Food Product Innovation MSc

Course overview

Never before has the quality of food been more important in our society. Governments across the world are putting pressure on the food industry to ensure products are safe and made to a high standard. That’s why the demand for qualified experts in this field is ever-growing — and the career opportunities are vast.

The Food Product Innovation MSc is designed around the entire process of food product development — from concept to launch. We focus on consumer-led product development, where consumers play a key role during the whole development process. You’ll develop in-depth specialist knowledge needed to ensure that newly developed food products meet the necessary processing requirements for ensuring the quality and safety of food. Alongside, you’ll gain a broad understanding of legislation and how this impacts the industry.

It’s this combination of scientific acumen, awareness of international requirements and the industry-relevant skill set in areas, like sensory evaluation and product design, that’ll attract employers in industry.

Studying an MSc in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds will also give you access to specialist facilities that’ll prepare you for working in the field and a programme team consisting of academics and researchers who work within the School’s research institutes and groups.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:2 (hons) in a subject containing chemistry and biology content.

Relevant professional qualifications and experience may also be considered.

We expect all applicants to provide a supporting statement indicating a career aim or interest in food product development, knowledge of which is the key objective of this degree.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information, please contact the Admissions Team.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in all components. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Science (6 weeks) and Language for Science: General Science (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

The food industry is one of the largest in the world — with a vast amount of career opportunities available to qualified specialists in the field.

From enhancing food quality and improving food safety, to developing brand new products that’ll take the market by storm — global companies in industry need the skill set you’ll learn on this MSc to ensure they have quality products that adhere to regulations and stay ahead of the competition.

Here at Leeds, we rank in the top 10 in the UK for Nutrition and Food Science and our Food Science MSc has been accredited by the Institute of Food Science and Technology, meaning many of our alumni have been sought after by large corporations worldwide and have gone on to hold key positions in the food industry and government agencies.

Plus, University of Leeds students are among the top 5 most targeted by top employers according to The Graduate Market 2024, High Fliers Research, meaning our graduates are highly sought after by some of the most reputable companies in the field.

Our graduates from this course have secured positions at companies such as:

• Innovation Technologist, Kerry Foods
• NPD Technologist, Scheff Foods Ltd
• R&D Food Technologist, Shanghai 21Cake Food Co
• NPD & Quality Control Executive, ID Fresh Food (India)
• Quality Control Analyst, Mundipharma Pte Ltd
• QA Technician, Newsholmes Food
• Sampling Officer, Food Experts S.L.
• Quality Assurance Support, Wharfe Bank Brewery
• Food Technologist, CK Food Processing Ltd
• Lab Technician, Arla Foods