PhD There are no set course requirements for the PhD in food technology. As a PhD candidate in the program, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles of food science, with an expanded knowledge that covers your focused research areas. Your research committee has final approval on all course work. You must pass both the written and oral qualifying examination given by your advisory committee. Upon passing the examinations, you must also write and defend a research dissertation to the satisfaction of your advisory committee. You should also expect to publish a minimum of two refereed research manuscripts from your dissertation.

Financial Aid

A limited number of research assistantships are available from grant funds. If awarded one of these assistantships, you will be working on research endeavors financed by the grant funds. Interested applicants should contact individual faculty members. Applicants whose files are completed by February 15 are given preferential consideration.

Cost of Study

Tuition for 2007-08 is $3,157 per semester for in-state students and $6,317 per semester for nonresidents. Off-campus rates are $330 per hour for in-state students and $660 per hour for nonresidents. Graduate assistants pay a flat rate of $950 per semester. Graduate fellows pay South Carolina resident fees.

Student Group

Of the 20 students in the MS program, 16 attend on a full-time basis, six are international students, and 13 are women. Of the 15 students in the PhD program, 12 attend on a full-time basis, nine are international students, and seven are women.

Research Facilities

The program offers a wide array of research equipment and facilities, including the following: Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (mass spectral detector) with HP headspace injector; Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (FID) with Tek-Mar headspace injector; Hewlett Packard HP Chemstation analytical software; Gow-Mac gas chromatograph (TCD); Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (FPD); Neotronics Electronic Nose 4000; -70C freezer; deionized and distilled water equipment; Kjeldahl nitrogen analyzers; BYK-Gardner Spectrocolorimeter; Seward stomacher 400 laboratory blender; colony counters; rapid PCR analytical equipment; HPLC-MS sensory analysis facility; a food-science teaching laboratory; state-of-the-art culinary preparation equipment and bench research facilities.

Once in the program, you will have access to the research facilities of several departments, including the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, the Department of Horticulture and the Department of Packaging Science. These departments have a collection of modern research labs, farms and more. Go online to www.clemson.edu/colleges for links to these departments and their facilities.

Location

Clemson is a college town in beautiful upstate South Carolina. The Upstate is one of the country’s fastest-growing areas and is an important part of the I-85 Corridor, a multi-state area along Interstate 85 that runs from the metro Atlanta area (home to nearly five million people) to Richmond, Virginia and encompasses Charlotte, North Carolina (the US’s second-largest financial center) as well as North Carolinas’ Research Triangle. Atlanta and Charlotte are each a two-hour’s drive away.

The University

Clemson is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as Doctoral/Research University-Extensive, a category comprising less than four percent of all universities in America. The University’s mission is to fulfill the covenant between its founder and the people of South Carolina to establish a “high seminary of learning” through its responsibilities of teaching, research and extended public service. The University has identified eight areas of academic emphasis that create collaborations that, in turn, help fulfill the University’s mission.

Applying

To apply, you should have a strong background in food science; human nutrition; physical, chemical or biological sciences; or engineering. Proficiency in food science must be demonstrated by the satisfactory completion of course work in food chemistry, food microbiology, food processing and biochemistry.

You may apply on the web at www.grad.clemson.edu/Admission.php. You must submit your completed application, $65 nonrefundable fee for domestic applicants, $75 for international applicants, GRE General Test scores (most successful students will have a total GRE score of at least 1000), all academic transcripts (minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0), three letters of recommendation and a statement of objectives and professional experience. International students must submit a satisfactory TOEFL score (most successful students score at least a 575) in addition to documentation of adequate financial support for their studies. All candidates must identify a research advisor who is prepared to accept the applicant as an advisee. Applications are processed on a rolling basis; however, international students should contact the Graduate School for admission deadlines.

Faculty Listing

Food Science

• James C. Acton, Stender Professor; PhD, Georgia. Research interests include: functional property evaluations of meat proteins, microbial and chemical aspects of fermented meat products and interactions of light, oxygen and storage temperature with packaging systems for meat products and other foods.

• Felix H. Barron, Professor; PhD, Michigan State. Research interests include: computer modeling; simulation and optimization of food processes; food quality and shelf life of packaged foods; design of food-processing plants, sanitation inspection and compliance with laws and regulations and waste-packaging materials.

• Feng Chen, Associate Professor; PhD, Louisiana State. Research interests include: food flavor chemistry and the identification, isolation and application of bioactive nutraceutical compounds from natural sources.

• Aubrey D. Coffee, Lecturer; PhD, Clemson. Research interests include: the sensory evaluation and scholarly research in the area of culinology, the blending of food science and culinary arts.

• Paul L. Dawson, Professor; PhD, North Carolina State. Research interests include: lipid chemistry, flavor and oxidation of meat products; interaction of packaging materials with food components and recovery and use of underused poultry products, including MDBM and spent fowl meat.

• Ronald D. Galyean, Professor; PhD, Missouri-Columbia. Research interests include: effects of processing on the functional characteristics of proteins, interaction of food product ingredient composition with processing requirements for optimal functional characteristics and product safety.

• Xiuping Jiang, Associate Professor; PhD, Maryland. Research interests include: food microbiology and food safety, specifically the control and source of food pathogens and biosafety.

• John U. McGregor, Professor and Department Chair; PhD, Mississippi State. Research interests include: chemistry and flavor of coffee, natural antioxidants, specialty cheeses and value-added processing.

Human Nutrition

• Katherine L. Cason, Professor; PhD, Virginia Tech; RD. Research interests include: influences of socioeconomic and ecological factors on food and nutrient intake, food purchasing and preparation practices, level of food security among limited-resource audiences, assessment of the impact of nutrition education on dietary adequacy and the food and nutrition practices of participants.

• Margaret D. Condrasky, Assistant Professor; EdD, Clemson; RD. Research interests include: the “cooking with the chef” program for parents, the “what’s cooking” supermarket programs in South Carolina, culinary science and distance education.

• Vivian J. Haley-Zitlin, Associate Professor; PhD, Tennessee, Knoxville; RD. Research interests include: metabolism of phytochemicals and effects of nutrients on liver and glucose metabolism.

• Rita M. Haliena, Senior Lecturer; MS, Ball State; RD. Research interests include: clinical nutrition and clinical dietetics management, especially differences in the measures of nutritional status and length of stay for high-risk patients.

• M. Elizabeth Kunkel, Professor; PhD, Tennessee, Knoxville; RD. Research interests include: effects of nutrient stress on noncollagenous proteins of bone, single-photon absorptiometry in animals as an indicator of mineral bioavailability, impact of macronutrients and food-processing techniques on mineral bioactivity.