It is a 16-credit option open to all undergraduate students. It assembles an interdisciplinary curriculum, integrating different paradigms across all aspects of food production, distribution, and consumption, along with the context and values inherent to the systems.

For students in food or agriculture-related majors, the certificate in food systems will provide a broader context to their disciplinary studies.  For students in fields that include food as a possible orientation of their studies, it will provide exposure to the full range of food systems, potentially inspiring an orientation to food as a focus of their studies. For students of any discipline, the certificate will help students be more informed consumers and citizens, hopefully leading to better choices about what they eat through knowledge of food and the social, economic, and environmental outcomes of different patterns of production, processing, distribution, and consumption.