Food Safety and Technology (M.S.)
Get hands-on with your food science career with Illinois Tech’s food safety and technology master’s program.
In an ever-growing world, the need for professionals who can ensure that the food that we eat is safe and developed according to specific guidelines is as vital as ever before. Located in the global food hub of Chicago, Illinois Tech’s M.S. in Food Safety and Technology provides you with a unique education that will help you build skills to stand out across a multitude of food industry sectors. And you will gain professional experience as a student while working with government and industry partners, including having access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration facilities and scientists while conducting cutting-edge research at Illinois Tech’s Institute for Food Safety and Health.
Program Overview
Prepare to take on a variety of roles in processing, quality, nutrition, safety, and product development across the food industry through hands-on learning with government and industry scientists and professionals in state-of-the-art research and laboratory facilities, at both Illinois Tech’s Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH) and Clinical Nutrition Research Center and at facilities across Chicago. Illinois Tech’s food safety and technology master’s program is offered across three tracks—food safety (non-thesis), food technology (non-thesis), and a thesis option—and provides students with access to a plethora of internships and networking opportunities, including working with U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists as part of the FDA’s on-site division at IFSH.
Career Opportunities
Students in our M.S. in Food Safety and Technology program are prepared to enter a wide variety of food science careers, including:
- Food safety specialist
- Quality assurance manager
- Food technologist
Check out some of our students’ favorite courses in the M.S. in Food Safety and Technology program:
FSN 506 Food Microbiology Lab You will learn to master the fundamentals of microbiology, with this course covering basic and advanced techniques and safe laboratory practices. Students will examine food microbiology topics including isolation of pathogenic bacteria, spoilage microorganisms, fermentation, environmental monitoring, and rapid identification tests.
FSN 508 Food Product Development In this course, you will learn about the food product development process—from concept to launch—by prototyping, learning to pitch products, working with vendors, evaluating product quality and safety, conducting consumer tests and trials, and introducing new products into the marketplace.
FSN 531 HACCP Planning and Implementation In this course you will examine Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles, microbiological and process overviews, and generic HACCP models in pursuit of learning Good Manufacturing Practices and learning how to monitor critical control points, process control, and implementation.
You must complete the Illinois Tech graduate application, regardless of which graduate program you wish to pursue. Visit our admission website to learn more about what information and documents you need to apply.
Admission to the graduate program normally requires a bachelor’s degree in chemistry; biology; food science; or chemical, agricultural, food, or environmental engineering, or a related field.
A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required, as well as a TOEFL score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer), and 80 (internet) is required for international applicants.
Please contact the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at fdsn@iit.edu with any questions.
Tuition and Fees
Learn more about the university’s general tuition and fees, visit the Student Accounting website.
Featured Faculty
Britt Burton-Freeman
Indika Edirisinghe
Kathiravan Krishnamurthy
Allie Marcus (M.S. FST 1st Year)
“If I was going to quit my job and go back to school, I had to make sure that I liked what I was doing. I thought [the program] was so cool. There were different labs where we made sourdough, where we made sauerkraut, where we made cottage cheese, where we made yogurt. I thought it was really interesting.”
Allie Marcus traded finance for food science. Now in her second semester of Illinois Tech’s master’s degree in food safety and technology, she’s excited to make an impact and apply her new skills to a career in research and development.
Allie Marcus (M.S. FST 1st Year)Get in Touch
Please contact the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at fdsn@iit.edu with any questions.