Acquire skills in sensory science. Discover how to use the human senses to evaluate a wide range of food, beverage, and non-food products.
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No prior knowledge required
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Fundamentals of Sensory Science deals with how to use the human senses to evaluate a wide range of products, including food, beverages, and non-food products. This specialization is for anyone interested in understanding and deepening their understanding of products that are experienced through the senses.
You will learn about physiological and psychological factors in sensory understanding, with an emphasis on:
You will learn how the brain processes sensory information to understand how products are perceived, and then see how sensory scientists work with groups of human subjects to provide useful analytical tools for sensory testing.
The internship 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 psychophysical physics used in measuring perception.
Learners will delve into the role of sensory science in marketing, product development and quality control. There are weekly modules, discussion forums, readings and assessments for each of the courses in this specialization. The final course includes a final project in which you will conduct your own research experiment.
Course 1
8 hours
4.6 (29 ratings)
In this course, we will provide a broad overview of the field of sensory science—its history, definition, and applications in academic research and the consumer packaged goods industry. We will also discuss how sensory science impacts other industries, including medical science and information processing.
Course 2
13 hours
This course will help you understand our sensory abilities, including taste, smell, tactile senses, sight, and hearing. The course will explain the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the senses.
Course 3
11 hours
This course will explore the science of the senses by examining how the senses are connected to the brain and how the brain gives meaning to the signals it receives. You will learn how to use scientific approaches such as discrimination tests and heritable models.
Course 4
12 hours
4.8 (12 ratings)
This course will prepare you for a sensory evaluation laboratory and teach you the best methods for testing and documentation. We will explore how various factors, especially the testing environment, can affect sensory experiments.
