Food Science is an exciting field of study that applies sciences such as Chemistry, Nutrition, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Engineering to discover ways to improve the taste, nutrition and quality of the world's food supply and the supply of agricultural produces. It also includes learning about food preservation and processing, food analysis, product development, food packaging and the implementation of food quality and safety systems.

It will focus on promoting integrated science, planning, policy, and education for understanding the chemistry and physics of food and food technology and the impacts of human population and food security.
The proposed graduate curriculum reflect the view that graduate work in the Food Science requires not only knowledge of the various disciplines and how they are applied, but also an understanding and upgrading of traditional food and beverages of Ethiopians.

The program therefore takes a systems management approach to modernizing and problem solving in the private and public sectors in order to guarantee food security plan of the country. In order to respond to the complex challenges in food security the Federal and Regional Governments must develop an improved scientific and technical understanding of Food Science in supporting research based training effort of AAU.

The curriculum has been structured to combine core courses in Food science and research in pertinent areas that will address food security issues. Students are required to take a few core courses and some more courses in the form of topics/seminar in each area of study (concentration areas).  To earn the degree, students must complete a total of 26 credits for MSc and 14 credits for PhD in addition to either a dissertation or a professional research project for thesis work.

Facilities for teaching and conducting research are available at the Faculty of Science, Addis Ababa University, and include those in the Departments of Chemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences, Physics and Statistics. Facilities in the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute and other sources will be engaged. International cooperation will also be explored.

National Need for Manpower Development

A cursory need assessment survey was conducted by the Committee formed to develop the program in Food Science. The survey revealed that the manpower need of the country in the field of Food Science at graduate level is high. Based on the needs assessment that focused on representative Central Government Institutions and Regional Governments, it became clear that the country is facing a shortage of manpower trained in Food Science at all levels in order to complement the Government’s efforts in Food Security strategy of the country. The survey also revealed that majority of the respondents had need for experts in Food Science but could not employ them either for lack of employable manpower or budget.

It is obvious that in Ethiopia the estimated yearly production of food materials and food products is significantly low to feed the growing population of the country. Though, a remarkable increase rate is recorded in recent years in food products, it is below the increasing per-capita food need of the country.
Although Ethiopia is predominantly an agricultural country it is unable to feed its people which is due to the small (about 0.5% of GDP) research expenditure on agricultural and food science research and the absence of research backed training in Food Sciences and Technology. It is desirable that large areas of virgin land are brought into use for agriculture and food generating utility through appropriate investment.

The food industry which originally provided only primary products for final preparation in the home, find itself responding to market demands for more refined, sophisticated, and convenient products. The demand for easy to prepare, convenience foods, poses major scientific and technological challenges which cannot be met without highly trained scientists capable of understanding the complex chemistry/biochemistry of food systems and knowledge of how to preserve them. The increased tendency of society on ready-to-eat foods has led to greater responsibility for processors in terms of quality, safety and nutritional value.

Thus, the current need for Food Science experts at various central and regional government institutions and organizations in the country can be considered highly significant. This can be expected to triple in five years and quadruple in ten years as the economic liberalization is exploited.
It is also important to note that the Government is seriously taking Food Security problems while pushing ahead with plans for economic development. Thus, the launching of the programs in Food Science can be considered to be in line with Governmental priority.

Institutional competence to launch the Graduate Program in Food Science

The Science Faculty, in its more than 45 years of history has gone through various stages of development. A review of the history of the Faculty clearly shows that it has steadily grown from a small college catering for a few students, to a large BSc, MSc. and PhD degree granting institution. This steady growth in its programs has also been accompanied by a concomitant increase in the number and qualification of the academic staff and development of research activities in various areas. The Faculty has recently incorporated new programs such as Environmental Science, Biotechnology, Material Science and Computational Sciences which one way or another strengthen the anticipated program.

Thus, a Food Science MSc and PhD programs in the Faculty of Science can have a firm ground in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Physics and Statistics. It also will benefit from cooperation’s with other departments within the Faculty and institutions within and outside Addis Ababa University such as Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute, Agricultural Research Institute etc. The resource requirements in terms of manpower, space, research facilities and library, in the various Departments of the Faculty of Science, are adequate to launch the Food Science programs. Further, a concerted effort by the Faculty and the University in general can be exerted to generate additional support for the program from local and international grants and donations.

Quality Assurance

The Food Science program's mission is 'to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research in food science at the highest international levels of excellence'. This reflects one of its core values which is to provide quality and depth of provision across all subjects. In order to ensure that the quality of learning and teaching activities maintains this aspiration of excellence it will have: student support, learning resources, recruiting enough teachers and researchers in high need areas, strengthening the physical, material and human  needs to improve students achievement and quality assurance and enhancement scheme to evaluate impact, lessons and future prospects
 The Addis Ababa University’s quality assurance procedures provide a framework within which the food science can examine, reflect on and enhance its teaching activities.