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National Needs Fellowship

» USDA National Needs Fellowship Program

The National Needs Fellowship (NFF) Program sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides support to train outstanding MS students in specific targeted expertise shortage areas: Food Science and Human Nutrition. These newly admitted students to the M.S. in Food Science engage in rigorous coursework and experiential learning. Fellows graduating from this program will find plentiful career opportunities in industry, research, or policy.

Learn more about the fascinating world of food science.

Fellows Receive

Funding
The NNF Fellowship offers $18,500/year for 2 years and scholarship support. 

Research
Multidisciplinary research at the interface of Food Science and Human Nutrition

Mentorship
Faculty and industry mentoring to further education in MS in Food Science

Industry Experience
Internship and job shadowing opportunities

Professional Development
NNF Fellows participate in Foundational Leadership Development and Teach-Back programs designed to enhance leadership skills. 


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Eligibility

  • First-generation [neither of whose parents completed a baccalaureate degree; or in the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, an individual whose only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree] AND/OR  any group underrepresented in undergraduate and first professional degree study in the food and agricultural sciences as indicated in standard statistical references, or as documented on a case-by-case basis by national survey data
  • Citizen of the United States of America 
  • Meet requirements for admission to the MS Food Science program at Chapman University. Applicants to the Joint M.S./MBA program are not eligible for this fellowship.

NNF Faculty Mentors

photo of Anuradha Prakash, Ph.D.

Anuradha Prakash, Ph.D.

Director, Food Science Program
Dr. Prakash focuses her research on enhancing the safety and shelf-life of fresh-cut fruits, vegetables and ready-to-eat meals using irradiation.
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photo of Rosalee Hellberg, Ph.D.

Rosalee Hellberg, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Food Science
Dr. Hellberg's research focuses on food fraud and food safety, and her lab develops and applies rapid methods for the detection of food fraud and food contaminants.
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photo of Lilian Senger, Ph.D.

Lilian Senger, Ph.D.

Professor, Food Science
Dr. Senger focuses her research on determining preservative and sensory properties of phenolic and melanoidin compounds from coffee, mushroom and sunflower seeds, with the overall goal of enhancing the quality and chemical shelf life of food.
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photo of Uyen Phan, Ph.D.

Uyen Phan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Food Science
Dr. Phan's research interests include sensory evaluation of food and non-food products; consumer behavior in relation to food choice and food consumption; cross-culture research to explore similarities/differences in motivation, perception, and attitudes toward food products among people in different cultures; multivariate statistical analyses to determine consumer preferences of food and to study relationships between sensory data and consumer acceptability data/chemical flavor data (GC-MS).
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This fellowship is sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Contact Us

Rosalee Hellberg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Associate Director, Food Science