Three-year Undergraduate Degree

Both humanities and sciences are taught within the Undergraduate Degree in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures. Practical learning, lab work, and study trips to discover products and their regions of origin complement in-class lessons in order to provide students with an interdisciplinary approach to the world of gastronomy.

The following list of subjects and course modules comprise the Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures program of study. Each may include seminars dedicated to a specific issue, and course content may vary from year to year.

Class hours and contents may vary.

Year I

First semester
Food biodiversity and human ecology
Molecular and taste sciences
Sociology of cultures, communication and gender differences

Second semester
Food microbiology
Food anthropology
Ecology of law and historic models of sovereignty
Gastronomic lab I

Italian/English Language
Study Trips – Year I, fieldwork experience and film techniques

Year II

First semester
Agroecosystems and sustainability
Travel sciences, society and environments
Food history from prehistory to the middle ages

Second semester
Science of food products
Science of gastronomic design
Food history in the modern and contemporary ages
Gastronomic lab II

Study Trips – Year II and fieldwork experience

Year III

First semester
Food and health
Food systems and global law
Food business economics

Second semester
Food philosophy and communication of gastronomy
Ethnobiology and food scouting
Gastronomic lab III

Study Trips – Year III and fieldwork experience
Final Thesis
Meetings and conferences

Download the Academic Calendar >

Study trips at UNISG are learning tools that give students unique access to knowledge about the world’s gastronomic cultures.

The focal points during these travels revolve around comparisons between opposites: of scale and geography (small-scale versus industrial, rural versus urban) and of production (new trends and mass production methods versus artisanal traditions).

The study trips highlight these opposites that characterize different gastronomic cultures, transmitting a deeper understanding to the students. To do this, they generally develop around chains of production, processing, distribution and consumption, with visits, workshops, guided tours and tastings.

These learning experiences are focused on products, which are always studied within their surrounding context. The itineraries are designed so that similar attention is paid to small-scale producers and production on an industrial scale. This makes the trip a highly effective way of understanding the gastronomic culture of a region or a country, inevitably the result of migrations, hybridizations and the dynamics of the global market.

The students’ classroom studies are integrated into the trip, making it possible to study food cultures and processes through direct, personal experience in the field. The trips represent essential opportunities for synthesis and a realization of the holistic ambition that characterizes UNISG’s vision and activities.

These experiences are constructed around the local communities, which grow stronger through the process of opening up to travellers, while also enriching the host students with a new understanding and awareness. It is within this space of negotiation that the Pollenzo project develops, creating hybrid forms of tourism and travel that prioritize the unique nature of traditional cultures and recognize food as a primary point of interest.

Through the study trip project, the university also contributes to the development of new forms of collaboration and interaction between restaurateurs, producers, local communities and leaders in the host regions, promoting a model of cooperation between stakeholders on an international scale, underpinned by food.

The university’s objective is also to dialog with leading food market players active in the visited area. Only in this way can the trips offer students the chance to develop a complete vision of the complex economic, cultural and demographic dynamics that characterize the areas visited and are always in constant evolution.

Following the educational experience, students will be able to develop an autonomous capacity to analyze the phenomena observed during the trip, thereby becoming promoters and bearers of innovation and protagonists of constant cultural exchanges.

More information >

The Career Center supports UNISG students during the delicate transition into the professional world.

While the students are here in Pollenzo, the Career Center provides constant support to develop their own unique career design through the “Cultivating your Career” program, which consists of collective workshops and individual coaching sessions.

Through the Career Fair, the office helps students in gaining a better understanding of different professional sectors to start or continue their career.

Upon graduation, the Office continues monitoring the careers of alumni, fostering a strong and active professional network that puts together new and experienced gastronomes worldwide.

More information >

The annual fees for the Three-Year Undergraduate Degree in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures starting in the academic year 2018/19 are €14.500, and includes:

• all academic activities, including conferences, tastings, and seminars;
• books and other print materials;
• all study-trip expenses as programmed;
• participation in all UNISG and Slow Food events as included in the undergraduate program;
• civil insurance coverage;
• private insurance policy covering urgent healthcare for non-European students;
• dining hall pass with 4.000 credits for use at UNISG Academic Tables (corresponds to €400). For more information about the meal service, click here >
• access to Career Center services (food sector job placement).

Download the University Fee Payment Regulations for the three-year undergraduate degree program >

Financial Aid & Scholarships >

Note: Fees do not include  accommodation and the cost of obtaining an Italian permit of stay (“permesso di soggiorno”, around €150). Non-EU citizens must apply for a permesso di soggiorno at the post office, ideally with the assistance of the Al Elka Foreigner Services Center, within 8 working days after arriving in Italy. For more information, please see the Bureaucratic Procedures page on our website.

– Italian high school graduates – students who have a secondary school diploma obtained in Italy.

– Graduating Italian high school students – students who will obtain their high school diploma from an Italian high school in 2018, at the conclusion of the 2017/2018 academic year.

– Non-Italian high school graduates* – students who have earned a non-Italian high school degree and are eligible for university enrollment (as reported on the Declaration of Value (Dichiarazione di Valore) issued by the relevant consular authorities).

*Important information for applicants with a U.S. High School Diploma: According to Attachment 1 of the “Procedures for entry, residence and enrolment of foreign/international students for higher education courses in Italy during the 2017-2018 academic year″, updated on August 3, 2017 (and viewable here online), US candidates must possess one of the following:

(1) a U.S. high school diploma and at least 3 successfully completed Advanced Placement exams
(2) Two years of college or university credit with all exams passed

For more information, please contact the Italian embassy or consulate in the United States. All non-EU candidates must enroll through the Italian consulate nearest their place of residence. Candidates should contact the Italian consulate as soon as possible to ensure sufficient time to complete the enrollment process.

Applicants whose native language is not English must have a minimum level of English language proficiency equivalent to a B2-level, (in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) demonstrated at the English language entrance examination.

Applicants whose native language is not Italian must have a minimum level of knowledge of the Italian language equal to A1/A2 (in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) demonstrated during the Italian language interview/admission test.

For further details, see the final paragraph entitled Language requirements and bibliography in the Admission Process Instructions – Undergraduate Degree 2018

Important Information

Students from all countries are eligible to apply. Note that diplomas issued from institutions not accredited in Italy must be accompanied by an Italian consular accreditation (the “Dichiarazione di Valore” or “DV”) as part of the admission process, which candidates must obtain and submit to the Registrar Office. The original document must be handed in to the Student Registrar Office no later than the first day of the program and will be kept by the university for the duration of the program. (The consulate may choose to send the document directly to UNISG.) The application to UNISG must be completed through an Italian consular representative. Applicants should contact their local Italian consulate as early as possible to ensure adequate time for all consular processes. For more information, please see the Bureaucratic Procedures page on our website.

In order to apply to the three-year Undergraduate Degree in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures, candidates must complete the following steps online:

• registration process;
• supporting dossier;
• Written Analytical Exam;
• Online Interview.

Learn more >