Courses
Cannabis Applied Science-2025/2026
| Level 1 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| CHEM-6008 | Chemistry Lab Techniques 1 | 3.5 | ||
| This course will introduce students to instrumentation used in the study of cannabinoids. Students will learn interpretation of results from industrial protocols, certificate of analysis. Sample preparation and preparation of a sampling plan including quality control measures will mimic the workplace environment. Industry association protocols from AOAC, ISO and HAACP will be taught. Through the writing and auditing of standard operating procedures and their validation and optimization, students will be prepared for an industrial lab. | ||||
| CHEM-6004 | Chemistry of Cannabis | 2 | ||
| Students learn the properties of chemical groups in cannabis, including cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. Chemical contaminants resulting from crop growth and processing, including heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, cleaning agents, water and environmental contaminants, are analyzed. | ||||
| COMM-6040 | Scientific Communications | 3 | ||
| Students develop scientific communication skills in reporting scientific data using a variety of media. Students prepare posters and oral presentations to practice communicating research data to their peers. Projects focus on synthesizing observational data into reports for various stakeholders in the framework of regulations. In addition to learning how to make posters and perform oral presentations, students will learn technical writing skills. | ||||
| LAWS-6043 | Principles of Cannabis Regulations | 3 | ||
| Regulations surrounding cannabis production and processing will be explored. Fundamental aspects of internal and external laboratory auditing will be taught. Students will prepare an audit plan for meeting laboratory accreditation requirements. Bioethics will be introduced relative to the moral issues of cannabis regulatory compliance. Specifics of Cannabis testing requirements while following the Cannabis regulations are taught. Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations as it pertains to edible cannabis products are examined. | ||||
| HORT-6007 | Cannabis Crop Science | 2.5 | ||
| In this predominantly lab based course, students learn Cannabis culture methods. Skills are taught with a focus on commercial production facilities. Aspects of plant propagation including aseptic technique, micropropagation, breeding, tissue culture and cloning and media preparation are practiced in labs. Additionally, yield optimization and disease and pest control to minimize product contamination are central to the teaching. Post-harvest processing practices are also explored. An emphasis is placed on biological products. Students will perform proper data collection and notebook maintenance. Theory will complement lab work and include aspects of crop management. An emphasis will be placed on genomics-based breeding practices and genome editing. Students will examine cannabinoid biosynthetic pathways. | ||||
| BIOL-6001 | Microbiology | 2.5 | ||
| Students will learn theory and lab practices related to industrial microbiology. The main themes will be quality assurance programs in Cannabis processing, edible product testing, raw product testing, and food and crop processing. Microbiological contaminates will be tested by culture and molecular methods while mycotoxins will be tested with immunoaffinity assays. Current industry standards will be taught in class and reinforced in the lab, including HACCP, GMP, Good Production Practices and GLP. Students will practice industry-standard protocols for enumeration and detection of microbes from various substances. | ||||
| Level 2 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| CHEM-6005 | Analytical Chemistry Lab Techniques 2 | 3.5 | ||
| Through hands-on practice and theoretical learning this course focuses on the principles and techniques of analytical testing of cannabis including cannabinoid profiling, terpenes and contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals. The course covers the use of industry-standard analytical techniques, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (MS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), as well as sample preparation techniques, method development, and validation, and data interpretation. Additionally, the course covers regulatory compliance requirements for cannabis testing and the importance of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), and ISO17025 accreditation in the cannabis industry. | ||||
| MGMT-6084 | Project Management | 4 | ||
| This course introduces the essentials of the project management discipline, and prepares students to manage project teams, project schedules, budgets and quality requirements. Students learn the process of analyzing, creating and managing a functional project plan and the various project management processes for managing and controlling a project through to fruition. This course brings all of the Project Management Institute (PMI) knowledge areas of project management together into a consolidated whole, and gives the student an understanding of project management methodologies as well as the tools and techniques used to plan, execute and control various types of projects. | ||||
| RSCH-6012 | Applied Research Project | 3 | ||
| This lab-based course consists of a student-led applied research project. Students will form a hypothesis after conducting a literature review in a field related to cannabis. The projects will involve applied cannabis production, processing, and testing. Students will design experiments to test the hypothesis, based on published protocols. Students will write standard operating procedures for their experiments, conduct the experiments with appropriate controls, and troubleshoot as problems arise. Data will be presented in reports and presentations. The experience will prepare students for independent work in the lab. | ||||
| CHEM-6006 | Formulation Chemistry | 2.5 | ||
| This course covers the principles and techniques of extracting and refining cannabinoids from cannabis and hemp plants, as well as formulating stable cannabis products. Students will learn the common extraction methods including supercritical CO2 and ethanol, and refining techniques such as winterization, rotary evaporation, color remediation, distillation, and crystallization, along with sample preparation for qualitative and quantitative analyses of cannabis and cannabis derived products. The course will also cover the formulation of stable cannabis products with desired characteristics by choosing compounds that allow bioactive cannabinoids to remain available for absorption and stable over time, while considering cost. Students will gain experience in writing and optimizing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and batch production records (BPRs) for the extraction, purification, and analysis of cannabinoids, as well as the formulation of high-quality stable cannabis products that meet pharmacopoeial requirements and to perform product stability testing. | ||||
| Program Residency | ||||
| Students Must Complete a Minimum of 8 credits in the Program at Fanshawe to meet the Program Residency requirement and Graduate from this Program. | ||||