Culinary Science Transfer Plan

No more than 65 semester credit hours earned at a two-year college can be applied to a baccalaureate degree from ISU. ISU accepts up to 16 semester hours of credit earned in career/technical courses if the sending community college accepts such courses toward its Associate in Art or Associate in Science Degrees.

These plans are suggestions only and may need to be adapted to meet individual needs and commitments.

View links to the course requirements, sample four-year plan, and course sequence flow chart on the culinary science major page.

What to complete before transferring

All courses on this plan do not need to be completed prior to transfer. Focus on completing science sequence courses to move through the program at the quickest pace after transfer.

If you are a part-time student or cannot complete all of the suggested coursework on this plan, consider choosing the science coursework first since this begins the longest sequence of courses. (Begin the science sequence with General/College Chemistry equivalent(s) and Principles of Biology equivalents.)

Semester 1

TRANSIT: Is a tool that transfer students use to find out if courses from two- and four-year institutions will transfer and fulfill requirements for a chosen degree program.

Course Equivalency Guides: List the courses offered at the community college and how each of those corresponds to courses offered at ISU.

ISU course number, name ISU credits Notes
CHEM 177/177L or CHEM 163/163L, General Chemistry I 4 (lecture), 1 (lab) Culinary Science students at ISU must take an equivalent to either CHEM 163/163L or CHEM 177/177L at ISU to fulfill the general chemistry requirement.
BIOL 211, Principles of Biology 3
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3
Library 160, Library Instruction 1 Some schools have an equivalent to this course, and some do not. If an equivalent doesn’t exist, this course can easily be fit into a schedule at ISU after transfer

Total credits: About 14-15 (varies based on course credits of transfer institution)

Semester 2

TRANSIT: is a tool that transfer students use to find out if courses from two- and four-year institutions will transfer and fulfill requirements for a chosen degree program.

Course Equivalency Guides: List the courses offered at the community college and how each of those corresponds to courses offered at ISU.

ISU course number, name
ISU credits
Notes
CHEM 231/231L, Elementary Organic Chemistry or CHEM 331/331L, Organic Chemistry II 3 (lecture), 1 (lab) If your institution only offers the CHEM 331/L equivalent and you need CHEM 178/L as a pre-requisite, you should plan to take CHEM 178/L during the previous semester.
MICRO 201/201L 2 (lecture), 1 (lab) Microbiology courses that transfer as MICRO 2T** on the Course Equivalency Guides, are at least 3 credits, and include a laboratory, will fulfill the MICRO 201/201L requirement for Culinary Science majors
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3

Total credits: about 13 (will vary based on credits of courses at transfer institution)

Semester 3

TRANSIT: Is a tool that transfer students use to find out if courses from two- and four-year institutions will transfer and fulfill requirements for a chosen degree program.

Course Equivalency Guides: List the courses offered at the community college and how each of those corresponds to courses offered at ISU.

ISU course number, name ISU credits Notes
CHEM 231/231L, Elementary Organic Chemistry or CHEM 331/331L, Organic Chemistry II 3 (lecture), 1 (lab) If your institution only offers the CHEM 331/L equivalent and you need CHEM 178/L as a pre-requisite, you should plan to take CHEM 178/L during the previous semester.
MICRO 201/201L 2 (lecture), 1 (lab) Microbiology courses that transfer as MICRO 2T** on the Course Equivalency Guides, are at least 3 credits, and include a laboratory, will fulfill the MICRO 201/201L requirement for Culinary Science majors
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3
Select an interchangeable course from the list 3

Total credits: About 13 (will vary based on credits of courses at transfer institution)

Semester 4

Typically, at this point in the sequence of courses, it is important that students have transferred to ISU. You should visit with the FSHN transfer adviser to determine the best time to transfer based on your situation. If possible, early planning is recommended to determine the transfer semester that will result in the most timely completion of your degree requirements

Interchangeable courses

Where the transfer plan says, “select an interchangeable course,” select one of the courses below. All courses must be taken to fulfill requirements for your degree program, but the order of these courses prior to transfer is typically less significant.

TRANSIT: Is a tool that transfer students use to find out if courses from two- and four-year institutions will transfer and fulfill requirements for a chosen degree program.

Course Equivalency Guides: List the courses offered at the community college and how each of those corresponds to courses offered at ISU.

ISU course number, name ISU credits
Notes
Math 140, 142, 160, 165 or 181- College Algebra (140) or higher 3 Take an equivalent to one course from this category
STAT 101, Principles of Statistics or STAT 104, Introduction to Statistics 4,3 Take an equivalent to one of these two courses
ENGL 150, Critical Thinking & Communication 3
ENGL 250, Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Communication 3 Usually an equivalent to ENGL 150 is the pre-requisite to an ENGL 250 equivalent
SP CM 212, Speech Communication 3
FS HN 167, Intro. to Human Nutrition 3
ECON 101, Principles of Economics 3
Humanities course 3-9 Courses at ISU that can fulfill Humanities requirements can be found at this link. Additionally, classes listed on the Course Equivalency Guides as HUM 1T**, 2T**, 3T**, 4T** can also serve as humanities. 3-9 credits of humanities are needed. Consult with the ISU FSHN adviser regarding how many credits of humanities classes you should take prior to transfer.

FAQs

Chemistry sequence

How do I know which chemistry sequence to take: CHEM 163/L or CHEM 177/L &CHEM 178?

Consultation with an adviser at your current institution and at Iowa State University is important to determine which chemistry sequence is appropriate for your skills, abilities, and goals. However, some general advice follows. At Iowa State University, CHEM 163/L is a one semester look at college chemistry principles that prepares students for Elementary Organic Chemistry (CHEM 231/L at Iowa State). CHEM 177/L is one part of a two-part sequence that is typically a more in-depth look at general chemistry concepts for students with stronger math and chemistry backgrounds. The in-depth two part sequence typically better prepares students for Elementary Organic Chemistry.

Some schools only offer the equivalent to the CHEM 177/L & 178/L sequence (see the course equivalency guides to check a community college). If you have the choice between CHEM 163/L and CHEM 177/L, then you should visit with an adviser at your current institution to find out which you are most prepared for.

Also, many schools do not offer an Elementary Organic Chemistry course such as Iowa State’s CHEM 231/L, only a higher-level Organic Chemistry course (equivalent to Iowa State University’s CHEM 331/L). If this is the case and you plan to stay at your community college through organic chemistry, then you typically need to take the CHEM 177/L to 178/L sequences to be most prepared for the higher level Organic Chemistry course (equivalent to CHEM 331/L).

Electives

Do I need any electives for this major? What counts as an elective?

Students in this program must have completed 122.5 credits to graduate. Students usually need to take between 0 and 6 credits, minimum, of electives to get to 122.5 credit hours. You may need a few more or less as a transfer student depending on the number of credits that the courses are at your transfer institution. Any course that is accepted by Iowa State University as a transfer course that isn’t already fulfilling a degree requirement can be considered an elective.

Transferring with chemistry sequence

What if I have finished the Chemistry sequence on this plan (gotten to or finished CHEM 231/231L or 331/331L)?

It’s time to visit with the FS HN transfer academic adviser. It is likely time for you to transfer to Iowa State University so that you can stay on track with your coursework. In a few circumstances it might be appropriate to take an equivalent to BBMB 301 (Survey of Biochemistry) if offered at your current institution, but it is very important to discuss if this is the best option with the FS HN adviser at this point or if you should transfer.

Transferring with interchangeable courses

What if I have finished all (or most of the interchangeable courses on this list) and am now just working on the science coursework so I don’t have a full time course load? Is there anything else that might transfer?

Maybe. If you haven’t already, it’s appropriate to be visiting with the FS HN adviser at this point. It might also be appropriate to discuss with the adviser if there is a minor that you could start working toward that would complement your degree selection.

Culinary Arts associates program

My community college offers a Culinary Arts associates program. Should I complete the program and then transfer to Iowa State University’s Culinary Science program?

That depends on your goals. A culinary arts program is not typically equivalent to the first two years of the culinary science program at Iowa State University.  The reason for this is that typically culinary arts programs prepare students with in-depth culinary skill development with little or no emphasis on science preparation. Typically, culinary arts programs are preparing students to become chefs at restaurants.

The culinary science degree program, on the other hand, focuses on in-depth science and food science preparation with basic culinary skill development. The culinary science degree program is not preparing students to become head chefs at restaurants, but rather to work in areas such as food research and development, corporate restaurant product development, quality research management, sensory science, culinary research technology, food quality control, and food marketing and sales. The science preparation is the focus of this program. Science courses are sequential because they build on one another, so to complete the culinary science program in four-years, students must start their science sequences during their first two years of school (see the transfer plan above). Culinary arts programs typically do not provide the training to do this unless special planning is taken.

If your goal is to become a chef (along with having culinary science training), then a culinary arts degree is necessary and should be completed along with, prior to, or after the culinary science degree. It will typically take about 6 years (full time) to receive both degrees. Otherwise, it is more advantageous to follow this transfer plan.

Indian Hills Community College

Iowa State University and Indian Hills Community College have developed an articulation agreement for students who wish to begin Culinary Science coursework at Indian Hills Community College and receive an Associate of Science degree. Students should contact an adviser at either institution to learn more.

Transferring with culinary arts courses

I am (or was) a student in a Culinary Arts program. Will any of the courses from the Culinary Arts program apply to my degree?

Maybe. Some of these courses have been previously evaluated on the course equivalency guides. Otherwise, these types of courses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The most common types of courses from Culinary Arts programs that can apply to the Culinary Science program include food preparation courses, nutrition courses, and culinary internships (depending on the location and type of experience). If you have completed courses in a Culinary Arts degree, you should check the course equivalency guides and/or enter your coursework into the TRANSIT system. If the courses are not showing as equivalents at your institution on the documents, you should contact the Culinary Science transfer academic adviser. See the response to the questions below for more details.

Indian Hills Community College

Iowa State University and Indian Hills Community College have developed an articulation agreement for students who wish to begin Culinary Science coursework at Indian Hills Community College and receive an Associate of Science degree. Students should contact an adviser at either institution to learn more.

Courses not on TRANSIT

I took courses (or want to take courses) that I think should fulfill the requirements of the Culinary Science degree, but when I entered them on TRANSIT, the courses either weren’t evaluated OR fell into the “elective” category. Is there anything that I can do?

Yes. Contact the FS HN transfer academic adviser. Sometimes courses simply haven’t been evaluated yet by Iowa State University or the course can be re-evaluated as a potential substitution by the FS HN department. These requests are evaluated on an individual basis. Often, the adviser will ask you to share the name of the institution where you took (or want to take) the course, the name, number, and credits of the course, the course description, and potentially a course syllabus

  • Using Transfer Plans

    This Culinary Science transfer plan was accurate on the date it was prepared but may not reflect subsequent changes by ISU or your transfer institution. The transfer plan should be used as a guide only and should not replace consultation with an adviser at your current institution and ISU.