Why UNISG?

Founded in 2004 by Slow Food, the University of Gastronomic Sciences was established in Pollenzo around an idea that had never existed anywhere before: a university entirely dedicated to food. Not to food technology alone, not to culinary arts alone, not to agri-food economics alone but to food in its full complexity, as a subject of study capable of bringing together biology and anthropology, history and design, ecology and politics, experience and justice.

The University of Gastronomic Sciences remains to this day the only university in the world built around this vision. It is a vision that does not separate pleasure from responsibility, nor scientific knowledge from material culture. UNISG prepares professionals who are capable of reading a territory through its products, evaluating a supply chain, and building a career with a distinctive perspective on one of the most consequential sectors of our time.

Choosing UNISG means joining an academic community that has established gastronomy as a fully recognized discipline, and that has made the Pollenzo campus a place where critical thinking is shaped both inside and outside the classroom.

UNISG's educational approach is grounded in the integration of disciplines that traditionally belong to separate fields: biological and nutritional sciences, humanities and social sciences, economics, food law, communication, and design. The program is built on the conviction that understanding food requires a variety of complementary tools, capable of engaging with one another in meaningful dialogue.

Throughout the course of study, sensory sciences are paired with food anthropology, the history of gastronomy with ecology, and the analysis of production systems with the sociology of consumption. This interconnection is not peripheral to specialized training; it is its very method. Studying food systems means recognizing the relationships among production, distribution, consumption, and culture.

The goal is to prepare professionals equipped to navigate the complexity of the food sector with analytical and critical thinking, and capable of interpreting gastronomic phenomena in their simultaneous scientific, cultural, and economic dimensions.

The Pollenzo campus welcomes students from more than 60 countries. This international presence is not an incidental feature; it is a structural component of UNISG's educational model. The diversity of backgrounds, food cultures, and perspectives is an integral part of the academic experience and contributes directly to the quality of the course of study.

Studying daily in a multicultural environment means engaging with different food systems, with gastronomic practices rooted in distant geographic and historical contexts, and with varied approaches to the production, consumption, and culture of food. This is a form of learning that complements classroom instruction and enriches it in ways that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

The network built during the years at Pollenzo extends well beyond graduation. UNISG alumni are active throughout the world, across fields ranging from research to communications, from the food industry to the restaurant sector, from public institutions to international organizations. This community represents one of the most tangible assets the university offers to those who choose to pursue their education in Pollenzo.