Online graduate certificate in urban food systems now available

Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 | Written by Greg Tammen

 

OLATHE — A new Kansas State University graduate certificate program provides a systems perspective to understanding the external dynamics that influence urban food systems.

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Urban Food Systems is a fully online, 12 credit hour program. Because of the program's interdisciplinary nature, it provides students with a complex understanding of urban food systems and the cultural, political, environmental and economic roles within them.

"This graduate certificate program responds to the growing recognition that the urban food system is an important part of the global food system," said Candice Shoemaker, director of the Urban Food Systems Initiative. "It also addresses the need for professionals who understand that urban food systems are contextualized to go beyond the conventional definition of food systems concerned with activities related from production to consumption of food to include the political, social and environmental dimensions of food systems. We are excited about the launch of this interdisciplinary certificate as part of the Urban Food Systems Initiative."

The certificate is geared for current K-State graduate students who want to add expertise in urban food systems to their course of study and for professionals with a bachelor's degree who want to increase their knowledge about urban food systems and current issues around them.

The curriculum consists of six credits of core courses and six credits of electives in the areas of plant and agricultural sciences, leadership and management, sociology, economics and health. Through these courses, students will analyze and apply critical thinking to study the interrelationships within urban food systems, specifically among diet, food production, the environment, climate and public health.

Enrollment is open for the certificate, with the first classes beginning in the 2022 spring semester.

Learn more about the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Urban Food Systems at olathe.k-state.edu/urbanfoodcert.