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 course offerings and an intellectual framework to complement the co-curricular interests in food on campus, increasing the rigor and discipline with which students use food as a lens for historical, scientific, and cultural 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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Select two (2) of the following courses 1 | 6 | |
 Introduction to Food Studies: From Science to Society | ||
| Critical Issues in Contemporary Food Studies | ||
| Water Resource Management for Food, Energy, and Health H | ||
| Select three (3) electives from the following list (at least one at the 300 level or higher) 2 | 9 | |
| African Diaspora Foodways and Culture | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Food and the Media 3 | ||
| On the Question of the Animal: Contemporary Animal Studies | ||
| Food and American Culture | ||
| Southeast Asian North Carolina | ||
| Anthropological Perspectives on Food and Culture | ||
| Archaeology of Food | ||
| Ecological Anthropology | ||
| Origins of Agriculture in the Ancient World | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture 3 | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Biotechnology: Genetically Modified Foods to the Sequence of the Human Genome 3 | ||
| Seafood Forensics and Seafood Forensics Laboratory | ||
| Frontiers of Fermentation: Microbes and Microbiomes and Frontiers of Fermentation: Microbes and Microbiomes Laboratory | ||
| The Cellular Agriculture Revolution | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Food Politics from an Organizational Communication Perspective 3 | ||
| Communication and Nonprofits in the Global Context | ||
| Food, Environment, and Sustainability | ||
| Fungi: Architects of Ecosystems and Sustainable Futures | ||
| Agriculture and the Environment H | ||
| Sports Nutrition | ||
| Food for Thought: Cultures of Cuisine in Modern France | ||
| Agriculture, Food, and Society | ||
| Freedom Farming | ||
| Food and History | ||
| Is Dinner "Sustainable" - A Human Dilemma (The Honors Carolina Global Food Program Seminar) | ||
| Food: People, Politics, and Policies | ||
or IDST 130I | The Future of Food | |
| Italian Food and Culture | ||
| Food and Culture in Japan | ||
| Introduction to Human Nutrition | ||
| Sustainable Local Food Systems: Intersection of Local Foods and Public Health | ||
| Global Sustainable Food Systems | ||
| Navigating Culture, Technology, and Communication in Nutrition | ||
| Harvesting Innovations: Sustainable Food Systems in an Era of Climate Change | ||
| Ethics and Food Policy | ||
| The Political Economy of Food H | ||
| Sociology of Food and Food Justice | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
| 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
- If all three of these courses are taken, the third course may satisfy the elective requirement.
- 2
Some courses may require a prerequisite(s). See course description for details.
- 3
- No more than one First-Year Seminar 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.
Department Programs
Majors
- Environmental Studies Major, B.A.
- Environmental Science Major, B.S.
- Dual Bachelor's-Master's Degree Programs
Minors
- Environmental Humanities Minor
- Environmental Science and Studies Minor
- Food Studies Minor
- Sustainability Studies Minor
Graduate Programs
Courses
Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program
3202 Murray Hall, CB# 3275
(919) 962-1270
