Food Systems and Food Studies Co-Major
For information, contact the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, 118 Shideler Hall, 513-529-5811.
The Food Systems & Food Studies co-major provides an interdisciplinary examination of food, exploring the complex path food follows from farm to fork and beyond. Combining courses on the fundamentals of agricultural ecology; food, nutrition, and health; and food, society, and culture with real-world experiences, students develop a broad understanding of food from a biological, economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental perspective. Students are prepared to pursue a wide variety career paths and post-graduate degrees in agriculture and food related professions. The Food Systems and Food Studies co-major is designed to complement a primary major, which provides significant depth and breadth in an academic discipline.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| I. Foundations of Food Systems & Food Studies | ||
| BIO 131 | Plants, Humanity, and Environment | 3-4 |
| or BIO 191 | Plant Biology | |
| or BIO 115 | Biological Concepts: Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, and Diversity | |
| BIO 306 | Basic Horticulture | 3 |
| IES 274 | Introduction to Environment and Sustainability | 3 |
| IES 278 | Introduction to Food Systems | 3 |
| IES 278L | Understanding Food Systems Laboratory | 1 |
| KNH 102 | Food, Nutrition & Health | 3 |
| II. Experiential Learning | ||
| Students must complete 3 hours of internship working with an Institute for Food faculty advisor. Internship hours can be completed at the Miami University Institute for Food Farm or at other farm or food-centered organizations approved in advance by the advisor for the Food Systems & Food Studies Co-Major. Fifty hours of internship work equals 1 credit hour. Prerequisite IES 278L or permission of the Food Systems & Food Studies co-major advisor. | ||
| IES 340 | Internship | 3 |
| III. Interdisciplinary Electives | 15 | |
| Student designed, interdisciplinary elective in food systems and food studies integrating courses from the following areas. Courses from at least 2 areas must be included: | ||
| AREA ONE: Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture (select from the following list of courses) | ||
| Fundamentals of Ecology | ||
| Viticulture and Enology | ||
| Soil Ecology and Sustainable Use | ||
| Water and Society | ||
| Soils and Paleosols | ||
| Sustainability in Practice | ||
| The Microbial World | ||
| AREA TWO: Food, Nutrition & Health (select from the following list of courses) | ||
| Introduction to Food Science | ||
| Nutrition in Disease Prevention Management | ||
| Global and Community Nutrition | ||
KNH 304 | ||
| Advanced Food Science | ||
| Nutrition Across the Life Span | ||
| AREA THREE: Food, Culture & Society (select from the following list of courses) | ||
| Food, Taste, and Desire | ||
| Social Entrepreneurship | ||
| Environmental Communication | ||
| Sustainability Perspectives in Resources and Business | ||
| Sustainable Marketing Management | ||
| Family Poverty | ||
| Self and Place | ||
| Interdisciplinary Synthesis and Action | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 34-35 | |