Cyberspace Education

Christy Brennan completed the VT MS Food Safety program in 2009. She says her degree was instrumental in helping her transition mid-career from a corporate quality control/food safety auditor position to her current role as rapid response team/manufactured foods specialist with the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services in Richmond, Va.

“It is very important for a food industry professional to stay updated on the sweeping changes in food safety,” Brennan emphasizes. “Everyone may know their small piece of the puzzle, but it is important to understand how that translates to the big picture of the entire food chain. I believe that continuing education is instrumental in understanding the entirety of today’s complex food safety systems that impact public health.

“My graduate program was easy to manage and even though it was all online, I always felt like I was part of a class and had continued support and feedback from the faculty,” Brennan continues. “I really enjoyed the experience and learned a great deal. I was able to incorporate information from the program immediately into my professional career.”

Brennan is quick to mention that she has worked with people that have been involved in the food industry for 20 to 30 years that feel they don’t have to keep up with new developments. “That is so sad,” Brennan asserts. “The best thing we can do with our graduate food safety education is to mentor and encourage both our younger and older counterparts. In light of the changes coming with FSMA [Food Safety Modernization Act], staying abreast of food industry developments helps us all affectively apply due diligence in ensuring the safety of global food systems. We all have to do our part to stay current. You should never stop learning.”

For more information: www.cals.vt.edu/online

University of Arkansas

Established in 2006 at the University of Arkansas (UARK), the MS in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (MS AFLS) Food Safety is a 30-hour, Web-based, non-thesis MS degree designed specifically for people already in a career track who are interested in an advanced degree in the area of food safety and quality.

“This degree is designed to prepare students for higher positions in the food industry,” says Diana Bisbee, EdD, program coordinator. “The program provides a subject matter core of courses in food microbiology, sanitation, food processing, epidemiology, food law, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points applications, human diseases, and other quality control areas facing the food industry. In addition, the structure of the courses results in the sharing of food safety knowledge across food companies by addressing complex issues and ever increasing academic rigor.”

Most of the students who are currently in the MS AFLS Food Safety program are employed in industry and currently involved in their employer’s food safety program, thereby exemplifying the true definition of distance learners, Dr. Bisbee relates. “In a recent survey, students in the program said that if it were not for this program, they would never go back to school as traditional students to get an advanced degree,” she says.

Students typically take one course per semester (fall, spring, summer) for nine semesters and then work on a special food safety or quality problem. “The special problem is one of the student’s choosing and allows the student to set up and conduct an experiment and evaluate the results using the all the skills learned in the MS AFLS Food Safety program,” Dr. Bisbee says.

After completing the special problem, the student makes a presentation on the project to his or her committee through technology from the student’s location.

There are currently 34 students enrolled in the MS AFLS Food Safety program, which is administered by the UARK Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and is offered through the UARK School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach. Anyone in any state who meets the admissions requirements can enroll, however international students who live outside the U.S. are not being admitted at this time.