Matt Cosson, Vice President of Distribution Management at Arby’s Supply Chain Cooperative, completed his online Master of Food Technology program through the University of Georgia in 2006. However, he did not come from a food science or culinary background at all. Instead, Matt did his undergraduate studies in finance and accounting.

Matt was working for Wayne Farms, one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S., when he decided he wanted to get his master’s degree. He told his employer that he wanted to get his MBA, but they thought that was too similar to what he already knew, and encouraged him to do something related to food science. Matt turned to UGA’s Master of Food Technology program because of the convenience it offered, and because “UGA’s program was in the top 5 or 6 in the country.”

After his recruitment by the supply chain portion of the Arby’s restaurant group, managing distribution and freight, Matt has run into many situations in which he has to utilize his Food Technology degree. “If I hadn’t gotten through this program, I wouldn’t understand the difference between a food quality issue and a food safety problem,” he states. He’s also made use of the professors from his program, who he recognized to be some of the best in the food technology industry. Recently, a bird flu outbreak has affected laying hens, causing a yolk shortage. Matt was able to reach out to his former professor Louise Wicker, an expert at emulcification, fo resources. “Everyone in the industry was looking for alternatives to emulcification of yolk, and she gave me some great advice,” he said.

“I was one of the only people to go through UGA’s Food Technology program with a non bachelor of science background,” says Matt. “It was a non-technical background that I brought into the program, and it definitely stretched my boundaries.” Doing masters level organic chemistry with a finance and accounting background was a huge challenge for Matt, but he worked extremely hard to make it work, and it’s paid off in his career development.

Learn more about the UGA online Master of Food Technology degree program.