Curriculum

The 36- to 48-credit doctoral program in Food Studies is an interdisciplinary program of advanced study focusing on food as it intersects with society, culture, environment, health, history, and commerce. You’ll be prepared for positions in higher education, including teaching, research, and administrative positions; positions outside the academy, including public policy, government, for-profit and nonprofit private sector; and other positions in education, including secondary institutions seeking teachers with advanced degrees and adult learning communities.

Core Course Sequence

You’ll take foundational courses in areas like contemporary issues in food studies, food systems, food and culture, nutrition, or food politics. You’ll also take classes in research methodology, and specialized electives specific to your interests, your research, and your dissertation project. The program culminates in a dissertation.

Sample Elective Courses

Food Studies Doctoral Seminar

The Food Studies Doctoral seminar is required for all Food Studies doctoral students from their first semester to their last. Food Studies doctoral students enroll each semester until the time of graduation (even for students conducting fieldwork outside of NYC). The doctoral students and faculty meet five times a semester for three hours. Students discuss their progress, read and discuss assigned readings, and give seminars on their research.

Dissertation Proposal Seminar

This course focuses on the development of the doctoral dissertation proposal. Emphasis is placed on understanding and defining the logical relations between elements in a proposal including the problem statement, conceptual/theoretical framework, literature review, research design and methodology. Teaching-learning strategies are designed to promote critical/analytical thinking & scholarly discourse.

Food in the Arts: Media

This course critically analyzes foods' portrayal across media platforms. We unpack how the media influences taste, purchases, and food beliefs; how it develops characters by what they eat and drink; and how it creates trends and movements. We explore cooking as entertainment, food shopping as a personal statement, and how media intersects with class, gender and racial tropes. Beginning with theory and moving through print, television, film, and the internet, students have hands-on experience interacting with the messages that define American food culture.

Food Systems

The core Food Systems course covers the US food system from an applied economic perspective, recognizing that the food system operates in a market. We begin by studying the mechanics of the different stages of the food system: farm, distribution, retailing and consumer. The course then turns to social and environmental costs of the food system. After covering the strengths and weaknesses of the food system, students explore topics such as sustainability, globalization, resiliency, consumer choice, and equity.