Food Science & Technology - BSc (Hons)

If you're interested in studying the process of food from the time it leaves the farm until consumption of the final food products, then the BSc (Hons) Food Science and Technology degree may be your perfect fit. As a food scientist, you will contribute to feeding the world by designing new foods and exploring new ways to process, package and preserve food to ensure its safety and quality.

Nationally recognised and professionally accredited by the Institute of Food Science and Technology, our BSc (Hons) Food Science and Technology degree at Cardiff Met aims to provide you with a broad understanding of modern food industries. We combine theoretical studies and practical work, which may be applied in the modern food manufacturing environment. The modular structure of the course is designed to allow you to develop your career path according to the modules selected.

Our course has excellent links with industry, and preparing students for employment is aided by experiential learning, which offers students the opportunity to gain valuable industry knowledge by undertaking a short (3 month) or long (12 month) industry placement at the end of the second year. Placements encompass a wide range of roles including new product development, food processing, chemical and microbiological analysis and can lead to offers of permanent employment with the placement provider.

In addition, we offer the opportunity to achieve professionally recognised qualifications in food safety and allergen management during your degree which can be crucial at supporting your early career.

Graduates in food science progress to careers in food manufacturing companies, government agencies, international auditing and consultancy, research institutions and academia. There are more industry positions available for food scientists than there are graduates to fill them. In addition, the Zero2Five Food Industry Centre based at Cardiff Met works closely with Welsh Government and the Welsh food industry. The postgraduate Helix scheme run by the Centre provides another route to employment for our students.

Career

A career in the food industry will put you in the middle of the largest and most important economic activity in the world.

The health and welfare of people everywhere depends on good agricultural yields and on the reliable storage, successful processing and safe handling of all types of food. All these activities and many others create a demand for well-qualified and experienced specialists who can play their part in the complex and increasingly sophisticated food supply system.

The food and drink manufacturing industry is the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK. It employs some 470,000 people, representing 13% of the manufacturing workforce in the UK and has a turnover of £75bn accounting for 15% of the total manufacturing sector. Ours is the fourth largest food and drink manufacturing industry in the world. In addition, an estimated 1.2 million workers in ancillary activities depend on a successful food and drink industry for their jobs.

Independent food experts have stated that the long-term prosperity of our food industry depends upon a continuing supply of trained food scientists and technologists. The food industry today is in desperate need of these technically trained staff and this course is providing graduates to fill that gap. With an almost one hundred per cent employment rate, graduates can gain employment within many areas, including research and development, quality control, hygiene, packaging, food microbiology and food analysis​.