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As the first master’s degree in the US devoted to food scholarship, the Food Studies MA combines approaches from the humanities and social sciences to prepare you to analyze cultural, political, economic, environmental, and geographic approaches to food within local, urban, and global contexts.
Request InfoDegree Details
Official Degree Title
Master of Arts in Food Studies
Format
Full-time or Part-time
Credits
33
Start Date
Spring
Application Deadline
Start Date
Fall
Application Deadline
Our mission is to teach you how to examine the ways in which individuals, communities, and societies produce, distribute, and consume food. Given the University’s dynamic New York City location, your investigations of these topics will focus on cities as the center of flows of people, produce, and media products.
Students in the Food Studies MA develop a range of skills, including:
- How to apply an interdisciplinary approach to understand the cultural, political, and economic aspects of the food system
- How to discuss with fluency issues related to food sovereignty, sustainability, ethics, and culture
- How to assess policies that shape the food landscape, addressing questions of equity, and preserving cultural values
Course work in the Master of Arts in Food Studies encompasses the study of food systems, culture, and policy, as well as a research component designed to help you learn how to apply class concepts to real-world issues. You will take additional credits in specialization modules likes policy/advocacy, business/social entrepreneurship, and media/cultural analysis, allowing you to dig deeper into your personal interests within the world of food studies.
Graduates of the Food Studies MA find jobs in all areas within the food industry:
- Publishing (magazines, newspapers, online sources)
- Public relations (restaurants, food lobby groups, cookbooks, food organizations)
- Marketing (for restaurants, celebrity chefs, cookbooks, organizations)
- Nonprofit work (education, food/hunger advocacy groups)
- Food operations (wine importers/distributors, restaurants, retail)
- Local and national governmental (city government, federal government, food regulations, relations between industry and government)
- NGO work in advocacy and policy (farming, labor, food scarcity, trade)
- Development organizations (community building, national programs, international trade and aid organizations)
- Food production companies (producers and manufacturers of food items)
- Food distribution companies (importation, transportation, and retail)
Visit our Alumni in Action page for more information about graduates of our program.
Graduate Adjunct Faculty Spotlight
Meet Sara Snyder who is a media producer currently at the TODAY Show.
Current Student Spotlight
Check out a Q&A with Food Studies graduate student Abby Katz, who was recently named a James Beard Foundation National Scholar.
Why NYU Steinhardt Food Studies?
- Learn from the best. Our faculty, prominent leaders in the field, teach and provide mentorship while actively conducting research.
- Study abroad. We offer global coursework in sites like Paris, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, and Puebla, providing immersive, international experiences.
- Get ahead. We help you find diverse internships (in food production companies, distributors, nonprofits, marketing firms, magazines) to form relationships and develop their knowledge.
- Gain practical skills. The degree emphasizes the development of critical thinking, preparing you for the professional world.
Questions
If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact foodstudiesma@nyu.edu.
DEPARTMENT OF
Nutrition and Food Studies
411 Lafayette Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-998-5580
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