Student Life
Undergraduate Program Extracurriculars
As a Food Science student, you will be part of a diverse and supportive community, meeting others to form long-lasting friendships and learn from each other. In addition, food science students’ clubs and extracurricular activities incorporate professional and social interests. Whether joining the Food Science Club or participating in a Product Development team, our department has many ways for students to become involved.
Food Science Club
The Food Science Club is a learning community whose mission is “to bring together graduate and undergraduate students who share a common interest in Food Science and to also provide professional, educational, and social opportunities to its members.”
Dairy Products Judging Team
Students learn the fundamentals of dairy products sensory evaluation while competing with students from other universities.
Here are some additional extracurriculars that our students enjoy.
College Bowl
The College Bowl Competition is a team trivia competition for undergraduate and graduate students hosted annually by the IFT Student Association. The questions cover a variety of food science topics, ranging from the pH of milk (it’s about 6.8) to the name of confections that contain gelatin (those are called gummies) to the first four flavors of Jell-O (raspberry, strawberry, lemon, and orange). A regional competition is held in the spring, and the winner of each region competes in the national competition at the IFT FIRST conference.
The College Bowl is a great way to meet other trivia fans of all grade levels and experiences, learn about food science in a fun way, and travel to nearby universities. Students can join the College Bowl team anytime by contacting a food science club officer and can learn more about the competition on the IFTSA Website.
Product Development Teams
The Product Development Team (PDT) is a group of students that join up to compete in product development competitions hosted by various companies and organizations. Students are tasked with making a new product to fit certain criteria that vary by a prompt. They can access club funds and the Babcock Food Applications Lab to create these products. Undergraduate students of all years will join together to innovate new products and compete against food science programs at other universities!
Students participating in PDT learn how to lead their products, research, and experimentation. Examples include creating manufacturing flow charts and nutritional labels and conducting shelf life studies. Additionally, PDT helps build connections with other food science members like the Babcock faculty, future classmates, upper classmates, and industry professionals/companies. Finally, it allows students to be creative and innovative in their projects!
Madison Highlights
Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, sits on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona with lakes Wingra, Kegonsa, and Waubesa in the surrounding area. The original settlers from the Ho-Chunk nation called the area “Taychopera” (Ta-ko-per-ah) which means “land of the four lakes.” Each season in Wisconsin is a host to wonderous events, from summer farmers market to winter kites on ice.
