Spring 2027

Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food

Introduction to food science covering chemical, physical, and microbiological properties of food and their manipulation in product manufacture.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez3.7/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Students reported weekly lab assignments and exams that were thorough but fair. One reviewer noted that exam questions could be very specific, sometimes based on offhand mentions in lecture.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Apply core knowledge in chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology to the understanding of food systems including quantitative problem-solving skills

  • Identify the chemical composition of the main components in foods and describe how the composition influences functionality and material properties

  • Explain relationships of mass-balance in food processing and be able to do simple mass-balance calculations

  • Apply the basic principles of microbiology in relation to food safety and food processing/preservation

  • Outline key technical information/terminology related to food science

  • Describe the way in which food handling and processing operations impact food composition and human health

  • Discuss regulations and market forces that govern our food supply

  • Outline emerging trends in food production, processing, and handling

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(MATH 112, 114 or 217) and (CHEM 103, 109 or 115) and (ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY 101, 102,BOTANY/​BIOLOGY 130, or ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 151) or (BSE 349 or concurrent enrollment)

FOODSCI 301 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.90/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.3/5 raw quality · 3.8/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez taught a no-textbook course with engaging lectures and food-producing labs. Students disagreed on workload: one called lab reports easy points, while another cited heavy weekly assignments. Exams were thorough and fair but tested specific lecture details. Feedback on Arnoldo was mixed, with one student praising his care and another criticizing his ego.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.77 GPA, 30.8% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.82 GPA, 27.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.70 GPA, 31.6% A/AB (n=38 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ARNOLDO LOPEZ-HERNANDEZ is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 400
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 200
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez teaches an engaging, lab-heavy course where students found the material interesting and the hands-on work enjoyable. Reviews describe the instructor as caring and personable.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.77 GPA, 30.8% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.82 GPA, 27.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.70 GPA, 31.6% A/AB (n=38 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Students reported weekly lab assignments and exams that were thorough but fair. One reviewer noted that exam questions could be very specific, sometimes based on offhand mentions in lecture.

Past student reviews · Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

Students noted that labs often end with food to take home, adding to the fun. However, one student found the instructor's attitude frustrating, creating a polarized experience.

Topics

  • Chemical, physical, and microbiological food properties
  • Food product manufacture
  • Food supply regulations and market forces

Skills

  • Quantitative problem-solving in food systems
  • Simple mass-balance calculations
  • Applying microbiology to food safety

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
FOODSCI 301 · Spring 2027

Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:390:022975",
    "course_id": "FOODSCI 301",
    "course_uid": "course_9a5fac10f94a5dc058fd4363",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "022975",
    "source_subject_id": "390",
    "title": "Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "22a09c25e01eb2725d7231d6c0447652e676af3986d5b730796521099ffd0ffc",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}