Best Food Science Technician programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products.
50 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,394 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,820 in Illinois across about 290 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 26.0101In Illinois → | 2,284 | 67.3% | 48 | $32,152 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 40.0501In Illinois → | 701 | 20.7% | 39 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 3 | CIP 26.0202In Illinois → | 219 | 6.5% | 22 | $38,243 | $23,014 |
| 4 | CIP 01.1001In Illinois → | 161 | 4.7% | 2 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 5 | CIP 26.0502In Illinois → | 22 | 0.6% | 4 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 6 | CIP 01.1099In Illinois → | 5 | 0.1% | 1 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 7 | CIP 01.0401In Illinois → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $48,505 | $23,250 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 27 of the 50 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 495 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $28,768 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 5 feeder programs | 373 | Chemistry, General | $47,034 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 308 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $31,964 | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 4 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 251 | Chemistry, General | — | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 5 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 205 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 6 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 158 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $38,067 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 7 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 133 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $36,337 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 8 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 114 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $38,137 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 9 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 105 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $31,278 | 47% | — | 65% |
| 10 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 92 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $32,844 | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 11 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 92 | Food Science | — | 75% | $19,899 | 55% |
| 12 | Benedictine University Lisle, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 86 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $29,215 | 50% | $23,570 | 95% |
| 13 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 69 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $34,052 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 14 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 67 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $30,750 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 15 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 66 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $37,977 | 57% | $12,935 | 84% |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 5 feeder programs | 65 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $28,206 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 17 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $40,392 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 18 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 51 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $27,462 | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 19 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 45 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $35,948 | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 20 | Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 43 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $33,380 | 78% | $25,052 | 57% |
| 21 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 40 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $30,804 | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 22 | Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 39 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 75% | $26,849 | 39% |
| 23 | Knox College Galesburg, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 34 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $31,203 | 68% | $24,240 | 71% |
| 24 | North Central College Naperville, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 32 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | — | 64% | $20,052 | 77% |
| 25 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 32 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General | $33,882 | 53% | — | 86% |
All 50 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 495 | 3 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 373 | 5 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 308 | 3 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 251 | 3 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 205 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 158 | 2 |
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 133 | 3 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 114 | 2 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 105 | 2 |
| Augustana College | Rock Island | Private not-for-profit | 92 | 3 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 92 | 4 |
| Benedictine University | Lisle | Private not-for-profit | 86 | 2 |
| Western Illinois University | Macomb | Public | 69 | 2 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 67 | 3 |
| Saint Xavier University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 2 |
What food science technicians earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $52,130. Illinois pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Food Science Technicians page.
How to become a Food Science Technician
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 10 majors mapped to Food Science Technicians10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0401Agricultural and Food Products Processing
- 01.1001Food Science
- 01.1002Food Technology and Processing
- 01.1003Brewing Science
- 01.1005Zymology/Fermentation Science
- 01.1099Food Science and Technology, Other
- 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- 26.0202Biochemistry
- 26.0502Microbiology, General
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing food science technicians programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Food Science Technician?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biology/Biological Sciences, General, which awarded 2,284 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 67.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Food Science Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Food Science and Technology, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 3,394 people a year in Illinois.
How much do food science technicians earn in Illinois?+
The median is $60,820 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.7% above the U.S. median of $52,130. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for food science technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +4.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
50 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do food science technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Central Laboratory Technician (CLT), QC Tech (Quality Control Technician), Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4013.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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