Structure + Content
The market for speciality foods is booming, opening new opportunities for development in the food industry. Meanwhile, more people are struggling with food intolerance now than ever before. Topics such as food waste and natural resource consumption are also entering the public debate. Acquire the expert skills you will need to bridge the gap between what consumers and society want and what is technically feasible.
“I chose this master because it incorporated different aspects of food, such as nutrition and the science side of it which I enjoy.” Amy Marshall
Learning outcomes
In addition to teaching you specialist skills and methods related to the field, our programme will also equip you with essential professional and social skills.
Specialist skills and methods
- Identifying and describing the influence of food and nutrition on human health.
- Developing foods that serve the physiological needs of specific target groups.
- Analysing consumer expectations in the food industry.
- Assessing raw materials for their nutritional value.
- Evaluating processes in food production, with regard to their impact on quality, safety and sustainability.
- Appraising Public Health Nutrition initiatives.
Professional and social skills
- Communicating effectively with experts and laypeople.
- Working both independently and in interdisciplinary teams.
- Interacting appropriately with important industry figures.
- Gathering market information.
- Project management
“Currently I’m working as an intern here in the 3D printing lab at the HAFL. And we basically 3D print food! We maintain a lot of the 3D printers and we are also in product development in terms of finding materials that can be printed.” Akshay Shah
Important information
Programme structure
Our Food, Nutrition and Health programme is a specialisation of the Master of Science in Life Sciences, a programme offered in cooperation by four Swiss universities of applied sciences. You will attend modules in Data Handling and Business alongside master's students pursuing other specialisations. This provides you with insights into other fields of study while you pursue your own core skills. You will develop your foundation further in the Food Cluster modules, where you will benefit from the collective expertise and skills drawn from Switzerland’s most important university programmes in the food industry. Your studies revolve around the specialisation modules. These modules introduce you to the most important aspects of developing nutritional foods. You will learn about how public health can be shaped by nutrition policies. You may select from a range of modules, which allows you to customise your studies based on your strengths, interests and area of focus.
You will conclude your studies with a master’s thesis. This is generally embedded within a project at one of the three participating universities of applied sciences or is conducted together with one of their research partners. You may do it with an outside research or industry partner, such as your employer.