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Food Science

If you want a career as a food scientist, start by earning a two-year food science degree at Normandale. You’ll save money taking core classes like math, chemistry and English. And you’ll learn scientific and agricultural principles that form the foundation of how food is grown, produced and processed. 

When you complete the associate of science (AS) food science degree here, you can seamlessly transfer to complete a bachelor’s degree in food science at the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). We have a one-of-a-kind partnership with them.

$74940

Median annual wage for agricultural and food scientists in February 2024

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

3,000

Job openings for agricultural and food scientists projected each year over this decade

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What do Food Scientists do?

Food scientists and technologists use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of food.

Across myriad jobs, food scientists:

  • Analyze food content
  • Discover new food sources
  • Make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful
  • Determine the best ways to process, package, preserve, store and distribute food

Students become agricultural and food scientists and work in laboratories, in offices and in the field. A few job titles used in the industry include animal scientist, food scientist and technologist, plant scientist and soil scientist.

Food Science Program Basics

Pursue your AS in food science, then continue to study at the University of Minnesota 

Health Sciences Faculty

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