Food and Nutritional Sciences

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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Home/Canada/Vancouver /University of British Columbia/Food and Nutritional Sciences

University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

Bachelor

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Application Fee

CAD 125

Campuses

Vancouver

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake Deadlines15-May-2023

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 5 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 49,382 / year

Next Intake 15-May-2023

Food and Nutritional Sciences

About

You can study intense specialization in a single field.

UBC's Food and Nutritional Sciences degree has the added distinction of being approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT): the internationally respected governing body that sets the standards in Food Science education. By choosing this double major, you'll be eligible to apply for Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) scholarships and other food science-specific student funding. You'll also have access to the IFT Student Association events and opportunities to collaborate with other students across North America.

Experiential learning and research

This double major emphasizes hands-on experience through foundational science and food-specific laboratory courses. You'll also be able to take part in community-based learning through the Land, Food, and Community series, where you'll investigate regional, national, and global food systems that are ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable.

Additionally, you can build business skills through hands-on opportunities such as working at the student-run Agora Cafe or at food industry co-op placements.

Campus features

The department of Food, Nutrition and Health has spacious chemistry and microbiology laboratories that are used only for undergraduate teaching, providing you with with plenty of space to work on your experimental projects. As well as the teaching kitchen and sensory evaluation space, you'll spend time in the Pilot Plant facility, which is a modern analytical research laboratory used to develop new food products in sustainable ways.

Food and Nutritional Sciences is a competitive double major, combining the core degree requirements of the Food Science and Nutritional Sciences programs. You'll discover the chemistry and microbiology of food, its nutritional and sensory properties, and the function of nutrients in health and disease, and graduate ready for a career in the food and nutrition industries or graduate-level study in health sciences.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5

LFS 100 - Introduction to Land, Food and Community
Orientation to the programs, learning environment and core values of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems; career programs; survey of professional opportunities and requirements.
LFS 150 - Scholarly Writing and Argumentation in Land and Food Systems
Communicating concepts of food systems and links to human and environmental health through writing, elements of argumentation, evaluating evidence, and searching for and citing references to back up claims; small-class experience. Enrolment limited to LFS students with first year status.
FNH 160 - Introductory Physiology for Human Nutrition I
Basic principles in human physiology, including function of the nervous, endocrine, musculoskeletal and digestive systems, integration across systems, maintenance of homeostasis, and application to human nutrition.
CHEM 121 - Structure and Bonding in Chemistry
Fundamentals of bonding theories and structural chemistry, with applications relevant to modern society.
PHYS 131 - Energy and Waves (Lecture)
Fluids, harmonic oscillator, travelling waves, standing waves, sound, and interference of light waves, including diffraction.

LFS 250 - Land, Food and Community I: Introduction to Food Systems and Sustainability
Managed systems and concepts of sustainability; economic, ecological and social components; managed landscapes, agri-food systems, and communities; urban and rural systems; the land, food, nutrition and human health continuum.
FNH 200 - Exploring Our Food
Chemical and physical properties of foods; issues pertaining to safety, nutritive value and consumer acceptability; government regulations pertaining to food safety, quality and additives; preservation techniques and transformation of agricultural commodities to food products; foods of the future.
FNH 250 - Nutrition Concepts and Controversies
Fundamental concepts and principles of human nutrition applied to current nutrition issues.
CHEM 235 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Techniques of organic chemistry. To be taken in conjunction with, or in the term following, CHEM 233.
MICB 211 - Foundations of Microbiology
Prokaryotic diversity and the impact and applications of microbial metabolic, genetic, and growth processes in environmental contexts. Bacteria-human interactions in health and disease, mode of action of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, virulence factors of bacteria, and host response to infection.

FNH 301 - Food Chemistry I
Constituents of food and related chemical physical properties including water, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, minerals, and vitamins.
FNH 303 - Food Product Development
Introduction to and application of concepts involved in food product formulation and development.
FNH 309 - Food Process Science
Preservation of tissue and fluid food systems by selected physical and chemical treatments with emphasis on product-process interactions.
FNH 313 - Food Microbiology
Food microorganisms of importance in safety and spoilage of foods; factors affecting growth, survival and inactivation of microorganisms in foods; food processing plant cleaning and sanitation.
FNH 326 - Food Science Laboratory II
Integrated laboratory encompassing the processing and analysis of foods. Enrolment restricted to Food Science students.

FNH 351 - Vitamins, Minerals, and Health
Vitamin and mineral nutrition and their role in maintaining and promoting health.
FNH 371 - Human Nutrition Over The Life Span
Nutritional requirements and dietary patterns of healthy individuals throughout the life span. 3-0-0
FNH 398 - Research Methods in Human Nutrition
Process of research; principles and processes in utilizing research. Restricted to students in majors in the FNH program.
FNH 425 - Food Science Laboratory III
Integrated course designed to illustrate principles of research and product development in the food industry.
FNH 477 - Nutrition and Disease Prevention
Evidence-based examination of the role of nutrition in the prevention of chronic disease.

LFS 350 - Land, Food, and Community II: Principles and Practice of Community Food Security
Project-based application of the principles and processes of community food security. Emphasis on developing skills required to address economic, ecological, social, and technological components of managed landscapes, agri-food systems, and communities comprising the land, food, nutrition and health continuum.
FNH 370 - Nutrition Assessment
The use of dietary, anthropometric, biochemical, and related information for the assessment of nutritional status of individuals and populations.
FNH 342 - Critical Perspectives on Consumer Food Practices
Personal, collective, and policy factors affecting food choices, including perceptions of healthy eating, gender, identity, family structures, and economic, sociocultural, and political forces.
FNH 415 - Business Concepts in Food, Nutrition, and Health
Introduction to and application of business activities in food, nutrition, and health settings. Credit will only be granted for only one of FNH 415, FOOD 515, or FRE 515.

Disciplines

Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Graduation from a university-preparatory program at a senior secondary school: General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi). Certificates must be official. Photocopies are acceptable if certified by school principal, head, or counsellor. Notarized copies are not acceptable.

Career

Many graduates of Food and Nutritional Sciences pursue an MSc or PhD in Human Nutrition or Food Science, or a professional MFS in Food Science. Others go on to careers in the food and nutrition sectors, in positions such as:

Program graduates

Food product development technician
Quality assurance manager
Nutrition educator
Consumer product officer
Food technologist
Pharmaceutical sales representative
Microbiology technician
Food safety specialist

UBC stories

"There are countless paths that lead towards being a physician and none are better than the others " however, studying Nutritional Sciences at UBC was perfect for me. The structure of the first two years in the program allowed me to complete the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses necessary for a solid science foundation...Most specifically, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems gave me many opportunities to work on collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving " important attributes for a medical student."
Brenna Han, Food and Nutritional Sciences Read the full story

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Fee Information

Tuition Fee

CAD 49,382

Application Fee

CAD 125

How to Apply

As you complete the online application, keep the following tips in mind:

Start early and take your time. Once you begin the application, you will be able to save it and return to it later – but only up until the deadline. Once you have submitted your application to UBC, you will not be able to edit it. Since the online application can sometimes time out if left open for too long, we recommend working on your personal profile questions outside of the application (where you can run them through a spell-checker) then copy and paste them into your application.
Let the online application guide you. You’ll be asked to provide only the information we need based on your degree choice(s), your previous education, and other factors.
Tell us your full academic history. It’s important to include all of the high schools, colleges, and/or universities you have attended. Don’t leave anything out!
Be accurate. UBC has a number of methods in place to authenticate information provided in the application. These methods include, but are not limited to, contacting references, verifying academic records, and requesting additional documentation to verify your personal profile. If an application is found to contain untrue or incomplete information, UBC may, at its discretion: withdraw an offer of admission; require you to withdraw from UBC; subject you to academic discipline; or share the information provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties.
Use an email address you check frequently. Once you have submitted your application, UBC will communicate with you primarily by email.
Note your UBC student number. Write down your UBC student number somewhere safe. You’ll need it in future correspondence with UBC.