Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Systems

Food systems changes are required to improve human diets, promote planetary health, and achieve sustainable development. The Nutrition and Food Systems programme focuses on human nutrition and diets from a food system perspective.

Master's Programme
2 year 120 credits
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
English
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About the programme
Programme summary
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Off to a good start
After graduation

What

While large populations face hunger and undernourishment, elsewhere in the world overweight and diet-related chronic diseases have taken on pandemic proportions. In addition, human diets have a significant impact on natural resources and the climate. More than ever, food systems changes are required to improve human diets, promote planetary health, and achieve sustainable development. The Nutrition and Food Systems programme focuses on human nutrition and diets from a food system perspective.

After completing this degree, our students:

  • have a solid academic background in human nutrition. The programme contains all the necessary course units for you to work as a nutritionist;
  • understand how human diets and nutrition are driven by food systems, from the production, post-harvest handling, transformation, storage, marketing of food up to the behaviour of consumers;
  • be able to identify nutritional problems, their underlying causes, and to develop, manage, and evaluate relevant interventions;
  • be able to evaluate nutrition research findings critically and be competent to develop evidence-based recommendations;
  • be able to collaborate, communicate and apply these competencies creatively across the disciplines for sustainable food systems change. You acquire international and intercultural competencies through interactions with a diverse and international group of students and lecturers.

Our graduates start their professional career with an international network. The Nutrition and Food Systems programme has its roots in the Nutrition and Rural Development programme, which has run as an international MSc programme at Ghent University since 1987. In response to increasing global concerns regarding the sustainability of food systems, we revised the programme and focus it explicitly on food systems now.

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For whom

The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.

Structure

The two-year curriculum is a gradual build-up of learning opportunities staggered over four terms. The initial fundamental knowledge course units gradually make way for course units that provide generic competencies for life-long learning and employment at the end. The programme allows you to tailor a part of the curriculum to your own needs, talents, and interests.

The first term contains general course units related to nutrition and food systems. It establishes a common ground for all students as many enter the programme with different education backgrounds in disciplines such as food technology and engineering, nutrition and dietetics, biomedical sciences, or medicine. The second term builds on this knowledge with more advanced course units.

Students can specialise even more during the second year. The third term contains no mandatory course units and provides a work placement opportunity to gain professional experiences. Students can choose from a broad range of elective course units at Ghent University or at another university, if these meet the programme learning objectives. The final term contains the Master’s dissertation alongside course units that prepare students for employment.

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Labour Market

Our alumni are found at local and national governments, United Nations agencies, (inter)national non-governmental organisations and research institutions across the globe. A considerable number of our students pursues further PhD study. The labour market opportunities are, in particular:

  • positions at public institutions and local governments. Examples are technical experts at consumer organisations, city administration, regional health authorities, nutrition advisers at the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO, UNICEF, WHO or NGO’s such as ACF, Rikolto, etc;
  • research and education positions at universities or private research institutions, e.g., senior researcher, lecturers, professors;
  • PhD programmes on nutrition, bioscience engineering, biomedical sciences, and life sciences;
  • employment and consultancy services for NGO’s, European-, UN or international organisations, active in nutrition or nutrition-sensitive programmes and/or sustainable development;
  • private sector R&D positions, for example to guide the development of new products or services to suit the needs of consumers and markets.

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