PACKAGING SCIENCE
Bachelor of Science

The Bachelor of Science degree in Packaging Science prepares students for careers in industries producing and utilizing packages for all types of products. Packaging is an essential part of industrialized economies, protecting, preserving, and helping to market products. The field of packaging is highly competitive and highly innovative, requiring an ever-increasing number of professional positions.

Opportunities for employment include a wide variety of career paths such as manufacturing, marketing, sales, design, purchasing, quality assurance, and customer services. Most career opportunities are in positions requiring technical knowledge combined with marketing and management skills.

The core curriculum assures the graduate of having the skills and knowledge required by most entry-level packaging positions. Emphasis area choices allow students to select courses to improve career preparation for specific industry segments. The food packaging emphasis area prepares students for this technically challenging field; the general packaging emphasis area allows concentrations in other speciality areas, such as environmental science or graphic communications.

Students changing majors to Packaging Science must have at least a 2.0 cumulative grade-point ratio.

Freshman Year

First Semester
4 - BIOL 103 General Biology
4 - CH 101 General Chemistry
3 - ENGL 101 Composition I
1 - PKGSC 101 Packaging Orientation
3 - Mathematical Sciences Requirement¹
15

Second Semester
4 - BIOL 104 General Biology II
4 - CH 102 General Chemistry
3 - ENGL 102 Composition II
4 - MTHSC 106 Calculus of One Variable I
2 - PKGSC 102 Intro. to Packaging Science
1 - Elective
18

Sophomore Year

First Semester
3 - CH 223 Organic Chemistry
1 - CH 227 Organic Chemistry Lab.
3 - CP SC 120 Issues in Computers
4 - PHYS 207 General Physics I²
3 - PKGSC 202 Packaging Materials and Manufacturing
3 - THRD 180 Introduction to Technical Drawing and Computer Aided Drafting³
17

Second Semester
4 - FD SC 214 Food Resources and Preservation
4 - G C 104 Graphic Communications I
3 - PKGSC 204 Container Systems
1 - PKGSC 206 Container Systems Lab.
3 - Emphasis Area¹
3 - Humanities Requirement E.1⁴
18

Summer
0 - CO-OP 101 Cooperative Education⁵

Junior Year

First Semester
3 - EX ST 301 Introductory Statistics
4 - MICRO 305 General Microbiology
3 - PKGSC 404 Mech. Properties of Packages and Principles of Package Evaluation
2 - PKGSC 454 Package Evaluation Lab.
3 - Social Science Requirement⁶
3 - Elective
18

Second Semester
3 - ENGL 314 Technical Writing
3 - PKGSC 316 Appl. of Polymers in Packaging
3 - SPCH 250 Public Speaking
5 - Emphasis Area1
3 - Social Science Requirement⁶
17

Senior Year

First Semester
3 - PKGSC 368 Packaging and Society
3 - PKGSC 420 Package Design and Dev.
4 - Emphasis Area¹
3 - Humanities Requirement E.2⁴
3 - Elective
16

Second Semester
3 - PKGSC 401 Packaging Machinery
3 - PKGSC 440 Packaging Distribution
3 - PKGSC 464 Food Packaging Systems
1 - PKGSC 466 Food Packaging Systems Lab.
3 - Emphasis Area¹
3 - Elective
16

135 Total Semester Hours

¹See advisor.

²PHYS 122 and 124 may be substituted.

³E G 208 may be substituted.

⁴See General Education Requirements.

⁵Students are required to complete at least one 15-week period (six months preferred) of Cooperative Education.

⁶AP EC 202 or ECON 211, and three credits from the following: HIST 101, 102, 172, 173, PO SC 101, PSYCH 201, R S (SOC) 401; SOC 201, GEOG 101 or 103.