The University of Edinburgh – College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Global Food Security and Nutrition (Online Learning) MSc, PgDip (ICL), PgCert (ICL), PgProfDev
Online
MSc
DURATION
6 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
21 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
14 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
* fees have still to be agreed
Key Summary
About: Global Food Security and Nutrition MSc (online) at The University of Edinburgh examines availability, access and utilization of safe nutritious food and links food policy with undernourishment, disease, agriculture emissions, climate impacts and natural resources. You’ll get mentoring, resources.
Career Outcomes: The programme prepares you for careers in government, international NGOs, policy analysis, research, food supply management, retail and commodity trading. Graduates also move into postgraduate research and PhD study. Teaching teams have professional links with industry and international organisations, supporting transitions into programmatic, policy or research roles across humanitarian, development and private sectors and monitoring food insecurity globally.
Food security is concerned with the availability, access, and utilisation of safe, nutritious and sustainable food to all, especially vulnerable groups, within society.
The challenges related to food are not only the existence of approximately 795 million undernourished people in the world (Food and Agricultural Organization) but also:
- the increasing presence of diet-related, non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes and heart disease)
- the contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions
- land use change
Understanding the interconnection of food, health and the environment, as well as their trade-offs, is vital to formulate policies that enable us to achieve food security in a sustainable manner.
This programme recognises that 'food security' concerns not only food policy and food production issues, but also other aspects such as:
- land tenure
- immigration
- demographics
- diet and nutrition
- technology
- natural resources (e.g., pressures on water and soil)
- climate change
This programme is suitable for students with a background in agriculture, development, food systems or other food related studies, as well as professionals within a broad range of disciplines such as food production, distribution, policy, or international development.
Programme benefits
- Build a personal portfolio of skills and knowledge
- Mentoring and online discussion from teachers and researchers who are specialists in their field
- Access to high-quality interactive online resources/e-journals and online textbooks
- Develop and enhance transferable technological skills in digital learning environments
- The University of Edinburgh has been delivering online degrees since 2005, with more than 11,000 graduates from over 180 countries
- We are experts in online learning and have a strong track record of providing the best experience possible, working closely with academic teams to design a fully online degree that works well for both the educators and our students.
This programme would be suitable for students with a background in agriculture, development, food systems or other food-related studies, as well as professionals within a broad range of disciplines such as food production, distribution, policy, or international development.
The aim of this programme is to train you in the breadth of issues relating to food security and give you key skills to understand and critically assess problems across food systems.
At the end of the programme, you should have an understanding of the global context of food security and nutrition, and be able to identify and critically assess the main trade-offs between food security and nutrition and other goals in food systems.
The programme aims to give you the ability to:
- carry out independent research
- produce reports to a professional standard
- be competent in constructing logically sound arguments
By the end of the programme, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of, and critical evaluation and assessment of the main theories, principles and concepts related to agronomic, environmental, economic, nutritional, and socio-political factors that influence food security.
- Apply food security and nutrition practical methods to scientific information and methods in the analysis of complex problems in food systems.
- Develop critical analysis skills to review complex issues relating to food security and nutrition, and formulate an original research problem and independently carry out the research needed to produce an appropriate solution in a range of scientific or policy contexts.
- Apply and enhance a range of communication, ICT and numeracy skills applicable to food security and nutrition problems.
- Work individually or as part of a group, and make informed judgements about the complex problems connected to global food security and nutrition.
This programme is designed to equip graduates with the skills to go on to careers in government and international non-governmental organisations working in a broad range of areas relating to food security.
There are increasing postgraduate research opportunities available in the food security arena, in the UK, EU and internationally.
There are also some positions in the private sector that will be attractive to graduates, such as retail, food supply management, or even commodity trading.
Professional links
The teaching team has good working relationships with industry, and the programme benefits from strong research and teaching collaboration with some of the key international organisations responsible for monitoring and reducing food insecurity globally.
Further study
After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.
The full degree programme is a total of 180 credits, divided into:
- 90 credits of Core courses
- 30 credits of Elective courses, chosen from a range of options across complementing subjects
- 60 credit Dissertation
Courses offer a mix of:
- lectures
- seminars
- tutorials
- practicals
- guest speakers
- recommended reading
Time expectation
20 credit courses are delivered in two blocks of five weeks with one week of independent study and reflection time in between.
10 credit courses are delivered over one block of five weeks.
Each 10 credits of study represents 100 hours of study and a time commitment of 20 hours per week.
Compulsory courses
Core courses
| Certificate phase | Credits |
|---|---|
| Frameworks to assess food security | 20 |
| Nutrition for food security | 20 |
| Sustainable food production | 20 |
| Diploma phase | Credits |
|---|---|
| Inter-relationships in food systems | 20 |
| Research methods in data analysis* | 10 |
*this course is a prerequisite for the Dissertation phase
| Masters phase | credits |
|---|---|
| Dissertation | 60 - must be written within a 12-month period |
Option courses
Elective courses
| From Global Food Security and Nutrition | Credits |
|---|---|
| Innovation in sustainable food systems | 20 |
| From related programmes | Credits |
|---|---|
| Ecosystem health | 10 |
| Ecosystem values and management | 20 |
| Foundations of nutritional epidemiology | 10 |
| Global citizenship | 10 |
| Innovative approaches to health challenges across disciplines | 10 |
| Introduction to public health | 10 |
| Land use and food security | 10 |
| Making science relevant to policy and decision-making | 20 |
| Maternal, newborn and child health in a global context | 10 |
| Migration and health | 10 |
| Noncommunicable disease in a global context | 10 |
| The marine environment | 10 |
| Understanding planetary health and data | 10 |
Individual courses
Postgraduate Professional Development (PGProfDev) is the study of individual courses from within a degree programme.
It is aimed at working professionals who want to upskill in a specific area but do not want to commit to a postgraduate qualification.
You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses from within this degree over two years. Credits can also be put towards further study, however, any time spent taking courses will be deducted from the amount of time you have left to complete the higher award.
Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.
Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:
- Borrowing money
- Taking out a loan
- Family support
- Personal savings
- Income from work
- Employer sponsorship
UK government postgraduate loans
If you live in the UK, you may be eligible for a postgraduate loan for online study from one of the UK’s governments.
If you intend to apply for a UK government loan you should apply for the 3-year Masters option.
Study options
- Master's (180 credits): 3-6 years
- Diploma(120 credits): 2-4 years
- Certificate(60 credits): 1-2 years
- Individual courses*(up to a maximum of 50 credits): up to 2 years
The degree programme allows progression from individual courses to Certificate, Diploma and MSc phases. Students may also exit the programme on completion of each phase.
The programme is designed to be taken part-time at 20 hours per week, with the flexibility to complete in longer time frames if required.
*Individual courses are also referred to as Postgraduate Professional Development (PGProfDev).
How online learning works
The University of Edinburgh has been delivering online postgraduate programmes since 2005 and is the largest provider of online programmes in the prestigious Russell Group of universities.
Online learning is aimed at people who want to study for a postgraduate qualification alongside ongoing personal and professional commitments. Most of our students continue in their employment while they study.
The varied teaching can include:
- online lectures
- tutorials
- specialist external lectures
- scientific group discussions
- case studies
- problem-based learning scenarios
- literature-based research
- computer-assisted learning
- quizzes
Online students not only have access to Edinburgh's excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.
Time commitment
This programme is designed to be fully flexible to fit around your schedule. You can study in your own time and access all your learning resources, such as reading lists, discussion forms and slides from anywhere in the world.
If there are live online sessions, you can watch a recording later in the virtual learning environment at a time convenient to you.
Typically, you will need to dedicate around 20 hours per week to your programme, although managing this is up to you. This may also vary from course to course, and the time commitment may increase when assignments are due.