University of Maryland - Office of Professional Studies: Keep Learning

Food Safety Risk Analysis

Graduate Certificate Program

While risk analysis has been used for hundreds of years in the insurance industry and engineering fields, its application to food production and distribution is a recent phenomenon. In the past decade, federal agencies responsible for food safety have adopted risk analysis as the official science-based paradigm for decision making. However, few food science academic programs include risk analysis in their curricula. The Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Food Safety Risk Analysis from the University of Maryland is one of the few such programs in the United States.

Offered by the University of Maryland's Office of Extended Studies and the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, the GCPS in Food Safety Risk Analysis can be completed entirely online. Through a series of four 10-week online courses, students will be instructed in the three basic components of risk analysis: 1) risk management, 2) risk communication, and 3) risk assessment.

This program best suited for employees in:

  • Food Industry
  • National, Regional and Local Governments
  • Food Science and Nutrition Programs
  • Educators

Food Safety Risk Analysis - Admissions

Qualifications

The Graduate School requires all admitted graduate students to have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States, or the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree in another country. A GPA of 3.0 is required for admission into this program.

Application for the Food Safety Risk Analysis Program is a 4-step process:

  1. Submit a completed online application:
    • Click here to apply for the Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Food Safety Risk Analysis (12 credits).
  2. Submit the nonrefundable application fee of $60.
  3. Submit a complete set of transcripts reflecting all undergraduate and graduate work elected or in progress. Each transcript must bear the signature of the registrar and the seal of the granting institution and should include the years of attendance, courses taken, grades received, class standing and the degree, certificate or diploma received. If you attended the University of Maryland, College Park the SPOC Office will obtain the records of College Park courses completed.
  4. Submit a current résumé

International students and applicants with foreign credentials must submit academic records in the original language with literal English translations. Allow at least three months for evaluation. TOEFL scores are also required for all international applicants. For information on additional documentation required by International Education Services, click here.

Registration information will be sent upon acceptance into the program.
All materials should be sent to:

By mail:
SPOC - Food
1130 Mitchell Building
College Park, MD 20742
By e-mail:
spoc@umd.edu
By fax:
301-314-7915

Special offer for UM alumni who are members of the Alumni Association! Enjoy a 5% tuition reduction for courses in the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) and Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies (GCPS) programs. To receive this special offer, please complete the Alumni Tuition Application. Not a member? Join today!  Click here to apply NOW! 

Food Safety Risk Analysis - Courses

NFSC 501: Food Safety Risk Management
Risk Management in the context of food safety is the process of weighing policy alternatives to control risks as effectively as possible. It is the foundation of the risk analysis paradigm. Risk analysis begins, is guided by and ends with risk management. The course begins with an introduction to the risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication tasks of risk analysis. The role of risk management in providing science-based approaches to solving food safety problems is the focus of this course. Topics covered include several risk management models and practical applications in critical risk management activities including identifying problems and issues that merit attention, establishing objectives, developing questions, determining if and when a risk assessment is needed, formulating, evaluating, selecting and implementing the best management option to manage the risk. (3 credits)

NFSC 502: Food Safety Risk Assessment (Pre-requisites: NFSC 501)
This course focuses on theory, methodology, and the mainstream risk assessment models with emphasis on state-of-the-art guidelines and an examination of actual risk assessments- including post-market and pre-market assessments utilizing the safety paradigm, carcinogenicity assessment, biotechnology, nutritional risk/benefit assessment, microbiological risk assessment, antimicrobial resistance and animal drug risk assessment, and food defense risk assessment. (3 credits)

NFSC 503: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Food Safety Risk Assessment (Pre-requisites: NFC 501 and NFSC 502)
This course examines the specific qualitative and quantitative methods necessary for characterizing, evaluating and comparing food safety risks. Screening and ranking tools useful in qualitative assessments will be presented. Quantitative modeling considerations such as probability, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty, and variability will be examined, and methods such as event trees, probabilistic scenarios analysis, and Monte Carlo methods will be tested. Students will develop simple risk models suitable for responding to risk managers' needs using qualitative or quantitative tools. (3 credits)

COMM 668A: Food Safety Risk Communication (Pre-requisites: NFSC 501)
Risk communication is an interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals, groups, and institutions. The process involves decision making, actions, developing policies aimed at managing or controlling health or environmental risks, developing messages to prevent risk, and understanding perceptions of risk. This class instructs students in how to communicate to stakeholders about food safety risks. The course's approach is theoretical, practical and applied and is focused on the elements that comprise risk communication: source credibility, target audience analysis, message development, choosing media channels, and working with the media. This class will help students become more effective risk communicators, whether dealing with the public, the media, or with internal organizational members. (3 credits)

Food Safety Risk Analysis - Calendar

2008-2009

Term I (September 1, 2008 - November 21, 2008)

  • NFSC502: Food Safety Risk Assessment

Term II (December 1, 2008 - February 20, 2009)

  • NFSC503: Qualitative & Quantitative Methods in Food Safety Risk Assessment

Term III (March 2, 2009 - May 22, 2009)

  • NFSC501: Food Safety Risk Management

Term IV (June 1, 2009 - August 21, 2009)

  • COMM668A: Food Safety Risk Communication

Food Safety Risk Analysis - Tuition & Fees

Current charges (subject to change for 2008-2009)

Application Fee: $60 (nonrefundable)
Tuition: $1,800 per course
Online Studies Fee: $60

Supplies:

Supplies will vary by course and are not included in the tuition and fees listed here.

Late Registration Fee:

A late registration fee of $20 is charged to any student who registers for their first class on or after the first day the class meets.

Parking Fees:

Click here to access the Department of Transportation Services Web site for parking permit information. Parking permits are NOT required on campus for classes that begin after 4 p.m.

Please visit Billing and Payment for other important financial details.

Please Note: Although changes in tuition and fees are ordinarily announced in advance, the University reserves the right to make such changes without previous announcement.