Start your journey in food and nutrition at
Carleton University!
The field of food science integrates the natural and health sciences with law and economics to produce safe and nutritious food for all. Food Science at Carleton University is a unique and broad-based interdisciplinary program. It includes courses in chemistry, biology, nutrition, toxicology, regulations, and policies to prepare students to solve complex problems. These problems include contaminated food and water, adulterated food, food loss and sustainability, and nutrient-deficient foods. Built on a strong science foundation, the program in later years emphasizes food safety, risk assessment, and policies to prepare students for work in industry, research, and government departments and agencies like Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Award-winning teachers deliver courses in a B.Sc. Honours and Minor program that offers a combination of interactive lectures, laboratory work, field-based experiential learning opportunities like Co-op, and research experiences. Entrance scholarships and bursaries can help you get started.
Explore our Program
Food Science Course Map
Explore our Experiential Opportunities
The Food Science program offers a successful Co-op program enabling students to gain a full 12 months of rich and relevant work experience after their third year of study. Read testimonials from our Food Science students who participated in the Co-op program.
The Faculty of Science offers research opportunities with a faculty member in your program for high achieving students who have just completed their first year of study.
- UG-TA Opportunities
- Dean’s Summer Research Internships (DSRI)
- Internship – Carleton University Research Experience for Undergraduate Students (I-CUREUS)
- NSERC Undergraduate Research Awards (USRA)
- Walker Summer Research Award
Explore our Research
Research in Food Science at Carleton University aims to solve complex societal problems that impact lives through our food and environment. Our researchers work on food security using agri-food waste to increase the nutritional value of food. They take steps towards ensuring reductions in food loss and waste by developing biocontrol applications as alternatives to synthetic pesticides and preservatives to reduce food spoilage. Our researchers identify, characterize, and determine the modes of action for chemical hazards that contaminate food, water, and the environment. This work can inform food, agricultural, health, and environmental policies. Our researchers also offer solutions to societal problems by developing rapid testing methods for contaminants and biomarkers. These innovative tools can increase productivity and improve the safety of consumer products. We invite you to look at faculty research interests and find ways in which you can become a member of a cutting edge research team. Explore the additional research that also taps into analytical methods.
Explore Career Opportunities
The modern job market for food professionals demands people who have technical skills as well as an understanding of regulatory and socioeconomic issues relating to the food/agriculture sector. People with both sets of skills are in demand by all levels of government and by the private sector. View our Food Science Career Series to read about what our former students have accomplished after graduating from the Food Science program at Carleton University.
