Packaging Science

Areas of specialization within FNPS are aligned with those of the major advisor (advisory committee chair). The most common areas of specialization include research topics in:

• Food Microbiology
• Food Chemistry
• Food Product Development
• Food Engineering
• Human Nutrition
• Food Packaging
• Packaging Materials
• Packaging Design
• Packaging Dynamics
• Packaging Logistics

(in addition to Graduate School requirements) 

We require that all students have a faculty member agree to act as their major advisor prior to acceptance. For entering MS students, Bachelor of Science in a Food, Nutrition or Packaging related discipline is desirable, but not required. GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores are required for application. Prospective major advisors may petition to waive this requirement. A duly justified request to waive the GRE requirement should be addressed to the Graduate Program Coordinator. Waiver requests from the applicant will not be considered. Students typically complete a MS before moving to a PhD degree program. The FNPS Program does not accept students into the PhD degree program directly from a BS degree.

Dates and deadlines

The FNPS Program has rolling admissions, and accepts students for the Spring, Summer and Fall semesters. Applications are considered year-round for all semesters with the final deadline of acceptance prior to the last day to register for classes.

The Plan of Study is tailored to each student’s needs and interests and must be approved by the advisory committee. There are several required core courses in the different programs, but all students are expected to be proficient in experimental design, statistical analysis, and in areas relevant to their research topics. Students may be required to correct deficiencies in their academic background by auditing or by enrolling in supplemental courses.

Record Keeping
Students must keep accurate records of experiments, along with data,