Syracuse University’s Falk College is now offering a new Master of Science (MS) in Food Studies. This 36-credit hour Food Studies MS program provides students with a foundation in the political economy of food systems, including human rights, food governance, and food justice and health. Food Studies continues to emerge as one of the fastest-growing fields of study in North America. The MS in Food Studies complements Falk College’s existing bachelor and minor in Food Studies.
Students earning the MS in food studies are prepared for professional opportunities in local and national government work associated with food regulation and industry relations; non-governmental organization (NGO) engagement in advocacy and policy associated with the human right to adequate food, food sovereignty, food and nutrition security, and trade and food-oriented labor; economic and social development work at the community, national, and international scales; and food production and distribution companies, services, and vendors in established or start-up modes.
The Master of Science in Food Studies through Falk College provides students with a deep understanding of multi-scale, global-local constructions of human rights and civil society claims, trade and food aid, and related public policy as they together influence human health, nutrition, and the environment. The program purposefully introduces students to multiple discipline-oriented research methods and emphasizes analyses that consider social justice, race, ethnicity, and gender and sexuality. Falk College’s unique departmental intersection of Food Studies with long-standing professional programs in public health and nutrition offers students critical capacity to engage in food systems research.
Teaching and student research is enhanced by active faculty engagements in these fields. The graduate food studies program encourages these transdisciplinary associations across Syracuse University with African American studies, geography, sociology, history, public affairs, international studies, environmental studies, women and gender studies, law, planning and architecture, as well as with public health and nutrition.