The first intake of undergraduates in the Department of Food Science and Technology was in 1973, with the award of first B.Sc. degrees taking place in 1976.
M.Sc. Programme in Food Science and Technology was designed in 1982-1984, with the first intake of postgraduate students occurring in 1984.
The M.Sc programme in Applied Human Nutrition was established in 1985, hence the department renamed "Department of Food Technology & Nutrition". The current name of the department is the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Technology.
Graduates of the department`s internationally recognized programmes are well prepared to enter Food industries, Government ministries, Parastatals, Non-governmental organizations and research institutions in the various fields involved in food processing and human nutrition, research and development, as well as planning and implementation of projects.
The department collaborates with several institutions such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich and the United Nations University, Tokyo. Close ties are also maintained with the Swiss Development Co-operation (SDC) and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and locally with the Kenya Institute of Food Science and Technology (KIFST), which provides linkage between the department and local food industries.
The department is located in Upper Kabete Campus of the University of Nairobi, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture.