Man holding plants in a green house
Photo courtesy of KCC

The deadline for students to apply for Kellogg Community College’s Food Processing, Technology and Safety program is this Friday, Aug. 14.

The program is run by KCC staff in partnership with Michigan State University.

Students enrolled in the program can simultaneously earn an associate degree in agricultural science while partaking in classes at MSU to earn a food processing, technology and safety certificate.

Students can also receive an agricultural operations certificate while getting an associate degree.

All coursework is completed entirely at KCC but enrolled students are considered students at both institutions and have access to support services at each school.

Students in the program pay KCC tuition and fee rates for KCC classes and MSU tuition and fee rates for MSU classed. They must also apply jointly for both KCC and MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology.

“Program studies encompass a variety of disciplines within the agricultural industry, including farm, water, weed and resource management; soil science and plant pathology; regulation, safety and compliance issues; and technology, including the use of drones for farm and facilities management,” KCC staff said in a July 16 press release.

Most general coursework is completed through KCC, while program-specific classes are offered at KCC via MSU.

However, some portions of the program are online.

Both program paths require a 480-hour internship completed during a summer semester.

KCC students begin class Aug. 31 and end the semester Dec. 18.

Students in the agriculture program must complete a service-learning experience and a minimum of three elective credits in addition to the following course requirements:

COMM 101: foundations of interpersonal communication, 3 credits; or ENGL 152: Freshman Composition, 3 credits.

-ECON 201: principles of economics, macro, 3 credits.

-ENGL 151: freshman composition, 3 credits.

-FYS 101: first-year seminar, 1 credit.

-OIT 161: applications software, 3 credits.

-PSYC 201: introduction to psychology, 3 credits; or any healthy living elective, 2 credits.

Students must complete one of the following courses:

-MATH 115: math for liberal arts, 4 credits.

-MATH 125: college algebra, 4 credits.

-MATH 130: statistics, 3 credits.

Students must complete one of the following courses:

-BIOL 111: botany, 4 credits.

-CHEM 100: fundamentals of chemistry one, 4 credits.

-CHEM 110: general chemistry one, 4 credits.

Students must complete one of the following courses:

-HUMA 151: encounter with the arts, 3 credits.

-ART 211: art appreciation, 3 credits.

-MUSI 211: music appreciation, 3 credits.

The following MSU courses are required for a food processing, technology, and safety certificate. Students must also complete a minimum of three credits from MSU-approved electives.

Students must obtain all 27 credits from the following courses:

-ABM 100: decision making in the agri-food systems, 3 credits.

-AT 193: agriculture technology clerkship, 2 credits.

-AT 293: professional internship in agricultural technology, 3 credits.

-FSC 111: foundational concepts in food processing and technology, 3 credits.

-FSC 112: seminar in food processing, technology and safety, 1 credit.

-FSC 113: basic commodity overview food processing and technology, 3 credits.

-FSC 114: food processing and technology facilities management, 3 credits.

-FSC 125: food processing and technology unit operations, 2 credits.

-FSC 240: applied food processing and technology microbiology, 2 credits.

-FSC 241: safety principles and regulations in food processing and technology, 3 credits.

-FSC 242: applied food processing and technology chemistry, 2 credits.

Students must receive four credits from two of the following courses:

-FSC 230: fruit and vegetable processing, 2 credits.

-FSC 231: cereals processing, 2 credits.

-FSC 232: dairy foods processing, 2 credits.

-FSC 233: muscle foods processing, 2 credits.

Interested students should contact program coordinator Kaitie Fraser at kfraser@msu.edu.

Application materials are available at https://www.kellogg.edu/agriculture.