Building alternative protein courses and majors
This guide will help you bring alternative protein education to your university. Follow these steps to create new courses and advocate for majors, minors, and other programs.
Introduction to building courses and majors
The importance of increased access to alternative protein education
The alternative protein field has a significant need for scientists and engineers who can advance plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived meat, egg, and dairy products. A growing number of students are eager to join this emerging field, yet there is a significant workforce bottleneck. This labor gap stems from the lack of educational programs dedicated to alternative proteins. Because educational institutions are responsive to student needs and interests, students can play an essential role in accelerating the creation of alternative protein courses, majors, and other institutional programs. Our resource guide explains how to increase access to alternative protein education in the university setting. If you are interested in expanding alternative protein education in other venues like community colleges, technical colleges, and professional development programs, please reach out to us!
We’ve identified a few key opportunities for students to help close the workforce gap and advance alternative protein education:
We’ve identified a few key opportunities for students to help close the workforce gap and advance alternative protein education:
- Design and launch alternative protein courses: More and more, students are expressing interest in the alternative protein field, but few universities offer dedicated courses. With limited existing courses to draw from, instructors may be reluctant to design a course from scratch. Fortunately, passionate students can help accelerate the curriculum development process. By forming a course development team and guiding faculty members through GFI resources or advocating university administrators to demonstrate interest in the topic, student groups can lower the barriers to launch new alternative protein courses.
- Integrate alternative protein modules into existing courses: Alternative protein subject matter can also be incorporated into relevant existing courses across disciplines, from tissue engineering and food processing to public health and environmental policy. By introducing alternative protein topics in other classes, there is a massive opportunity to engage a broader group of students, including those who are less inclined to enroll in a new course focused solely on alternative proteins. Creating and launching these modules can gradually pave the way for full courses centered around alternative proteins.
- Advocate for alternative protein programs at universities: Students often turn to university majors, minors, and concentrations for career path insights and, likewise, employers use university programs to focus recruitment efforts. By introducing alternative protein majors and other specialized tracks, students gain access to a clear educational pathway to enter the alternative protein space. Student groups can meet with university administrators and communicate the need for building these majors and other programs. Many departments also give students the opportunity to build their own major, which can offer a customized learning experience and can prompt universities to bring that specialization into formal education pathways.
Luckily, you don’t have to start from scratch to build your program. Our open-access resources are available to support your work. Even if you are the first person to raise their voice and advocate for alternative protein education on your campus, remember that you are part of a global movement of students and faculty equally passionate about building educational pathways. Many members of this community have contributed to our guide in the form of outreach templates, curriculum materials, and general tips and tricks and we encourage you to do the same!
Want to see this guide in action? Check out the APP impact page for specific cases of APP students developing alt protein education on their campus.
Check out some of our key workforce solutions:
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Building alternative protein programs and majors at universities
To ensure a strong talent pipeline, there is a need to launch robust university programming, ranging from certificate programs to short multi-course modules, centered around alternative protein. Full majors would…
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Increasing the number, quality, and diversity of alternative protein-relevant university courses
There is a significant and urgent need to launch and support university and online courses in order to build and extend the talent pipeline of students going into the alternative…
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Industry workshops, courses, and training programs
The alternative protein industry has a significant need for workers and innovators with specialized knowledge spanning multiple traditional disciplines. However, since few universities offer alternative protein majors or dedicated subject…
The ideal educational ecosystem
Imagine a university with alternative protein course offerings across all academic levels: first-year seminars, undergraduate courses, graduate courses, and more. In addition to lecture-based classes, students could get hands-on experience through lab-based and immersive courses. Educational programs would be offered through a variety of departments, such as biology, food science, and environmental studies. Even traditional courses focused on subjects like tissue engineering, bioprocessing, and public policy would introduce students to relevant alternative protein topics.
In this ideal educational ecosystem, there’s a diverse set of pathways to entering the alternative protein field. Students can pursue a major, minor, or certificate in alternative proteins. For those who would prefer a more traditional major, alternative protein specializations or suggested tracks are offered for all key disciplines. Best of all, these educational pathways are recognized by companies that are hiring!
This model university has several industry partners who work closely with the career center to promote career opportunities and recruit students. Subject matter experts from these companies host hands-on training workshops and deliver guest lectures in alternative protein classes and provide clear on-ramps into roles in the alternative protein field.
Consider the educational ecosystem at your campus. Presently, most universities do not yet offer alternative protein courses. So how do we go from here to creating alternative protein majors and other high-impact educational programs? Let’s talk about the people who can help make this vision a reality:
- A faculty champion can help accelerate the creation of alternative protein educational programs. This is someone passionate about bringing alternative protein education to their university. They might not be a subject matter expert on plant-based or cultivated meat, but they know how to navigate the process of launching initial courses. If enough students demonstrate interest in a pilot course, then it becomes easier to advocate for additional courses and degree programs.
- Even in the absence of a clear faculty champion, visionary students can create courses and other educational programs. For example, graduate students Lauren Blake and Franklyn Hall designed and instructed the “Food of the Future” intersession course at Johns Hopkins University. Undergraduate students Layton Rosenfeld and Elena Press at Stanford University built a first-year seminar course called “Rethinking Meat: An Introduction to Alternative Proteins.” Both of these courses received glowing reviews by students and faculty alike and are now fully accredited at their universities!
- Other influential stakeholders in the educational ecosystem are university administrators; these non-faculty employees include presidents, deans, and registrars. When a faculty member presents an idea for a course, major, or other educational program, university administrators assess whether it will advance the institution’s mission, values, and reputation and if sufficient resources exist to offer it. They are looking for programs with clear educational and career objectives that align with the strategic plan of the university.
- Whether your educational programs are initiated by faculty or students, it’s always helpful to engage industry partners. They can provide guest lectures, evaluate student projects, and offer feedback on course content. Industry partners also play an important role in career readiness; in addition to offering career insights, they can connect students with internship programs and job opportunities. Alumni working in the alternative protein field may be particularly eager to get involved.
Now let’s zoom out and examine our ever-expanding global community of alternative protein educators. This community of educators includes students working to increase access to alternative protein education. What are the shared values that will allow us to create these ideal ecosystems at your university and beyond? Here are a couple of ideas:
Share educational resources
By normalizing open-access sharing of educational materials, we can lower the barrier for other educators to join the alternative protein movement. We encourage you to utilize and contribute to our curriculum repository, an open-access collection of syllabi, slide decks, recommended readings, and recorded lectures from existing alternative protein courses.
Prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion
As an emerging field, we have a unique opportunity to build a better workforce by addressing inequities at the university level. At your campus, this could mean engaging historically underrepresented groups in STEM or ensuring your curriculum reflects the diversity of perspectives in the alternative protein community. You might consider building informal educational programs like online modules or short courses that serve as “on-ramps” for nontraditional students. Beyond your university, there may be opportunities to connect with other organizations in your local community. For instance, the Johns Hopkins Alt Protein Project hosts outreach events for high school students and community science organizations in Baltimore. The Chapel Hill Alt Protein Project collaborates with other universities in North Carolina, such as North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and North Carolina State University.
Developing your strategy
Mapping the academic landscape of your university will help inform your outreach strategy as you engage faculty, university administrators, and potential collaborators. To decide which type of educational program to pursue, we recommend assessing the relative impact and effort required for each activity.
Mapping the academic landscape
Before you get started, we recommend mapping the academic landscape to help focus your outreach efforts and keep track of who you’ve spoken with. Understanding the nuance of relevant departments helps narrow the list of faculty you wish to engage and documenting your efforts in one place helps eliminate duplicative work. This exercise can be a part of a comprehensive mapping exercise that will prepare your group to maximize your impact on all fronts.
These are the key categories you should map:
- Relevant departments: This list should include departments housing key disciplines for alternative protein science, in addition to other relevant majors such as economics, environmental science, and nutrition science. You might expand this list to include relevant schools at your university, such as business, public health, and sustainability. Departments with “special topics” courses (i.e. a course in which the subject matter varies across terms) may be more likely to approve a new course on alternative proteins.
- Potential faculty members: These might be professors in your mapped departments teaching subjects that have high overlap with alternative proteins, such as food science, cell biology, and tissue engineering. This list should also include faculty members who teach other subjects, but might also be enthusiastic about designing an alternative protein course. For example, these professors might consider co-instructing with other faculty members, inviting subject matter experts to deliver guest lectures, or integrating modules into an existing course they instruct.
- Mechanisms for course creation: Many universities create dedicated programs and pathways for new courses to be introduced into the curriculum. These can range from student-designed intersession courses, teaching fellowships that facilitate student-led courses as part of a degree, special topics courses co-created by faculty, and more. Department chairs, program coordinators, and the office of academic affairs can be great sources of information and guidance.
- Stakeholders involved in approving and creating new educational programs: These might include faculty members serving as chairs in your mapped departments along with university administrators like deans and registrars. To determine who is involved in the course approval process at your campus, try searching “proposing a new course at [your university]” to find the required steps (typically written for an audience of faculty members).
- University community support: These could be alumni working in the alternative protein field or companies interested in stimulating local economies. You can search for potential industry partners and guest speakers using our company database or alternative protein researcher directory along with professional networking sites like LinkedIn.
Impact-effort analysis of different educational programs
Advancing alternative protein education can range from creating an entirely new major to integrating a short module (i.e. 1-5 lectures) into an existing course. Your strategy will depend on many factors like the presence of a faculty champion, your university’s unique strengths, and your student group’s bandwidth. We encourage you to consider the relative impact and effort of different types of educational programs using our chart below as a starting point.
Please note the specific cases and impact-effort analysis may look different at your campus. We recommend performing this analysis for your university, keeping in mind any findings from the previously completed mapping exercise.
Integrating a module into an existing course versus creating a new course
| Options | Relative impact | Relative effort | Considerations |
| Integrating a module into an existing course related to alternative protein | High | Low | Modules require less effort because they can be ported into existing courses without needing prior approval. With this model, part of the impact comes from reaching students who might not otherwise self-select into a course focused entirely on alternative protein. |
| Creating a new course focused on alternative protein | High | High | Creating an alternative protein course involves more effort, but the potential impact can be greater. Students can learn more from a full course, and universities can use the course offering to signal expertise in the space, thus attracting top talent. |
Creating a new course in the biology department versus business department
| Options | Relative impact | Relative effort | Considerations |
| Creating a new course in the biology department | High | High | Both options would involve similar amounts of effort. Since the industry has a more pressing need for scientists, a course focused on biology would likely have a greater impact. |
| Creating a new course in the business department | It depends | High | It’s important to consider your university’s unique strengths. If your institution is particularly strong in commercial innovation, then creating a business course might be more impactful. |
Creating a new lecture-based course versus lab-based course
| Options | Relative impact | Relative effort | Considerations |
| Creating a new lecture-based course | It depends | Low | A lecture-based course requires less effort to launch, but teaching practical lab skills would have a greater impact on closing the workforce gap. On the other hand, lecture-based courses usually have more openings and fewer prerequisites for students to enroll. |
| Creating a new lab-based course | High | High | A lab-based course would have greater impact because it gives students practical skills that are highly valued by employers. However, this option requires more effort in finding lab space and equipment, hiring teaching assistants, and securing funding for materials. We recommend pursuing the lab-based option if you can overcome these barriers. |
An intro-level course covering all production platforms versus a specialized course
| Options | Relative impact | Relative effort | Considerations |
| Intro-level course that covers all production platforms (plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation) | High | It depends | Introductory courses are more accessible for those early in their academic careers; the potential impact comes from reaching these students before they solidify a career path. |
| Specialized course that focuses on one or two platforms | High | It depends | Specialized courses allow for deeper dives on advanced topics; it’s impactful to reach students who already have deep skill sets to immediately contribute to the alternative protein field. The required effort for either option could depend on faculty expertise. You might consider starting with the lower effort option, then pursuing the higher effort option next. |
Advocating for a major versus minor
| Options | Relative impact | Relative effort | Considerations |
| Advocating for an alternative protein major | High | High | Offering a full major would have a significantly higher impact, as students can gain a deeper understanding and universities can better signal their expertise in the alternative protein field. However, the required effort is much higher. Establishing a major would require 2-4 dedicated alternative protein courses. |
| Advocating for an alternative protein minor | Low | Low | Establishing a minor would be high-impact, but relatively less impactful than a full major. The advantage is creating a minor requires only 1-2 dedicated alternative protein courses. You might consider building a minor first, then expanding it to a full major as more courses are launched. |
Explore our alternative protein teaching library
Course developers don’t have to create their curriculum from scratch. You can find the building blocks of alternative protein courses in our library. It includes syllabi, slide decks, and recorded lectures from existing programs.
How to build alternative protein educational programs
Once you’ve mapped the landscape and performed an impact-effort analysis, it’s time to build your proposed educational program! The exact steps may vary at your university, but here’s what we suggest based on success stories from our Alt Protein Project student groups.
This section outlines the steps for four different initiatives:
How students can help build alternative protein courses
Establishing brand new courses can feel like a daunting task, but it’s one of the most effective ways to strengthen the alternative protein workforce. There are several opportunities for students to assist busy faculty who would otherwise lack the bandwidth to propose, design, and facilitate a new course.
Step 1: Determine the scope and type of your course
Your mapping exercise will give you a list of possible pathways towards creating a new course. Which path you pursue will depend on what purpose you want your course to serve. Do you want to create a traditional course led by a faculty member or are you hoping to lead the course yourself? Do you want to design this course so any student can take it, or make it specialized towards students with a certain academic background?
Don’t worry about creating your curriculum at this stage–that will come later in step 4. For now, focus on assembling the information that will address the common questions that will come up as you share this course proposal with faculty and other stakeholders.
Step 2: Secure faculty support
After completing your mapping exercise, you should emerge with a list of faculty who could potentially instruct an alternative protein course. Reach out to each potential instructor via email. Here’s an email template adapted from the Stanford Alt Protein Project’s emails to prospective faculty. Be sure to include the resources you can provide as you ask them to share their own resources. It is much easier for faculty to say ‘yes’ if they know you plan to provide content and development support.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t receive a response right away; professors are extremely busy! Be prepared to send a follow-up email after about four business days and consider attending their office hours to follow up in person.
In the meantime, consider reaching out to the department chair to make the case for why this course will add value. Gaining leadership-level support will increase the likelihood of your course being approved. Additionally, the department chair might be able to connect you to faculty members who can instruct your course.
If you’re unable to find a professor who can commit to instructing a new course, refer to the other mechanisms your university offers for course creation you identified when mapping your university.
Remember there are still many opportunities to bring alternative protein education to your university outside of the formal course structure! A ‘no’ from university stakeholders can quickly change to a ‘yes’ once they see evidence of student demand.
Step 3: Meet with your course development team
Once you’ve confirmed who can teach the new course, it’s time to assemble your team of instructors and student course developers. If it would be helpful to have support from GFI during this initial meeting, please loop us in!
Use this first meeting to scope and delineate roles. For example, does the instructor want to take the lead on designing the curriculum or would they prefer it to be student-led?
Tip: If you will be playing a larger role in the design of this new course, check to see if you can receive course credits for your work. Students at the University of Guelph were able to design an alternative protein course for credit as a special project through the food science department.
If this course will be student-run, you should discuss best practices for effective facilitation with your faculty advisor. Inquire whether student instructors can receive formal training from your university’s teaching and learning center. You can also review these resources:
- Columbia University’s guide for inclusive teaching
- Iowa State University’s teaching guides:
- Course delivery for in-person, online, and hybrid learning
- Teaching strategies to support diverse learners
- Effective educational practices
- Assessments and evaluations
Provide an overview of the following GFI resources:
Alternative protein teaching library
Bring more alternative protein content to the classroom using this hub of curriculum materials and resources for educators.
The science of plant-based meat
Learn about the science of plant-based meat. Discover resources and research on the latest technological developments and key scientific questions.
The science of cultivated meat
Learn about the science of cultivated meat and the challenges that must be addressed for commercial production.
The science of fermentation
Learn about the emerging role of microbial fermentation in building the next generation of alternative protein products.
Advancing solutions for alternative proteins
Explore commercial whitespaces, research gaps, technological needs, and investment priorities at each stage of the alternative protein value chain.
Confirm steps for the course approval process in the department you’ll be working with. Generally, this involves submitting a course proposal form (see example from CU Boulder and sample completed proposals from Penn State University) and proposing a syllabus. Based on this information, the department chair will decide whether to approve the course.
As part of the proposal form, you may need to demonstrate sufficient student demand for your prospective course. You can use evidence from GFI’s course database to show demand and connect with student leaders from the Alt Protein Project who have already had success in this realm.
To maximize your reach, consider cross-listing your course in other relevant departments and schools (e.g. business, public health, and sustainability). This may involve additional steps, so we recommend confirming the requirements for cross-listing early in the process.
During this meeting, your team should begin to generate ideas for designing an engaging course. Reflect on the most memorable courses you’ve completed — which components of these classes were particularly captivating? Perhaps you were engaged by conducting laboratory experiments, designing research proposals, or creating business plans. Create a list of these activities and determine what ideas are feasible given the available resources and equipment at your university.
Step 4: Build your syllabus
The syllabus should cover topics like course learning objectives, recommended prerequisites, assignments and grading, and an overarching course outline. Feel free to use our syllabus template to keep your course development team organized. Here are some example syllabi from courses at UNC Chapel Hill, Tufts University, Hebrew University, and Stanford University for you to reference.
A key component of the syllabus is the learning objectives section which should work to answer what students in this course will be able to do by the end of the term. Establishing learning objectives early on helps guide your course development team to select activities and assessments that best support these objectives. Effective learning objectives must be measurable and actionable. Learn more about constructing learning objectives through Iowa State University’s revised Bloom’s taxonomy page.
Here are some sample learning objectives:
- Communicate alternative protein technologies, challenges, and opportunities to the general public
- Operate laboratory instruments to test protein activity and ingredient functionality
- Develop a research proposal to investigate open questions in alternative protein science
The syllabus can be a powerful tool for promoting inclusion. As you begin to design your course, ask yourself—are there a variety of ways students can demonstrate learning? Are multiple perspectives included with each topic? Are the syllabus and course materials accessible? To evaluate the inclusivity of your syllabus, make use of Tufts University’s worksheet on inclusion by design or check out these example inclusive statements by Iowa State University.
Next, you’ll want to decide on course topics. Since the alternative protein field is new and multi-disciplinary, there may be topics unfamiliar to your instructor. Flag these topics and start thinking about potential guest lecturers who can fill these knowledge gaps. You can find guest speakers through our company database or collaborative researcher directory. Contact us if you would like to request a subject matter expert from GFI!
Here are some ideas for course topics:
| General | The case for rethinking meat What is meat? Environmental impacts Health impacts Consumer research Policy landscape Entrepreneurship |
| Plant-based meat | Crop development Ingredient optimization End product formulation and manufacturing |
| Cultivated meat | Cell lines Cell culture media Bioprocess design Scaffolding End product considerations |
| Fermentation | Target selection and design Strain development Feedstock optimization Bioprocess design End product formulation and manufacturing |
Step 5: Obtain course approval
Once you draft your syllabus, contact GFI so we can provide feedback. Submit your finalized syllabus, course proposal form, and any other required documents to the department chair or other approving body.
Step 6: Design your course
If you haven’t already done so, familiarize yourself with the materials in our alternative protein teaching library to prevent duplicative work. These materials are licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0. We encourage you to repurpose any relevant slides, as long as you give appropriate credit.
Example: This lecture was adapted from “Cellular Agriculture 101” by the David Kaplan Group at Tufts University, used under CC BY 4.0.
Revisit the topics that require guest lecturers. Consider reaching out to other professors at your university, alumni working in the alternative protein field, and industry representatives. The Chapel Hill Alt Protein Project had great success soliciting guest speakers from academia and industry by tailoring their outreach emails to the background of each recipient.
Consider integrating lab experiments, field trips, group projects, company or laboratory tours, and other interactive activities. “Shark Tank” is a popular final project: Students express their creativity and propose an alternative protein start-up as a research proposal idea. Student groups will turn in a six-page startup proposal and present a 15-minute pitch to the class. You can also add food into the course through tasting panels or cooking competitions like APPatEIT did when exploring alternative egg products.
Step 7: Promote your course
At least three months prior to the first date of enrollment, you should develop a plan to promote your course. Create promotional graphics and messaging to share via email and social media; here’s an example from the Chapel Hill Alt Protein Project.
You can add your course to our alternative protein course database by completing this form. If your course is available to the public, we can also list it on our events page.
Coordinate with your department chair to announce the course to all students in their department. You should also reach out to chairs of other departments relevant to alternative protein, as well as deans who oversee relevant schools (e.g. business, public health, and sustainability).
Connect with other student organizations who may have interest in enrolling or publicizing your course. This could include groups focused on food science, social impact, sustainability, effective altruism, chemical engineering, public health, or global development, to name a few.
Reach underrepresented groups in STEM by connecting with student groups focused on diversity. In the United States, some examples include the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
Step 8: Launch your course and prepare for future iterations
Congratulations! Launching your course is a huge milestone. However, there’s more work to be done to guarantee the success of this course in future terms—especially if you want to expand the number of course offerings at your university.
Be sure to collect student feedback. Many universities have a system in place for this, and you should create your own feedback mechanisms to make sure you have the information to make your course even better in the next iteration.Consider asking students what impacts the course had on their career options and research interests — this information will help bolster any proposals for majors, minors, and other educational programs.
Inspire other students to initiate courses by sharing your story! Reach out to us once your course is approved and let us know if you have an existing blog post or news article about your course so we can amplify it on our end!
Step 9: Help expand alternative protein education beyond your university
As champions riding the first wave of alternative protein course development, there is tremendous potential for impact from sharing your resources and experiences with our global community of alternative protein educators.
Contribute your course materials to our teaching library. Once we have the data, we would love to share how many educators have adapted your materials, how many students have been reached, and in which countries.
How to integrate alternative protein modules into an existing course
An alternative protein module is a series of approximately one to five lectures that can be plugged into an existing course. The primary benefit of the module model is to allow alternative protein content to be integrated into existing courses without having to register and get approval for a new course. Through this model, there is also significant potential to reach and introduce alternative protein fundamentals to demographics that might not otherwise self-select courses explicitly focused on alternative proteins (e.g. learning about cultivated meat through a standard introductory tissue engineering course). Consequently, this section will mirror our previous section on “How to build a new alternative protein course,” but will exclude steps for obtaining approval for a new course.
Step 1: Secure faculty support
From your mapping exercise, you should have a list of professors who teach subjects relevant to alternative proteins. Determine which specific alternative protein topics would fit into various existing courses. For example, a module on crop development for plant-based meat could fit into a plant science course.
Reach out to each potential instructor via email. Here’s an email template adapted from the Stanford Alt Protein Project’s emails to prospective faculty. Refer to Step 1 of “How to build a new alternative protein course” for more tips.
Step 2: Meet with your module development team
Once an instructor agrees to integrate a module into their course, it’s time to assemble your module development team. If it would be helpful to have support from us during this initial meeting, please loop us in! Reference Step 2 of “How to build a new alternative protein course” for more details on what to cover in this initial meeting.
Step 3: Decide on topics for each lecture
Select lecture topics relevant to the course containing your module. A plant biotechnology course, for example, could include topics such as crop development and ingredient optimization for plant-based meat, whereas a food processing course might cover end product considerations for plant-based meat, cultivated meat, and fermentation.
For additional topic ideas and recommendations for identifying guest lecturers, see Step 3 of “How to build a new alternative protein course”.
Step 4: Design your lectures
If you haven’t already done so, familiarize yourself with the materials in our curriculum repository to prevent duplicative work. These materials are licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0. Many of the slide decks from existing alternative protein courses can be adapted for use in modules. We encourage you to repurpose any relevant slides, as long as you give appropriate credit.
Example: This lecture was adapted from “Cellular Agriculture 101” by the David Kaplan Group at Tufts University, used under CC BY 4.0.
Refer to Step 5 of “How to build a new alternative protein course” for tips on reaching out to guest speakers and integrating engaging activities.
Step 5: Launch your module and prepare for future iterations
Congratulations on launching your alternative protein module! In order to improve your module for future terms—or to increase your chances of expanding it into a full course—be sure to collect student feedback. To learn more about the importance of student surveys, see Step 7 of “How to build a new alternative protein course”.
Step 6: Help expand alternative protein education beyond your university
Now that you have experience designing and implementing your alternative protein module, you can multiply your impact by showing other students the ropes! Open-sourcing your teaching resources and sharing your success story can be immensely beneficial for anyone navigating this process for the first time. Learn how you can advance alternative protein education beyond your university from Step 8 of “How to build a new alternative protein course”.
How to advocate for majors, minors, specializations, and suggested tracks
Let’s begin by defining these educational programs.
What is an alternative protein major or degree program?
An alternative protein degree program is a curated cluster of educational programming that includes existing classes from relevant disciplines (including both the natural and social sciences) as well as two to four dedicated alternative protein courses. The degree program should equip students with a comprehensive set of knowledge and skills necessary to become alternative protein scientists and innovators. This will help build reliable talent streams and help industry partners learn where to recruit talent with such specialized knowledge.
What is an alternative protein minor, certificate, track, or specialization?
An alternative protein minor, track, or specialization is a curated cluster of educational programming within an existing degree program that may include classes from relevant disciplines in addition to one to three dedicated alternative protein courses. The Undergraduate Minor in Cellular Agriculture at Tufts University and the Protein Diversification track in the Masters of Food Science through EIT Food are world-leading programs for alternative protein education and were both developed by student leaders of the Alt Protein Project.
In any of these cases, you’ll need at least one to two dedicated alternative protein courses before proposing a new major, minor, specialization, or other program. Most universities have a formal process for approving new programs; keep in mind creating a major can take several years from conception to actual student enrollments in the new program. To determine the required steps at your university, search “proposing a new major at [university name]” or inquire at the registrar’s office.
Most majors and other educational programs are typically proposed by faculty members. Considering the long time frame for approving new programs, you should identify a faculty champion or cluster of faculty champions who can commit to the entire process. To get a sense of the level of detail that goes into a program proposal, check out Cal State’s tips on completing a successful program proposal.
In some cases, departments can create suggested tracks without having to go through the long, formal process for establishing new programs. To propose a new track, reach out to your department head or chair.
Whether you’re reaching out to a potential faculty champion or suggesting a new track to your department chair, be prepared to answer the following prompts:
- Provide a brief description of the proposed program
- What are the educational and career outcomes of this program?
- How does this program advance the university’s mission and values?
- Describe the justification and documented need for this program
If your university is not ready to develop a formal program, you may be able to make your own. Many departments give students the opportunity to build their own major by curating classes and projects around a common theme of interest. This can range from the freedom to pick from a wide array of courses to customize your degree experience like at Ashoka University to a fully individualized learning plan with a focused capstone project like at the University of Washington. These individualized education pathways often have built-in faculty participation and can lay the groundwork for full adoption of the major you create!
Resource
Massive open online course
Enroll in our open-access online course to learn about the science of plant-based meat, fermentation, and cultivated meat.
Host informal fellowships to build demand for accredited opportunities
The administrative steps of establishing new courses, majors, and other programs can take some time, but there are several informal activities related to advancing alternative protein education that you can pursue in parallel. If you’ve already prepared educational materials for your prospective formal course (or module), these can double as building blocks for a student-led fellowship. You might even find these informal programs can have a wider reach! Here are some examples:
Launching an introductory alt protein fellowship
The Alt Protein Project chapters at UNC Chapel Hill, Brown University, and Johns Hopkins University collaborated to create an introductory fellowship for anyone interested in learning about alternative protein science, motivations, entrepreneurship, and careers. Their first cohort drew in more than 50 people from around the globe ranging from high school students in Hong Kong to biochemical engineers in India to food writers in North Carolina. Similarly, the Cambridge University Alt. Protein Society hosts an 8-week seminar on alternative proteins. Check out their curriculum and sign up for the next round here.
Building a DIY major guide
The Wageningen Alt Protein Project is developing a “course guide” to help students direct their studies to alternative proteins. Depending on the production platform a student is most interested in, the guide will suggest relevant courses to enroll in—even absent courses and majors—for each term at Wageningen University to support building specialized skills relevant to alternative proteins. This is a great example of a high-impact, scalable resource that utilizes an institutions’ existing courses while also helping students further their alternative protein education! For examples of alternative protein major requirements, check out our teaching library.
Connect with us
If you would like help growing the alternative protein ecosystem at your university, please reach out to the Alt Protein Project team. You can also share student testimonials or helpful tips for our global community of alternative protein ecosystem-builders.
Check out related resources
Alternative protein course database
Use the alternative protein course database to find educational courses and programs focused on alternative proteins and their enabling technologies. This database shares courses and programs offered online and in…
Student resource guide
This guide will help you steer through the exciting world of alternative proteins.
Massive open online course
Enroll in our open-access online course to learn about the science of plant-based meat, fermentation, and cultivated meat.
