Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Food Science Major, BS in Food Science – Five-Year BS/MS Program


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For qualified students, the Department of Food Science offers a Five-Year BS/MS accelerated degree program with a BS major in Food Science and a thesis-based MS major in Food Science. Central to this program is that a qualified student may take up to nine hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both the BS degree and the MS degree. Students will be considered for conditional admission to the program during, or immediately following, their junior year of undergraduate study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Because the MS program requires that students write a thesis based on their original research, students in the BS/MS program must start working on their research project no later than immediately following the junior year of undergraduate studies. For each student in the program, a graduate advisory committee composed of a minimum of three faculty members must be established before completion of the BS degree.   

To be considered for conditional admission to the program:

  • A student must be a declared Food Science major with a minimum GPA of 3.4, must have completed at least 15 hours of credit in Food Science, and must have completed at least 90 hours of the 120 hours of coursework required for the BS degree with a major in Food Science.
  • A student must provide three letters of recommendation and complete a personal interview with individuals comprising the Graduate and Undergraduate Committees in the Department of Food Science. 
  • A student must obtain a commitment from a Food Science graduate research faculty member to serve as his/her graduate mentor-advisor (i.e., major professor) and at least two other graduate research faculty members to serve on his/her graduate advisory committee.

Applicants are required to have completed FDSC 241 - Food Preservation and Packaging . The Department may consider other relevant factors such as an applicant’s work experience and level of maturity before conditionally admitting a student to the BS/MS program. Conditional admission of a student into the Five-Year BS/MS program must be approved by both the Department of Food Science and the Graduate School. Students will be typically informed of the outcome of their application before the beginning of their senior year of undergraduate study.

Any course taken for graduate credit before satisfying all requirements for the BS degree must be approved both by the Graduate Director and by the Graduate School. These courses must be identified in advance, in consultation with the undergraduate advisor, proposed master’s graduate advisor, and advisory committee members. The form “Food Science Conditional Admission Five-Year BVS-MS” is available from the Graduate Director and must be completed, signed by the student and the Graduate Director before submitting to the Graduate School for approval and processing.

Conditional admission into the BS/MS program does not guarantee acceptance into either the Graduate School or the MS program. Students in the BS/MS program must apply for admission to the Graduate School and to the MS program during their senior year of undergraduate study, following the same procedures that all other student applicants follow. A GRE score must be submitted as part of the application for admission into any graduate program in the Department of Food Science. Students will be fully admitted to the MS program after they have been accepted both by the Graduate School and by the Food Science program. Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Food Science – Food Science Major – Five-Year BS/MS Program


Term 1 Hours Milestone Notes
1Biological Sciences Electives* 4 2.0 cumulative GPA
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118  3  
FDSC 100   3  
2MATH 125 *, MATH 141 *, MATH 147 *, or MATH 151  3  
4Arts and Humanities *, Cultures and Civilizations *, or Social Sciences * Elective 3  
Term 2
4Arts and Humanities *, Cultures and Civilizations *, or Social Sciences * Elective 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 120 * or CHEM 128  4 ENGL 101 
ENGL 102  3 One Arts and Humanities* or Cultures and Civilizations*, or Social Sciences* Elective
4FDSC 150 * or other Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3  
NUTR 100   3  
Term 3
4Arts and Humanities *, Cultures and Civilizations *, or Social Sciences * Elective 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 130 * or CHEM 138  4 CHEM 100 * or CHEM 120 
FDSC 241   3 One Quantitative Reasoning Elective*
MATH 115 *, MATH 152 *, STAT 201 *, or STAT 207  3  
MICR 210  3  
Term 4
4Arts and Humanities *, Cultures and Civilizations *, or Social Sciences * Elective 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 260   3 FDSC 100  or FDSC 241  
4Communicating Orally Elective* 3  
FDSC 201   1  
PHYS 221  4  
4Communicating through Writing Elective* 3  
Term 5
4Arts and Humanities *, Cultures and Civilizations *, or Social Sciences * Elective 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 360 , CHEM 369   5 CHEM 130 
FDSC 390   3 Two Arts and Humanities* or Cultures and Civilizations*, or Social Sciences* Electives
FDSC 361  or FDSC 362   3  
FDSC 341   3  
Term 6
FDSC 493   3 Apply for conditional admission to graduate program after completion of at least 90 credit hours with maximum of 3 hours of FDSC 493  and FDSC 499  combined.
BCMB 230  or BCMB 311  or BCMB 401   4-5 Start working on research project
FDSC 430   3  
FDSC 410  or FDSC 418  (Both BS/MS credit) 4  
Term 7
FDSC 415   4 Apply to graduate
FDSC 421  or FDSC 428  and FDSC 429  (Both BS/MS credit) 5  
3Unrestricted Elective 4  
Term 8
FDSC 445   3 Establish graduate advisory committee before completing BS degree
FDSC 495   3  
3Unrestricted Electives 3-4  
MS PLSC 525 - Research Ethics for the Life Sciences 1  
TOTAL 120  
* Meets University General Education Requirement .
1 Chosen from BIOL 101 *, BIOL 102 *, BIOL 150 *-BIOL 159 * or BIOL 158 *-BIOL 167 *.
2 Mathematics placement depends on high school courses and grades and ACT scores.
3 Any courses not already required for the major.
4 Chosen from the University General Education list . Students must complete one Communicating Orally course (CMST 210 *, CMST 217 *, CMST 240 *, or CMST 247 * recommended), one Communicating through Writing course, and two courses from each of the following categories – Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultures and Civilizations.

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