCI 230 | Introductory Microbiology. | 3 |
Introductory Microbiology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The occurrence and importance of microorganisms in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, humans and animals. See course page for more information |
| NUTR 207 | Nutrition and Health. | 3 |
Nutrition and Health. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle. See course page for more information |
Academic Advisor
Professor H. S. Ramaswamy
Minor in Agribusiness Entrepreneurship (18 credits)
Students taking the Food Science Option can complete their 18 elective credits by registering in Minor in Agribusiness Entrepreneurship (18 credits)
Note: To register for a Minor program, you must complete a Minor Approval form (usually at the beginning of your U2 year), and submit it to the Student Affairs Office.
Program information not available.
