The Master's

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven) and the Universiteit Gent (UGent) organize jointly the InterUniversity Programme Master of Food Technology (IUPFOOD).

IUPFOOD offers two years of academic education, leading to a MSc degree ‘Master of Food Technology’. The general objective of IUPFOOD is to provide a multi-disciplinary and specialised professional training in areas of food technology, with special emphasis on postharvest and food preservation engineering on the one hand and food science and technology on the other hand, to equip future personnel with the necessary technical and managerial knowledge, skills and attitudes, which are required to successfully contribute to solving problems related to food security. The IUPFOOD programme particularly focuses on developing countries where food security (delivering enough nutritious, high quality safe food) is a current and future major concern and key challenge.

The programme builds on the integrated expertise in research and education of K.U.Leuven and UGent in the field of food technology.

Assets

Food should not only be produced, it should also be delivered to the ultimate consumer in an acceptable form if it is to fulfil its nutritional destiny. To bring foods to the consumer in an acceptable form, on the one hand processing technologies are used to convert edible raw materials into foods with decreased inherent stability; on the other hand preservation technologies are required to increase the stability and shelf life of foods. Based on these considerations, two technological dimensions of prime and crucial importance in food processing and preservation are the key objectives and programme options in IUPFOOD:

• The transformation (processing) of raw materials into products suited for human consumption
• The role of postharvest and food preservation unit operations in delivering safe and nutritious foods to the end consumer. These two concerns are directly translated in the focus points of the IUPFOOD training programme.

Study programme

In the first year of the Master’s programme (60 credits), you will acquire in-depth knowledge of food science, engineering and food engineering, in order to achieve a common knowledge base between students with different backgrounds. The first year is common to all students. The courses of the first semester are organised at UGent while the courses of the second semester are taught at K.U.Leuven.

The second year of the Master’s programme (60 credits) provides a broader knowledge in food technology in general and an in-depth understanding in either ‘Postharvest and Food Preservation Engineering’ (PFPE) or ‘Food Science and Technology’ (FST), depending on the major you choose. The second year of the programme therefore consists of specific courses on each major (PFPE and FST) (18 credits), elective courses (12 credits) and thesis research (30 credits). The major, the elective courses and the thesis topic are chosen after the completion of the first year. With respect to the elective courses, you may choose from the courses of the other major and the additional electives offered. This enables you to compile a tailor-made study curriculum according to your individual needs and interests.

Curriculum

1. In-depth education segment (60 credits)
2. Specialisation segment (18 credits)
3. Elective courses segment (12 credits)
4. Master’s thesis segment (30 credits)

Career prospects

It is the objective of IUPFOOD to offer a programme that takes the specific needs and approaches of developing countries into account. The IUPFOOD programme prepares students for various tasks, particularly in a professional teaching and research environment. IUPFOOD alumni are mainly active in the following sectors: academic institutions (as teaching and/or research staff), research institutes (as research staff), non governmental organisations (in different capacities), governmental institutes (e.g. in research programmes, quality surveillance programmes or national nutritional programmes) and private industry (in particular quality control related jobs). A number of IUPFOOD alumni complete further PhD studies in an early phase of their career.

Application and Admissions

Detailed information on application procedures and admission requirements depends on your preceding qualifications, etc.

• You will find more information on application matters here.

Food Technology - Impressionen vom Masterstudium

Übersicht der Masterstudiengänge - KU Leuven

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