Jumping back into the start of a new year, students can expect to notice some changes as the semesters go by at Colorado State University. The food science and human nutrition department is getting a revamp in the coming fall semester.

“At our department retreat, I posed a question to our entire faculty and staff: ‘Are we providing our students with the opportunities and training that best prepare them for their future careers, or are we simply doing things the way they’ve always been done?,'” said Chris Gentile, head of the department of food science and human nutrition. “That question has led us to scrutinize every aspect of the department — from the names and focus of our majors to the courses and training opportunities offered, down to the time of day and prerequisites for each course.”

As the department continues to plan out all the changes, students can look forward to exciting new opportunities. While not everything is set in stone, students can still get a firm understanding of what changes to expect this fall.

“Sports nutrition is a topic area students have been asking for, so we’ve created two new undergraduate courses.” -Chris Gentile, CSU food science and human nutrition department head

“The main changes are that all of our majors are getting an overhaul, so there are some great new options for students in the food science and human nutrition department,” said Nora May, academic success coordinator for the College of Health and Human Sciences. “Many of the changes were made in order to streamline our options and to give students more flexibility in choosing electives that align with their interests and career aspirations.”

Specifically, the names of the three majors in FSHN will be changed to reflect the coursework and training that students will receive. There will only be three concentrations within the majors, and those concentrations will be better aligned to careers in their respective fields. More than 20 new classes will be available, some prerequisites have been simplified and new additions to research space, labs and a study area will be in the works for the fall semester.

“In our nutrition science major, I’m really excited about our new concentration in sports nutrition and wellness,” Gentile said to further explain the three renamed majors. “Sports nutrition is a topic area students have been asking for, so we’ve created two new undergraduate courses.”

Gentile explained that this concentration is meant to help students who want to work in the health and wellness sector but aren’t sure where they want to go or for those who aren’t yet immediately seeking a graduate degree.

“To expand food science, we’ve aligned it with fermentation in a new major called ‘fermentation and food science,’” Gentile said. “As part of that change, we’re creating new courses and research opportunities for students interested in food science.”

They also plan to add a new minor to this major as well.

“In hospitality and event management, I’m excited about our move into the event planning space,” Gentile said. “Event planning is the fast-growing part of hospitality, and students have been asking for more programming. As a result, we’ve started two new event planning classes and have changed our name to reflect the new direction.”

“Across all of our majors, faculty have created new and interesting classes that address topics such as health equity, food as preventive medicine, cultural aspects of fermented foods, sports nutrition, dietetics leadership, evidence-based research and seminar classes that focus on industry involvement and potential career paths,” May said, diving into the details of the new courses offered. “We have created a more in-depth list of guided electives for students to choose from to tailor their education.”

Reach Kira Shryock at science@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.