Food Studies Minor

Food studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the relationship between food and all aspects of the human experience, including culture and biology, individuals and society, global pathways and local contexts. The minor invites the growing number of students interested in food to advance their studies across a broad range of curricula. The program provides a curricular offering and intellectual framework to complement the co-curricular energy around food on campus, increasing the rigor and discipline with which students use food as a lens for exploration and critical thinking.

The minor is available to students accepted into Honors Carolina and to any undergraduate student who has achieved and maintains a grade point average of 3.00 or better.

Requirements

In addition to the program requirements listed below, students must:

  • take at least nine hours of their minor "core" requirements at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the minor core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for minor or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

The minor requires five (5) courses.

Core Requirements
NUTR 175IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Food Studies: From Science to Society3
Select four (4) electives from the following list: 112
IDEAs in Action General Education logo On the Question of the Animal: Contemporary Animal Studies
Food and American Culture: What We Eat and Who We Are
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Critical Food Studies: The South
Senior Seminar in Southern Studies
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Humans and Animals: Anthropological Perspectives
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Anthropological Perspectives on Food and Culture
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Archaeology of Food
Origins of Agriculture in the Ancient World
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Biotechnology: Genetically Modified Foods to the Sequence of the Human Genome
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Seafood Forensics
and IDEAs in Action General Education logo Seafood Forensics Laboratory
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Food, Environment, and Sustainability
Agriculture and the Environment H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Literature and Cultural Diversity H, F
Sports Nutrition
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Agriculture, Food, and Society
Food and History
Seminar in Social & Behavioral Sciences (Non-History) (Eats 101, section 001)
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Italian Food and Culture
Food and Culture in Japan
Introduction to Human Nutrition
Sustainable Local Food Systems: Intersection of Local Foods and Public Health
Nutrition Communication and Culture
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ethics and Food Policy
The Political Economy of Food H
Sociology of Food and Food Justice
Total Hours15
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

F

FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute.

1

 Some courses may require a prerequisite(s). See course description for details.

Additional courses can be applied to the requirements with the approval of the program advisor.

Graduate School and Career Opportunities

The minor in food studies, in combination with a student’s major of interest, prepares students for a variety of careers in health and nutrition, arts and culture, media and journalism, health affairs policy and program management, social services, the academy, entrepreneurship and intraprenuership, environmental work and sustainability, and consulting. The minor may also be of value for those planning postgraduate studies.

Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program

Visit Program Website

3202 Murray Hall, CB# 3275

(919) 962-1270

Program Advisor

James Ferguson

jgfergus@email.unc.edu

Program Advisor

Amy Cooke

amycooke@unc.edu

Chair

Drew Coleman

dcoleman@unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Amy E. Cooke

amycooke@unc.edu

Student Services Manager

Heratia Brelland

heratiab@unc.edu