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 (at least one at the 300 level or higher) 112
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Food and the Media 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Food and American Culture
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Critical Issues in Contemporary Food Studies
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Anthropological Perspectives on Food and Culture
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Archaeology of Food
Ecological Anthropology
Origins of Agriculture in the Ancient World
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Biotechnology: Genetically Modified Foods to the Sequence of the Human Genome 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Seafood Forensics
and IDEAs in Action General Education logo Seafood Forensics Laboratory
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Food Politics from an Organizational Communication Perspective 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Communication and Nonprofits in the Global Context
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Food, Environment, and Sustainability
Agriculture and the Environment H
Sports Nutrition
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Food for Thought: Cultures of Cuisine in Modern France
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Agriculture, Food, and Society
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Freedom Farming
Food and History
Is Dinner "Sustainable" - A Human Dilemma (The Honors Carolina Global Food Program Seminar)
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Triple-I: Food: People, Politics, and Policies 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Triple-I: The Future of Food 2
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Italian Food and Culture
Food and Culture in Japan
Introduction to Human Nutrition
Global Sustainable Food Systems
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.

1

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

2

No more than one First-Year Seminar or Triple-I course may be used as an elective in the minor.

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

Program Advisor

Kelly Alexander

kelly.alexander@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