Credit Hours - 3

Students will present preliminary findings of their research before they submit their theses for examination.

Credit Hours - 3

The Experiential Research Learning (ERL) seminar is to prepare students to start an apprenticeship soon after their comprehensive examination. Students will be required to undergo practical training with Faculty in research work and present a report on their experience at the end of the second year. Supervisors will also be required to report on students’ work/experience.

Credit Hours - 3

This seminar is to assess progress being made by the student on his/her thesis. 

Credit Hours - 3

The course will allow students to sharpen skills on the current issues on food safety, food regulations and traceability. The impact of engineering process and product design on food safety and traceability and applications within the Ghanaian context. Students will learn about current issues of concern in national and international agencies involved with food safety. These include Codex Alimentarius Commission; WTO, OIE, GlobalGAP, etc. International Code of practice, general principles of food hygiene as applied to different foods. Development, establishment and monitoring of traceability systems.

Credit Hours - 3

All students must formally defend their research proposal to ensure that the proposed work is relevant, meaningful, viable and capable of being completed within the time frame and resource constraints. The student will prepare a document to the satisfaction of the supervisory committee. The student will present the proposal in a seminar to the Graduate Committee, academic staff in the discipline and supervisory committee. 

Credit Hours - 3

This course will highlight recent advances in food process design using modern technologies and how these can be applied to processing of Ghanaian foods. Topics to be covered will include design of equipment for upgrading and improving traditional food processes, pulsed electric field processing, irradiation process design, design for high-pressure food processing, microfiltration, microwave and radio-frequency heating processes for food, high voltage food processing technology: theory, processing design and applications, Extraction process design (supercritical fluid extraction, liquid-liquid extraction and solid-liquid extraction), food frying process design (heating and mass transfer during frying).

Credit Hours - 3

This course aims to give advanced knowledge in transport phenomena covering momentum transport (viscous flow), energy transport (heat conduction, convection and radiation) and mass transport (diffusion) in continua in food systems. Topics will include kinetic theory of transport processes, transport by molecular motion (viscosity, thermal conductivity and diffusivity), transport in an arbitrary continuum (equations of change for isothermal, non-isothermal and multi-component systems), transport in laminar flow with two independent variables, transport in turbulent flow, transport between two phases.

Credit Hours - 3

This course provides students with the opportunity to use mathematical models to predict the effect of different systems and process parameters on the outcome of varied food processing techniques.  Topics covered include applied techniques in regression; industrial modeling and simulation in food process; theory and practical; mini project.

Credit Hours - 3

The course will introduce students to current knowledge and engineering applications in food handling, processing and marketing. The foods will be considered under five thematic areas to cover a) horticultural products, b) cereals and legumes, c) beverages, including cocoa, coffee, tea and carbonated drinks, d) oilseeds and e) animal products. The course will review the current trends and allow the student to select three thematic areas for detailed attention on engineering concepts and developments applicable to the foods. Topics may include production systems; production planning and distribution, safety, environment and quality systems

Credit Hours - 3

The course will cover engineering applications in biotechnology for food and allied processing.  The course will review food fermentation with particular reference to liquid-state and solid-state fermentations and the design of equipment to effect these (including brewing and wine making). Equipment design and assessment. The course will allow students to identify one indigenous food biotechnological process and design equipment and processes for improvement. Genetic engineering and food technology.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will explore the concepts and practical application of advanced statistical techniques used in quality control. Topics include design and implementation of quality systems, quality trilogy, quality management tools (5 whys, root cause analysis, QFD, CTQ tree, SPC, Business process mapping, value stream mapping), advanced process control charts, acceptance sampling, six sigma, cumulative sum and exponentially weighted moving average charts

Credit Hours - 3

The course highlights the interrelationships between structural components of food ingredients and the expressed physicochemical, sensory and textural attributes of foods. Topics will include thermodynamics and vapour-liquid equilibria; glass transitions in foods; emulsions, gels and gelling; texture and structure relations in food systems; advanced microscopy and instrumentation techniques; image analysis, physical assessment; Microstructural elements and their interactions, Food microstructure and quality; food structures; Microstructure and mass transfer. Microstructure and engineering design of food processes.

Credit Hours - 3

The food industry depends on several packaging systems to store and deliver safe foods to the consumer. The course will introduce students to the engineering and design of food packages based on metals, glass, plastic and rigid plastic containers, retortable pouches, paper, wood. Other materials to be considered are paper, paperboard and laminations; corrugated fiberboard. Aseptic processing and packaging of food; food packaging equipment; quality assurance and safety of aseptically processed and packaged foods; validation and establishment of aseptic processing and packaging; factors affecting permeation, sorption and migration processes in packaged-product systems; water migration and food storage stability. Technologies to extend the shelf-life of foods, e.g. fruits and vegetables, fish and fish products. Stored product quality-open dating and temperature monitoring.

Credit Hours - 45

The doctoral candidate will work under the supervision of a faculty member during which he/she is expected to conduct research on an original research project. Such work will either be added information to an existing work already published by other investigators or original idea developed by the candidate. The results generated will be synthesized and put in a dissertation.  Some of the work has to be submitted for publication before the student graduates. Periodic evaluation through seminars and individual contact with the approved supervisor will be made.

Credit Hours - 3

Recent advances in food testing, quality control and process/product development methods and approaches. Food Testing Methodology in the Plant; Measurements of Physical and Chemical Properties of Foods; Advances in Food Testing-Viscosity, Colour, Food Additives; Testing for aflatoxins and other food toxicants; Advances in Process and product development; Control Charts; Cumulative Sum Charts; Process capability for Variables and its measurement; Six Sigma Process Quality. Benchmarking for product development; Principles of Integrated Product Development (IPPD); Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and product development; Customer-focused development with QFD; Product Launch - the Role of the Engineer; Hands-on product development project: from concept to development.

Credit Hours - 3

Topical issues in food processing: Engineering and National Development - Role of Food Processing in agriculture; Genetically Modified Organisms - science, technology, ethics and consumer concerns ; Climate Change and Adaptation: future options in Food Process Engineering; Global Food Standards, international food trade; Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Trade Organization; Nutraceuticals and functional foods; Nano-sciences: Detection and Characterization of Engineered Nanomaterials; Nano-engineering; Packaging Engineering; Aseptic Packaging and Edible Films; Ohmic Heating; Innovations in Food Process Engineering - Equipment Designs and Processes and Products; Extrusion and the transformation of food raw materials; Food Laws and Regulations in process Engineering.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will consider plant safety in food process engineering operations, current occupational health and environment issues in food process industry. Topics to be covered will include: Introduction and advances in plant safety and health; Occupational Safety and Health in the Plant - General Guidelines. Theories of accident Causes; Key Principles of OSH; National Framework Design; Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance and Plant Safety Audit; Introduction to Environment and Health Hazards, Safety Management Structure, Safety Analysis and Statistics in HAZOPER, Occupational Health and Environmental Management, Industrial engineering policies and practices, Industrial Safety Management, Process Safety Management; Safety Audit of a Food Plant.

Credit Hours - 3

The course is to provide an interpretation of classical equilibrium thermodynamics using statistical mechanics and to introduce the concept of equilibrium in statistical mechanics. Topics will include General formulation of statistical thermodynamics. Molecular partition function, Canonical and Grand canonical ensembles, Kinetic Theory of gases, imperfect Gases – van der Waals equations, Ideal Fermi-Dirac Gas, Ideal Bose-Einstein Gas, Critical Phenomena.

Credit Hours - 3

The emphasis of this course will be application of process integration principles in food process design to ensure sustainability. Topics will include; Principles of efficient design of food process plants to minimize water and energy usage. Indigenous and Modern Food Technologies-the role of food process engineers. Techniques for plant and process analysis and process optimization. Efficient usage of steam and steam systems, refrigeration systems and pumping/compression systems. Design systems for selected unit operations.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will deal with the principles of water and wastewater engineering in food processing. The topics to be covered will include: Water Quality and Regulations, Standards, Characteristics of water and wastewater quality: physical, chemical and biological parameters, standard methods of water analyses, water and wastewater treatment plants and systems: physical, chemical and biological systems, primary, secondary and tertiary treatment, sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, filtration, adsorption, ammonia removal, aeration, anaerobic and aerobic digestion, activated sludge and trickling filter, ion exchange, lagoons, disinfection, natural treatment systems, sludge treatment and disposal, industrial wastewater treatment: characteristics of industrial wastewater, treatment levels and available technologies.

Credit Hours - 3

The course is aimed at training the student to do critical review, critique, organize and present information in a systematic manner. Some topics will provide opportunity for students to present different positions on the same topic. Key players in the industry will be invited to participate in the presentations. Topics to be considered will include the following: Texture-structure relations and product innovation; Indigenous and Modern Food Packaging Systems; Engineering, Processing and Health; Product Optimization;Nanoscale Research; Innovations in food processing; Ultrasonic Analysis of Lipids; Product Traceability and competitiveness; Organic Foods; advances in Food Testing and Quality Control; Phase transitions in Food Systems.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will consider plant safety in food process engineering operations, current occupational health and environment issues in food process industry. Topics to be covered will include: Introduction and advances in plant safety and health; Occupational Safety and Health in the Plant - General Guidelines. Theories of accident Causes; Key Principles of OSH; National Framework Design; Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance and Plant Safety Audit; Introduction to Environment and Health Hazards, Safety Management Structure, Safety Analysis and Statistics in HAZOPER, Occupational Health and Environmental Management, Industrial engineering policies and practices, Industrial Safety Management, Process Safety Management; Safety Audit of a Food Plant.

Credit Hours - 3

The course will employ the problem solving approach to ensure students can apply the fundamentals and principles of engineering process operations in food processing. Topics to be covered will include: Engineering principles in food processing and preservation, thermal processing of foods, drying, size reduction and mixing, general unit operations in food and chemical engineering, contact equilibrium processes. Food irradiation technology, microwaves in food technology and handling. Engineering principles in traditional food processing, Design of food processing operations including solid and liquid state fermentation, microwave cooking, frying, and extrusion. New food processing technologies including ohmic, radio frequency, high pressure, and pulsed electric field processing, Simulation of food processing systems, Procedures for optimizing formulations or processes for functionality and nutrition. Equipment design and evaluation.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will explore the applications of transport processes – momentum, heat and mass transfers in food process engineering. The topics to be covered will include Flow of liquids in pipes and open channels, flow of compressible fluids, flow of multiphase mixtures, liquid mixing, pumping of fluids, Heat and mass transfer in duct flow – laminar pipe flow and turbulent flow. Design and analysis of heat exchangers, Boiling and condensation, Diffusion in binary systems (liquids and gases), mass transfer across a phase boundary, applications of mass and heat transfer in humidification and water cooling.

Credit Hours - 3

The objective of the course among others is to give students an in-depth knowledge of solution thermodynamics as applied in food processing systems. Topics to be covered will include: Fundamental principles – 1st Law and 2nd Law Concepts and Applications, Availability and Exergy Concepts, Maxwell Relations, Jacobian Transformations, Properties of Real fluids and mixtures, PVTN Equations of State, Thermodynamics of pure fluids and mixtures – phase and chemical equilibria review of mixture thermodynamics – fugacity, fugacity coefficient, activity coefficient, phase equilibrium and stability – Gibbs Phase Rule, Phase diagrams, Applications of Mixture Thermodynamics to VLE Phase Equilibria, Phase Equilibria – Differential and integral approaches and their applications – colligative properties, ternary systems S-L-V Three Phase Mono-variant Binary Equilibria in food process systems.

Credit Hours - 3

The course will provide insight into design and modeling of chemical and biochemical reaction engineering systems. Topics to be covered will include: Overview of chemical reaction engineering, Homogeneous reactions in ideal reactors, Kinetics of Homogeneous Reactions, Interpretation of Batch Reactor Data, Introduction to Reactor Design, Ideal Reactors for a single Reaction, Design for single reactions, Design for Parallel Reactions, Reactions Catalyzed by Solids, Heterogeneous Reactions, Solid catalyzed Reactions, Biochemical Reaction Systems, Enzyme Fermentation, Microbial Fermentation, Substrate-Limiting Microbial Fermentation, Product-Limiting Microbial Fermentation.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will provide students with the opportunity to study the theory and principles of separation process with particular reference to food process engineering. The course will also afford the students the opportunity to design separation processes for food processing.  Mechanical Separation processes: separations based on momentum transport – centrifuging, fluidization, filtration, fluid-solid conveying, particle separations not involving fluid mechanics – Electrical precipitation, magnetic separation.

Credit Hours - 30

The MPhil candidate will work under the supervision of a faculty member during which he/she is expected to conduct research on an original research project. Such work will either be added information to an existing work already published by other investigators or original idea developed by the candidate. The results generated will be synthesized and put in a dissertation. Periodic evaluation through seminars and individual contact with the approved supervisor will be made.

Credit Hours - 2

This course will cover various topics on the mechanical properties of foods. Areas to be covered include instrumental measurement of food texture, interpretation of force curves. Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow. Texture of different food commodities. Sensory measurements of texture. Physicochemical relations in food texture. Texture-structure relations in food systems. Fluid dynamics in food processing.

Credit Hours - 3

This course covers such topics as avoiding mistakes when executing and controlling a project, dealing with evolving stakeholder expectations, using trend analysis to measure project. Topics include project selection and initiation, project execution methodology, project variance and control as well as project closure and learning. Advanced and newly developed quality control and improvement methods such as modified and acceptance charts, multiple stream process control, control charts with adaptive sampling and engineering process control for quality, international standards of acceptance sampling, economic design and implications of quality control and improvement procedures will be dealt in details. Quality policies and objectives will also be treated.

Credit Hours - 3

The course will provide students with more specialized knowledge and skills for designing quantitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding multivariate data analysis and applying more advanced statistical concepts. The topics covered include: Exploration of classical quantitative research designs and common statistical tests; importance of quality assurance and ethical and social change implications of conducting quantitative research and producing knowledge; statistical analysis from problem-solving perspective with emphasis on selecting appropriate statistical tests for research design; use of software to calculate statistics and interpret and present results.

Credit Hours - 3

The engineering research method course highlights on the principle and developmental process for conducting effective research and documentation. Topics include research process, development of research proposals, research report writing, measurement strategies,  statistical evaluation of data and testing, principles of experimental  design, exploratory data analysis, Analysis of variance (one-way and multi-way classification) and multiple comparison tests, Linear and non-linear regression and correlation; multiple regression and mathematical modeling, Central Composite Rotatable Designs; Response Surface Methodology and Process Optimization.

Credit Hours - 3

The engineering project management course explores the theoretical, practical and strategic development management tools necessary to manage an engineering project. Topics include scope and value of project, project clarity and goals, systems engineering, management processes and strategies, various functional areas in project management including project planning, organizing, monitoring and control, integration, communication and reporting, risk management, human resource management, procurement management, engineering economics including for-profit and not-for profit decision-making, uncertainty,  multiple attribute decisions, preparation and evaluation of contract documents. The Engineer’s role in project management.

Credit Hours - 3

The objective of the course among others is to give students an in-depth knowledge of solution thermodynamics as applied in food processing systems. Topics to be covered will include: Fundamental principles – 1st Law and 2nd Law Concepts and Applications, Availability and Exergy Concepts, Maxwell Relations, Jacobian Transformations, Properties of Real fluids and mixtures, PVTN Equations of State, Thermodynamics of pure fluids and mixtures – phase and chemical equilibria review of mixture thermodynamics – fugacity, fugacity coefficient, activity coefficient, phase equilibrium and stability – Gibbs Phase Rule, Phase diagrams, Applications of Mixture Thermodynamics to VLE Phase Equilibria, Phase Equilibria – Differential and integral approaches and their applications – colligative properties, ternary systems S-L-V Three Phase Mono-variant Binary Equilibria in food process systems.