Academics

Food Leadership Minor

See new courses enrolling for the Fall 2024 semester here.

Overview

The Food Leadership Minor will support a student’s exploration of food from learning the science of various types of agricultural approaches, to valuing the people who make our food and understanding the policies that have shaped our food systems. The goal of the minor is for students to recognize the sustainability and climate change challenges around food, while acknowledging the historic injustices that cause our systems to be stagnant.

Minor Structure

Program requirements can be found on the GW Bulletin. The minor consists of 6 courses for a total of 18 credits. All students will take Introduction to Food Systems, one 3-credit course in Nutrition, and one 3-credit course in each of the following pillars: Policy, Innovation, Humanity. The sixth course will be a leadership capstone experience.

Required Courses

• GFI 1001: Introduction to Food Systems
• GFI 3095: Food Leadership Capstone

Policy

• EXNS 1114: Community Nutrition
• EXNS 2126W: International Nutrition
• EXNS 2127: Intro to Food Policy
• GFI 3003: Stakeholder Perspectives on Federal Food Policymaking in the U.S.
• SUST 3003: World on a Plate

Innovation

• EXNS 2122: Food Systems in Public Health
• GEOG 3275: Sustainable Food Systems
• PUBH 3150: Sustainable Energy and Environmental Health

Humanity 

• EXNS 3120: Experiences in Community Nutrition
• FREN 2500: Cultural Politics of Food in France
• GEOG 2133: People, Land, and Food
• GFI 1002: Global Food Institute First-Year Seminar 
  • Alternatively can count for Policy after discussion with Minor advisor 
• ITAL 2600: Italian Foodways

Nutrition

• BISC 1005: Biology of Nutrition & Health
• BISC 1007: Food, Nutrition, and Service
• CULI 1810: Fundamentals of Culinary Medicine
• EXNS 2119: Introduction to Nutrition Science

Declaring the Minor

To declare a minor in Food Leadership, students must fill out a minor declaration form from their school. Forms must be signed by Dr. Tara Scully and then submitted to the student's advising office.

Forms can be found here: 

• Columbian College of Arts and Sciences: pending approval 
• Elliot School of International Affairs
• School of Business
• School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Milken Institute School of Public Health

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Food Leadership minor?

It is a cross-disciplinary minor which any residential undergraduate student from any school can take. The program is designed to engage students in courses across our pillars of nutrition, innovation, policy, and humanities. The faculty will work with the student to determine the best courses to fit their major area of study. 

What will I learn from this minor?

Since this is an a la carte program, students will determine which courses suit their future careers but you will start with a survey of food systems on a global scale which will lean into agriculture and humanities. Then students will select a nutrition course and a course in each of the Policy, Innovation, and Humanity pillars based on their interests. The leadership capstone experience will serve as the culmination of the Food Leadership minor and will allow students to gain experience working or volunteering with an organization on food systems topics.

Is the Food Leadership minor limited to students in one college or school at GW? 

No. The minor is open to any residential undergraduate student from any school across the university. In fact, the minor encourages students to take classes beyond their own school in order to fulfill the minor. 

Are there any required courses?

There are 2 required courses for the minor:

• Introduction to Food Systems (GFI 1001)
• Food Leadership Capstone (GFI 3095)

How many credits do I need to complete the minor?

The minor is 18 credits:

• Introduction to Food Systems GFI 1001 (3 credits)
• Nutrition Course (3 credits)
• Policy Course (3 credits)
• Innovation Course (3 credits)
• Humanity Course (3 credits) 
• Food Leadership Capstone GFI 3095 (3 credits)

Who can I contact if I have further questions?

[email protected]

Where is the office located?

1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, 5th Floor

Can I double count courses?

Yes but only 3 courses can double count with your major.

I am a junior or a senior. Can I still apply for the minor? 

Yes! We can work with students of any class and help them design the best possible plan for the Food Leadership Minor. Whether this will work for you will depend on the flexibility of your schedule and whether you are able to find and complete an internship, directed research, or community service in your remaining semesters.

Is there a minimum GPA requirement to declare the minor?

No.

What is the application process?

Schedule an appointment with the Food Leadership Advisor to discuss your plan of study. Make sure to bring your school’s minor/secondary field form as well as your tentative course plan for the Food Leadership Minor. After getting the approval and a signature from us, take the form back to your school’s advising office to declare the minor. 

Where can I look for internships for my culminating experience?

By signing up for our newsletter! 

Can I apply student abroad credits to the minor?

Yes. Please contact us before to verify that the course will be transferable.

I am working on a faculty-directed research project related to food or food systems. Can I apply it to the minor?

Yes. You can apply this towards your culminating experience if it meets the approval of the Food Leadership Minor Advisor.

I am taking a course that I think is related to food and food systems but it’s not listed in the guide and it doesn’t have a course attribute in the Schedule of Classes. Can I still apply it towards the minor? 

Send an email with the course syllabus to the Food Leadership Minor Advisor and we will follow up directly with the professor and let you know. Our list of food-related courses is updated frequently. However, this requires the approval of the faculty member teaching the course as well as the approval of the Food Leadership Minor Advisor.