Students who minored in Food Studies have gone on to careers/graduate studies in nutrition, food science, organic farming and specialty food production and sales.

Sample Job Titles and National Salary Ranges

* Sources of Information: United States Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020). For more information about careers and assistance in making your career plans, please contact Career Services (cahill@ramapo.edu) or visit www.ramapo.edu/careercenter/.

Students will understand why some of the plants, animals, and microbes are chosen for our meals. Topics include: milk and dairy products, eggs, meat and fish, edible plant parts, candy and chocolate, wine and beer, processed food and food preservation, food safety and analysis. The biological basis and nutritional value of foods, and changes in food molecules during food preparation will be emphasized. The pathways of energy metabolism and the general metabolism of macro-nutrients will be studied. Students will learn about the metabolic rate and health impact of vitamins, minerals and fiber as well as the importance of energy balance and body composition and their relationship to obesity.

Students will also gain an understanding of conventional agricultural systems and sustainable agricultural systems (agro-ecology), with an emphasis on their environmental impacts. The needs and mechanics of growing food crops and livestock will be given. A review of the requirements for the conversion to a sustainable farm and the necessary information needed to start a farm will be provided.

Students will develop an awareness of the meanings of food among different cultures, and explore the ways in which geographic, cultural, political, and economic forces interact to influence food preferences, health, and nutritional status. The program will consider how gender, ethnicity, class, religion, the media, and corporate capitalism influence the manner in which we perceive, acquire, prepare, and consume food. Moreover, the courses will examine how we, through what and how we eat and do not eat, construct relationships with our bodies, with others, with our histories, with animals, and the environment.

Students will analyze the social structures and processes that influence food production, distribution, consumption, and how each of these affect human populations in developed and developing societies.

Internships in community supported agriculture and food science available.