Cyberspace Education

“Both my BS and MS degrees have helped me in product development and everything else I do in my job,” Jones says. “The MS degree is a great extension of what I learned as an undergraduate and I found the online format to be a great way to earn the degree while working full time.”

For more information: http://fshn.illinois.edu/online

Washington State University

The online MS in Agriculture: Food Science and Management (Ag FSM) was launched in 2013 to provide food industry professionals with management skills along with a strong science-based program emphasizing emerging trends in food science, sustainability, and global competitiveness, says Barbara Rasco, BSE, PhD, JD, director of the Ag FSM program.

This recent distance learning degree is affiliated with The School of Food Science, a unique fully integrated department between two land grant universities, Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

“The School of Food Science is ranked as one of the top five food science programs in the United States,” Dr. Rasco mentions. “Our award winning faculty includes Fellows of the Institute of Food Technologists who serve as project advisors for the rapidly growing number of students in this new program.

“Our graduates will be agricultural and business leaders moving freely between labs and boardrooms, between factory floors and corporate offices and we are all proud to be part of this,” Dr. Rasco boasts.

Professionals in this MS program can select a project emphasis in dairy, microbiological, or chemical food safety, enology, aquatic foods, functional foods, food processing, or law. “Besides the science, students learn to make strategic decisions and become proficient project managers from the engineering and technology management faculty who are key to the program’s success,” Dr. Rasco says.

The MS Ag FSM is a 30-credit, non-thesis program open to students from around the globe. Like all the other online MS programs showcased in this article, all students pay the same tuition regardless of residency status. Part of the MS Ag-FSM program’s flexibility is that students can enroll in fall, summer, or spring.

Dr. Rasco notes that the program can be completed in two semesters full time, however most students are part time. “I am amazed at the quality and diversity of individuals in the MS Ag degree,” she points out. “They are from many different disciplines, and will make a huge impact in the food field.”

There are currently 20 students enrolled, and a large number of new students are expected in the fall of 2014, Dr. Rasco reports. “We are building a virtual community for these students and others in agriculture graduate programs across campus,” she mentions. “Most of our students are U.S. residents, along with some from China and South Asia. We will be graduating our first group of students this May.”

Fangliang Carpenter, technical service administrator at Oberto Brands in Seattle, Wash., is one of those MS Ag FSM students who expects to graduate in May 2014.

“The management courses are definitely helping me directly right now in my workplace,” Carpenter says. “My graduate project focuses on writing a review article about jerky and meat snacks, which ties very closely with my current work responsibilities. Empowered with my graduate degree, I am also enthusiastically looking forward to pursuing a career in food safety and regulation in the near future.”

For more information: http://msag.wsu.edu/food_science/

Leake, a 2006 graduate of the MSU online MS Food Safety program, is a food safety consultant, auditor and award-winning journalist based in Wilmington, N.C. Reach her at [email protected].