Food Science (Graduate Program)

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For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here. 

Program Overview

The Department of Food Science offers advanced studies in food chemistry, food quality, product development, byproduct utilization, food safety, foods for health and combating effects of obesity, food microbiology, and food biotechnology. Students may also study specific foods such as seafood, rice, dairy products, sweet potato, peppers, meat, or others. Training and research in the basic sciences of biology, physics, and chemistry, and the natural sciences of biochemistry, microbiology, toxicology, and engineering are incorporated into graduate studies which allow specialization in specific areas of student interest.

The department is well equipped with research laboratories for food chemistry, food microbiology, food analysis, tissue culture/hybridoma, food engineering and processing, and sensory analysis. Pilot food processing facilities have freezing, mixing, forming, mince recovery, batter and breading, packaging, and other processing equipment. Other LSU units such as the Schools of Animal Sciences; Human Ecology; Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences; Veterinary Medicine; and Renewable Natural Resources; the Departments of Biological & Agricultural Engineering and Oceanography & Coastal Sciences; Audubon Sugar Institute; and Pennington Biomedical Research Center also provide faculty expertise and laboratories for analysis and pilot processing activities for food.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School: www.lsu.edu/gradapply. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the department for each semester (fall, spring, summer). Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, have a minimum of 150 verbal GRE score and 150 quantitative GRE score, three letters of recommendation that describe the student’s ability to pursue graduate studies in food science, and a statement of purpose or interest in the desired specific area of food science. The statement of purpose satisfies the writing sample requirement for admission. International students whose native language is not English must also submit TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE scores that meet the Graduate School minimum requirements.

When all admission requirements are met and documents have been submitted, full admission will be considered by the departmental graduate faculty members. Final admittance to the program must be supported by a member of the departmental graduate faculty who serve as the student’s major advisor. If a student does not meet all requirements, he or she may be admitted provisionally (e.g., on probation if the GPA is not 3.0 or higher or if the GRE is not 1000 or higher). Students are admitted for fall, spring, and summer semesters, but admission depends upon the availability of space in the program of each individual professor. The lack of space in a program is sufficient justification to deny admission of an applicant.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance may be available for students. Support may be available through the department or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. Financial assistance is on a competitive basis so early applications are encouraged. Each professor determines the availability of space and financial assistance for the graduate students in his/her program. Students on assistantship receive full tuition waivers, but are responsible for university fees, insurance, and other costs. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted as early as possible before the actual admitting semester. The deadlines for admission are in March for fall semester and in October of the previous year for spring and summer semesters.

Graduate Faculty

(check current listings by department by clicking this link)

Giovanna Aita (3F) • Biomass conversion, antimicrobials for food, characterization of antimicrobial resistant bacteria
John Beaulieu (3F) • Sensory properties and shelf-life of fruit, food processing
William T. Cefalu (3P) • Clinical interventions to improve the metabolic state of individuals with insulin resistance and cellular mechanisms for insulin resistance
Donal F. Day (M) • Industrial microbiology, polysaccharide production and industrial enzymology, biofuels
John W. Finley (M) • Low calorie ingredients and functional foods mediating impacts of obesity, low calorie carbohydrates and lipids causing caloric dilution in foods, bioactive ingredients influencing fat deposition, antiinflammatory food formulations influencing effects of obesity and diabetes
Frank L. Greenway (3F) • Developing obesity treatments including diets, hebal supplements, medical foods, devices, obesity surgery, and obesity drug development
Robert M. Grodner (EM) • Seafood; food irradiation
Marlene Janes (M) • Food microbiology and safety; detection, control, and prevention of foodborne pathogens in food products
Joan King (M) • Food chemistry and safety, ingredient development with sweet potato and rice components especially resistant starch, oxidation products in processed and stored foods, aflatoxin in grains and nuts, off-flavors in catfish, ozone processing
Jack Losso (M) • Food chemistry and biochemistry, protein biotechnology, recovery of bioactive compounds for food and biomedical applications, bioavailability and molecular basis of antiangiogenic dietary bioactive compounds, food fortification
Michael W. Moody (EM) • Seafood processing and technology, food safety, packaging
Witoon Prinyawiwatkul (M) • Sensory analysis and consumer acceptance of foods and beverages, new and value-added food product development, functional/physical-chemical characteristics of food ingredients
Ramu Rao (EM) • Food engineering, utilization of rice and rice products, thermal properties of foods
Subramaniam Sathivel (M) • Food engineering with emphasis on design and development of food processing unit operations; preservation and packaging of foods (coatings, edible films, microencapsulation); thermal, rheological, and functional properties of ingredients and foods; development of nonfood materials from biological wastes including biodiesel
Paul Wilson (EM) • Processing and preservation of horticultural crops
Zhimin Xu (M) • Food microconstituent analysis, extraction and characterization of functional food components, evaluation of health benefits of functional components using chemical and biological models

Programs

• Food Science, Ph.D.

• Food Science, M.S.

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