Foundations of Sensory Science Specialization on Coursera

Created by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education and hosted on the Coursera platform, this is an online course consisting of pre-recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer-reviewed assignments and community discussion forums. This specialization program is self-paced and designed to help you master a specific career skill in as little as 4-6 months.

Foundations of Sensory Science explores how to use human senses to evaluate a wide variety of food, beverage, and non-food products. This specialization is for anyone interested in understanding and deepening their appreciation of products that are experienced with the senses. This may include people interested in sensory science as a profession, consumer product entrepreneurs, chefs, employees of consumer product companies, and serious food and beverage hobbyists. 

You will study both physiological and psychological factors in sensory perception. We emphasize the chemical senses of taste and smell and cover vision, hearing, and the tactile senses. You will learn how the mind processes sensory information to understand how products are perceived, then you will see how sensory scientists work with panels of human subjects to provide a useful analytical instrument for sensory testing. The specialization will include assignments and projects that will help you understand the complexity of the human sensory system, discuss theories of sensory measurement, scales, quantitative research principles, and psychophysics used in the measurement of perception.