About the Department

The Department of Food Science at Penn State is one of the premier food science departments in the country.

The Department of Food Science is Penn State’s home for the emerging technologies and best practices required for producing, safe, delicious, nutritious food. Our small-school atmosphere facilitates a warm, welcoming, intellectually stimulating, and professional environment.

我们的工作与行业需求和社区的需求密切一致。我们拥有最先进的设施和世界级教职员，在他们的田地里有多年的工作经验。

Student success drives the department. Our undergraduate食品科学专业offers students hands-on science with real-world applications, strong internship experiences, wide-ranging scholarship opportunities, and excellent job placement.

Our研究生课程提供科学硕士和哲学博士degrees. Graduate students receive in-depth training in the core disciplines of food chemistry, food microbiology, food engineering and processing, and sensory evaluation.

Researchis facilitated through core disciplines as well as following collaborative multidisciplinary signature areas: Microbial Food Safety, Food Choice, Food-Based Solutions for Enhanced Health, and the Material Nature of Foods, as well as underlying cross-cutting research themes of Food Quality and Food Fermentation. Students can participate in meaningful research from the first semester of their first year.

Meet ourfaculty, staff, and students, and see why we are one of the premier food science departments in the country.

Latest News

September 9, 2020

Penn State Extension food safety training given in Ukraine has a lasting benefit

Food safety training, developed by Penn State Extension and delivered to food industry professionals and university students and faculty members in Ukraine, resulted in a significant and lasting improvement in participants’ food safety knowledge, behavior, attitude and skills, according to researchers.

July 8, 2020

Sensation seekers, risk-takers who experience more bitterness apt to drink IPAs

人who seek novel and powerful sensations and are more prone to taking risks — and who perceive bitter tastes more intensely — are more likely to prefer bitter, pale-ale-style beers and drink them more often, according to Penn State sensory researchers, who conducted a study that involved blind taste tests and personality assessments.

June 29, 2020

College of Agricultural Sciences alum reflects on lessons learned at Penn State

Nelson Gaydos, an outreach specialist with the American Association of Meat Processors, credits his education and experiences at Penn State for helping him to meet the challenges of the food industry.

June 24, 2020

Consumers can distinguish between bitter tastes in beer -- doesn’t alter liking

Although most beer consumers can distinguish between different bitter tastes in beer, this does not appear to influence which beer they like. It seems they just like beer, regardless of the source of the bitterness.