Food Science - Food Science Option Honours (B.Sc.(F.Sc.)) (90 credits)
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Bachelor of Science (Food Science)
Program credit weight: 90
Program Description
Students can use their electives to complete the Honours program. The courses credited to the Honours program must be in addition to any required or complementary courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the student's major and specialization.
In addition to satisfying the research requirements, students must apply for the Honours program in March or April of their U2 year. It is the responsibility of the student to find a professor who is willing to support and supervise the research project. No student will be accepted into the program until a supervisor has agreed to supervise the student. Applicants must have a minimum CGPA of 3.3 to enter the Honours program and they must earn a B grade (3.0) or higher in the courses making up the Honours program. Students are required to achieve a minimum overall CGPA of 3.3 at graduation to obtain honours. Students can use their electives to complete the Honours program. The courses credited to the Honours program must be in addition to any required or complementary courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the student's major and specialization.
The Honours program consists of 12 credits of courses that follow one of two plans listed below.
Students who meet all the requirements will have the name of their program changed to include the word "Honours."
A brief description of the research activities involved will be documented and signed by the Program Director of the student's major, the supervisor of the research project, and the student.
This program is intended for those students interested in the multidisciplinary field of food science. The courses are integrated to acquaint the student with food processing, food chemistry, quality assurance, analytical procedures, food products, standards, and regulations. The program prepares graduates for employment as scientists in industry or government, in regulatory, research, quality assurance, or product development capacities.
Graduates have the academic qualifications for membership in the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST). Graduates of the Food Science Major with Food Science Option can also qualify for recognition by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
The Food Science Option is completed after 90 credits with free elective courses.
Refer to "Faculty Information and Regulations" > "Minimum Credit Requirements" in this Course Catalogue for prerequisites and minimum credit requirements.
For information on academic advising, see: http://www.mcgill.ca/macdonald/studentinfo/advising
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
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 (51 credits)
Note: If an introductory CEGEP-level Organic Chemistry course has not been completed, then FDSC 230 Organic Chemistry. must be completed as a replacement.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEMA 310 | Statistical Methods 1. | 3 |
Statistical Methods 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs. | ||
| 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. | ||
| BREE 324 | Elements of Food Engineering. | 3 |
Elements of Food Engineering. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A course in basic food engineering for non-engineering students, covering heat transfer, mass and energy balances, food process unit operations, material transport/ steam/refrigeration systems. | ||
| FDSC 200 | Introduction to Food Science. | 3 |
Introduction to Food Science. Terms offered: Fall 2025 This course enables one to gain an appreciation of the scope of food science as a discipline. Topics include introductions to chemistry, processing, packaging, analysis, microbiology, product development, sensory evaluation and quality control as they relate to food science. | ||
| FDSC 213 | Analytical Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Analytical Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theoretical aspects of wet chemical techniques including gravimetric and volumetric analyses, redoximetry, and separation techniques. | ||
| FDSC 251 | Food Chemistry 1. | 3 |
Food Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A study of the chemistry and functionality of the major components comprising food systems, such as water, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. The relationship of these components to food stability will be studied in terms of degradative reactions and processing. | ||
| FDSC 300 | Principles of Food Analysis 1. | 3 |
Principles of Food Analysis 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The fundamentals of food analysis are presented with the emphasis on the major components of foods. Topics include: food components, sampling, method selection, official methods, proximate analysis, moisture, protein, fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and nutraceutical compounds. | ||
| FDSC 310 | Post Harvest Fruit and Vegetable Technology. | 3 |
Post Harvest Fruit and Vegetable Technology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The post harvest chemistry and physiology of horticultural crops as they affect quality and marketability, handling methods pre and post harvest, principles and practices in cooling, storage, transportation and packaging. | ||
| FDSC 319 | Food Commodities. | 3 |
Food Commodities. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The relationship between the chemistry of food constituents present in common commodities, such as milk, meat, eggs, cereals, oilseeds etc. and the common processing technologies associated with their transformation into stable food products. | ||
| FDSC 330 | Food Processing. | 3 |
Food Processing. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The principles and practices of food processing with an emphasis on canning, freezing, and dehydration. A survey of the newer methods of food preservation such as irradiation, reverse osmosis etc. | ||
| FDSC 400 | Food Packaging. | 3 |
Food Packaging. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An integrated approach to the materials used for the packaging of food products, considering the physical, chemical and functional characteristics of such materials and their utility, relative to the chemistry of the food system they are designed to enclose and preserve. | ||
| FDSC 442 | Food Microbiology. | 3 |
Food Microbiology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Topics in Food Microbiology including an overview of the natural flora and microbiological spoilage of food products, methods of control and shelf-life extension, methods of detection and control food-borne pathogens and the use of suitable microorganisms in the production of a variety of food products. | ||
| FDSC 495D1 | Food Science Seminar. | 1.5 |
Food Science Seminar. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Two 20-minute presentations (1 per term) on an assigned or selected topic. The purpose is to research a subject and present to a peer audience the essence of the subject investigated. Development of presentation and communication skills at a professional level is stressed and rapport with the industry will be established through guest speakers. | ||
| FDSC 495D2 | Food Science Seminar. | 1.5 |
Food Science Seminar. Terms offered: Winter 2026 See FDSC 495D1 for course description. | ||
| FDSC 525 | Food Quality Assurance. | 3 |
Food Quality Assurance. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The principles and practices required for the development, maintenance and monitoring of systems for food quality and food safety. The concepts and practices of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point; ISO 9000; Total Quality Management; Statistical Sampling Plans, Statistical Process Control; Tools of Quality; Government Regulations. | ||
| LSCI 211 | Biochemistry 1. | 3 |
Biochemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism. | ||
| LSCI 230 | Introductory Microbiology. | 3 |
Introductory Microbiology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The occurrence and importance of microorganisms in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, humans and animals. | ||
| NUTR 207 | Nutrition and Health. | 3 |
Nutrition and Health. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle. | ||
Additional Required Courses - Food Science Option (21 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FDSC 233 | Physical Chemistry. | 3 |
Physical Chemistry. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to kinetic theory, thermodynamics, properties of liquids and solids, chemical equilibrium and the law of mass action, phase rule, properties of solutions, chemical kinetics. | ||
| FDSC 305 | Food Chemistry 2. | 3 |
Food Chemistry 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A study of the chemistry and functionality of the minor components comprising food systems, such as enzymes, anthocyanins, carotenoids, additives, vitamins and essential oils. The relationship of these components to food stability in terms of degradative reactions and processing. | ||
| FDSC 315 | Separation Techniques in Food Analysis 1. | 3 |
Separation Techniques in Food Analysis 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A detailed treatment on the principal chromotographic and electrophoretic techniques that are associated with the analysis of carbohydrate, lipid, protein constituents of food. | ||
| FDSC 334 | Analysis of Food Toxins and Toxicants. | 3 |
Analysis of Food Toxins and Toxicants. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Toxins and toxicant residues in food including heavy metals, persistant organic pollutants (POPS) and microbial toxins are explored from an analytical perspective; new methods and strategies of analysis are emphasized. | ||
| FDSC 405 | Food Product Development. | 3 |
Food Product Development. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Fundamental principles of food product development from an innovative concept to the marketplace. Emphasis will be on the application of basic knowledge of food chemistry, food technology and related disciplines in developing new products or improving the existing ones. | ||
| FDSC 516 | Flavour Chemistry. | 3 |
Flavour Chemistry. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The chemistry of the flavour constituents of foods, thermal and enzymatic generation, mechanistic pathways of formation, analysis synthesis and applications in food. | ||
| FDSC 540 | Sensory Evaluation of Foods. | 3 |
Sensory Evaluation of Foods. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles and procedures for sensory evaluation of food products, applications of sensory tests, their strengths and weaknesses, factors affecting their responses, data analysis and interpretation of results. Analysis of sensory data in relation to the instrumental analyses will also be emphasized. | ||
Honours Courses
Students choose either Plan A or Plan B.
Honours Plan A
Two 6-credit Honours research courses in the subject area of the student's major, chosen in consultation with the Program Director of the student's major and the professor who has agreed to supervise the research project.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FAES 401 | Honours Research Project 1. | 6 |
Honours Research Project 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Students will prepare a Literature Review, Progress Report and deliver a Proposal Seminar as well as begin work on the research project. Completion of the project will take place in FAES 402, Honours Research Project 2. | ||
| FAES 402 | Honours Research Project 2. | 6 |
Honours Research Project 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Honours Research Project 2 is the completion of the project begun in FAES 401 and requires a Progress Report, a Final Project Report and a Project Presentation. | ||
Honours Plan B
A minimum of two 3-credit Honours courses and 6 credits in 400- or 500-level courses, from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, selected in consultation with the Program Director of the student's major. The topic of the Honours research project must be on a topic related to their major and selected in consultation with the Program Director of the student's major and the professor who has agreed to supervise the research project.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FAES 405 | Honours Project 1. | 3 |
Honours Project 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Students will prepare a Literature Review, Progress Report and deliver a Proposal Seminar as well as begin work on the research project. Completion of the project will take place in FAES 406, Honours Project 2. | ||
| FAES 406 | Honours Project 2. | 3 |
Honours Project 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Honours Project 2 is the completion of the project begun in FAES 405 and requires a Progress Report, a Final Project Report and a Project Presentation. | ||
Elective Courses (6 credits)
Electives are selected in consultation with an academic adviser, to meet the minimum 90-credit requirement for the degree. A portion of these credits should be in the humanities/social sciences.