Bioresource Engineering (Non-Thesis): Integrated Food and Bioprocessing (M.Sc.A.) (45 credits)
Offered by: Bioresource Engineering (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Master of Science Applied
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
The Master of Science(Applied) [M.Sc.(A.)] in Bioresource Engineering; Non-Thesis - Integrated Food and Bioprocessing program provides the tools to understand how food and agricultural production interact to better manage agricultural, food, and biomass systems for the adequate supply of wholesome food, feed, fiber, biofuel, and any other bio-based material. The program focuses on the skills needed to assess existing production, delivery, and quality management systems; introduce improvements; and communicate effectively with policymakers and colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams. The program provides up-to-date, world-class knowledge on techniques for adequate process design and management of biomass production strategies for the delivery of quality food, natural fiber, biochemicals, biomaterials, and biofuels, in a sustainable and environment-friendly way that benefits all. Training activities will include laboratory research and/or industrial/government internships.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BREE 600 | Project/Internship Proposal. | 1 |
Project/Internship Proposal. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Preparation of research proposals for BREE 671 and BREE 672 research projects and/or preparation of the internship programs with government, non-governmental organizations or private sector, for BREE 601 and BREE 602. | ||
| BREE 651 | Departmental Seminar M.Sc. 1. | 1 |
Departmental Seminar M.Sc. 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 To give seminars and participate in discussions. | ||
| BREE 652 | Departmental Seminar M.Sc. 2. | 1 |
Departmental Seminar M.Sc. 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 To give seminars and participate in discussions. | ||
| BREE 699 | Scientific Publication. | 3 |
Scientific Publication. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Review and critique papers that are published in field of the candidate. Prepare draft paper(s) following the format of leading journals in field of study undertaken. | ||
Complementary Courses (39 credits)
9 credits of any relevant graduate-level course chosen in consultation with the Program Director.
Minimum of 3 credits of graduate-level Statistics in any department
Minimum of 9 credits from courses selected from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BREE 518 | Ecological Engineering. | 3 |
Ecological Engineering. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Concepts and practice of ecological engineering: the planned creation or management of a community of organisms, their nonliving surroundings, and technological components to provide services. Survey of applications such as constructed wetlands, aquatic production systems, green infrastructure for urban storm water management, environmental restoration. Taught cooperatively with a parallel course at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Online collaboration with an interdisciplinary, international team is an important component of the course. | ||
| BREE 519 | Advanced Food Engineering. | 3 |
Advanced Food Engineering. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Advanced topics in food engineering. Concepts of mathematical modelling and research methodologies in food engineering. Topics include heat and mass transfer in food systems, packaging and distribution of food products, thermal and non-thermal processing, rheology and kinetics of food transformations. | ||
| BREE 520 | Food, Fibre and Fuel Elements. | 3 |
Food, Fibre and Fuel Elements. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Analysis and design incorporating the four elements required by organisms and biomass for food, fibre and fuel production (air, earth, energy, and water). Special emphasis will be placed on the demands and requirements of engineering systems to control these elements and allow optimal growth in semi-controlled and completely controlled environments. | ||
| BREE 530 | Fermentation Engineering. | 3 |
Fermentation Engineering. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Advanced topics in food and fermentation engineering are covered, including brewing, bioreactor design and control and microbial kinetics. | ||
| BREE 531 | Post-Harvest Drying. | 3 |
Post-Harvest Drying. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Heat and moisture transfer with respect to drying of agricultural commodities; techniques of enhancement of heat and mass transfer; drying efficiency and scale-up problems. | ||
| BREE 532 | Post-Harvest Storage. | 3 |
Post-Harvest Storage. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Active, semi-passive and passive storage systems; environmental control systems; post-harvest physiology and pathogenicity; quality assessment and control methodology; economic aspects of long-term storage. | ||
| 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. | ||
| BREE 603 | Advanced Properties: Food and Plant Materials. | 3 |
Advanced Properties: Food and Plant Materials. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Advanced topics related the physico-chemical characteristics/properties of biological products: including mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic and functional properties. Emphasis will be on food constituents (nutraceuticals), plants of pharmaco-interest (phytochemicals), new sources of natural fibers and biofuel biomass. | ||
Minimum of 12 credits selected from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BREE 601 | Integrated Food and Bioprocessing Internship 1. | 6 |
Integrated Food and Bioprocessing Internship 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Placement in a government, non-governmental organization or private sector agency for 6 weeks of full- time work on a bioprocess and food security project (35 hr per week). Students will be responsible for defining a mandate, then performing and reporting on the work/research performed during the internship. | ||
| BREE 602 | Integrated Food and Bioprocessing Internship 2. | 6 |
Integrated Food and Bioprocessing Internship 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Placement in a government, non-governmental organization or private sector agency for 6 weeks of full- time work on a bioprocess and food security project (35 hr per week). Students will be responsible for defining a mandate, then performing and reporting on the work/research performed during the internship. | ||
| BREE 671 | Project 1. | 6 |
Project 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Supervised research project. | ||
| BREE 672 | Project 2. | 6 |
Project 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Supervised research project. | ||
Minimum of 3 credits selected from the following:
| 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. | ||
Minimum of 3 credits selected from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BTEC 502 | Biotechnology Ethics and Society. | 3 |
Biotechnology Ethics and Society. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Examination of particular social and ethical challenges posed by modern biotechnology such as benefit sharing, informed consent in the research setting, access to medical care worldwide, environmental safety and biodiversity and the ethical challenges posed by patenting life. | ||
| 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. | ||
| FDSC 538 | Food Science in Perspective. | 3 |
Food Science in Perspective. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Food industry, food properties, nutritive aspects, quality factors, and key preservation processes, with self-study linking these elements directly to specific commodities and product groups, their characteristics, chemistry and distinct manufacturing processes. | ||
| GEOG 515 | Contemporary Dilemmas of Development. | 3 |
Contemporary Dilemmas of Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analysis of acute geographic dilemmas of international development. Emphasis on 1) rural systems and the problems of agrobiodiversity, land tenure, conflict, food relief, refugees and migration, the peace process, geopolitics and diplomacy; 2) role of development programs and agendas of the international community, the workings of development On the Ground (TM). | ||
| NUTR 501 | Nutrition in the Majority World. | 3 |
Nutrition in the Majority World. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Current nutrition-related issues in the Majority World, emphasizing young children and other vulnerable groups. The integration of a life science and social science perspective. The multiple causes, consequences, policies, and interventions related to current nutrition. | ||