Ghent University - Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
Master of Science in Nutrition and Food SystemsGhent, Belgium
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,092 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Students who need a visa for Belgium: 28 Feb 2025 | Students who don't need a visa for Belgium: 31 May 2025
** European students (EEA-zone) and students from OESO/DAC recognised developing countries (lowest 2 categories): € 1.092 | Other students: € 6.540
Key Summary
Introduction
While large populations face hunger and undernutrition, 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 system changes are required to improve human diets, promote planetary health, and achieve sustainable development.
The MSc Nutrition and Food Systems program focuses on human nutrition and diets from a food system perspective. After completing this degree, you will:
- Have a strong academic background in human nutrition. The program contains all the necessary courses 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, and marketing of food up to the behavior of consumers,
- Be capable of identifying nutritional problems, and their underlying causes and develop, manage, and evaluate relevant interventions,
- Be able to critically evaluate nutrition research findings and be competent in developing evidence-based recommendations, and
- Be able to collaborate, communicate, and creatively apply these competencies across the disciplines for sustainable food systems change
Through interactions with a diverse and international group of students and lecturers, you acquire international and intercultural competencies. You will start your professional career with an international network.
The MSc Nutrition and Food Systems has its roots in the MSc Nutrition and Rural Development, which ran as an international MSc program at UGent since 1987. In response to increasing global concerns regarding the sustainability of food systems, the program focus was revised to food systems.
Career Opportunities
Non-EEA students eager to enter the Belgian job market can apply for an orientation year in Belgium. An orientation year allows students to extend their stay in Belgium with 12 months to find a job or start their own business.
Get inspired at the Study in Flanders website or the Ghent University website.
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 pursue further PhD studies. 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 NGOs 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 NGOs, 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.
Gallery
Admissions
Student Testimonials
Curriculum
The two-year curriculum is a gradual build-up of learning opportunities over 4 semesters. The fundamental knowledge courses, in the beginning, make way for courses that provide generic competencies for life-long learning and employment at the end. The program provides flexible learning opportunities that allow you to tailor a part of the curriculum to your needs, talents, and interest.
The first semester contains general courses related to nutrition and food systems. It establishes a common ground between all students as many have different backgrounds in disciplines such as food technology and engineering, nutrition and dietetics, biomedical sciences, or medicine. The second semester builds on this knowledge with more advanced courses. To tailor the course program to the individual student’s needs and interests, you can take one elective course during the first year.
You can specialize even more during the second year. The third semester has no mandatory coursework and provides an internship opportunity to gain professional experience. You can choose from a broad range of elective MSc courses at UGent or at another university if these meet the program's learning objectives. The final semester contains the Master’s dissertation and courses that prepare students for employment.
Rankings
Ranking of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering:
QS ranking: position 7 (Agriculture and Forestry)
Shanghai Ranking: position 13 (Agricultural Sciences)
Times Higher Education ranking: position 47 (Life Sciences)
National Taiwan University ranking: position 21 (Agricultural Science)
Ranking of Ghent University
Shanghai Ranking: position 84
Times Higher Education ranking: position 107
National Taiwan University ranking: position 84
QS ranking: position 159
QS sustainability ranking: position 58