Master of Sustainable and Safe Food Production

Courses are offered through online teaching with streaming and tutor-facilitated group work. Some sessions must be viewed live while others can be viewed at a time you find convenient.

The courses are a mix of video lectures, smaller assignments such as arithmetic problems, digital quizzes, project work, and reports with and without peer assessment.

We emphasize ongoing dialogue between lecturers and students throughout the study programme.

The live teaching sessions will be recorded and made available for you to re-watch when relevant.

The on-site teaching will be planned as an annual ‘conference’ for all students, who are enrolled in the full Master programme. During these sessions, you will get to present and discuss interdisciplinary topics, project work and network development.

The Master of Sustainable and Safe Food Production is a joint programme run by DTU and the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

You need 45 ECTS points in courses to get the title Master of Sustainable and Safe Food Production.

Four of the courses are mandatory (35 ECTS) whereas 10 ECTS points can be used for relevant courses of your own choice. Elective courses need approval by the head of study.

We propose three elective courses each of 5 ECTS points to choose from.

in the list below you can see which courses are compulsory and which are optional.

• Microbiological food safety in a global perspective – 7.5 ECTS (mandatory)
• Chemical food safety – 7.5 ECTS (mandatory)
• First face-to-face conference session
• Food safety in context and global food systems – 5 ECTS (elective)
• Risk assessment of foodborne contaminants – 10 ECTS (mandatory)
• Monitoring and source tracing of foodborne diseases – 5 (elective)
• Sustainable food production and processing – 10 ECTS (mandatory)
• One Health International Summer Course – 5 ECTS (elective)
• Second face-to-face conference session

The webinars are optional but you will benefit a lot from attending. Webinars are recorded and will be posted online shortly after they have been completed.

You can achieve the Master in two years (see time schedule below). To obtain the best progression, we recommend that you complete the courses in the order listed below. However, you do have the opportunity to postpone some courses to better fit your work schedule and everyday life.

If you wish to obtain the title of Master of Sustainable and Safe Food Production, you must complete all courses and the Master thesis no more than 6 years after the commencement date.

You will plan your Master thesis with your supervisor, once you have completed all the mandatory courses.

The Master project covers 15 ECTS point. Once you have completed the mandatory courses, you will plan the project with your supervisor.

During the Master project, you work independently on a topic of your choice, which covers elements of the study programme and the latest research in the field.

The project is an opportunity for in-depth study in a topic that you find particularly interesting and of particular relevance to, for example, your work situation, affiliation with the industry, or a possible future career.

We will help you ensure that the project has sufficient academic weight.

Admission

If you wish to be admittet to the programme, you must:

• have achieved a relevant medium-cycle education (a professional bachelor’s degree or the like) or a long-cycle higher education programme
• have a minimum of two years of work experience in the food science and technology field

Furthermore, you must have a solid foundation in the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, mathematics) as well as an understanding of technical processes in food production lines.

Relevant work experience

Work experience is regarded as relevant if it has been acquired through work in the private and/or public sector, and involves one of the following:

• development of products or processes
• safety control and/or assessment of sustainability in food production or food distribution
• control, regulation, or teaching in the food science and technology field

Application

To apply for the master’s programme please fill out this registration form. Once we have received your application, a screening process will take place to ensure you are eligible to join the programme. You will not be charged for any master courses until your application has been approved.

If you have any additional questions about the application or the programme, please send an e-mail to food@food.dtu.dk.

Application deadlines

Deadline for Autumn semester is July 1st.
Deadline for Spring semester is December 1st.

If you missed the application deadline, we advise you to apply as soon as possible as remaining places are granted on a first come first serve basis

Language

The entire program is taught in English. We recommend English language proficiency comparable with English B-level from a Danish upper-secondary school (passed).

Non-Danish applicants can use IELTS (ACADEMIC), TOEFL, Cambridge Advances Enhlish or Pearson (ACADEMIC), if you want to check your English level.

Sustainable and Safe Food Production Master

The Master of Sustainable and Safe Food Production has a vocational dimension that the Master of Science programmes lack. In order to be enrolled in the programme at all, you must have at least two years of relevant work experience in addition to having a Bachelor degree.

Master of Science

A Master of Science is an education on a higher academic level. Students do not need any relevant work experience to be enrolled, but they embark to two years of full-time studies, follow advanced courses, and obtain a total of 120 ECTS-points and the academic title of ‘Master of Science’ (MSc).

All students must pay tuition fees. The prices of the different course types are listed below.

Download below overview in PDF.

*For students accepted for the full Master’s programme before January 2023, the fee for the Final project is 15,000 DKK and the cost of the full Master’s programme is 105,000 DKK.

What tool is used for online sessions?
Zoom is used for online sessions e.g. webinars and oral exams.

When are the application deadlines?
Deadline for Autumn semester is July 1^st.
Deadline for Spring semester is December 1^st.

Can I change my choice of courses?
If you find it necessary to change the courses selected for a semester, you can do so within one month after semester start. Be aware, that we do not offer refunds, but we can allocate the payment to cover another course.

Can I get credit?
We will consider credit for previously passed courses on an individual basis. If you are looking to get credit for a previous course, please make that very clear in your application and include a course description and a certificate.

Where do I find my literature, downloads, and student mail?
All course material will be available through our Learning Management System, called DTU Learn. As a student, you will furthermore get access to DTU resources via our intranet, called Inside.   

How many exam attempts do I have?
You are entitled to three exam attempts per course. Once you pass an exam, you cannot re-do it. Planning of the exams and any re-examinations will be communicated within each course.

When can I write my final project?
When you have passed all courses in the Master’s programme, you can sign up for the final project and get in touch with a supervisor. You can choose to write your final project either during the spring semester or the autumn semester. You are required to defend you final project in an oral exam that takes place either physically in Denmark or online. You do not have to stay in Denmark while writing the project, if you choose to attend the exam physically.

Where do I find the course content?
We use a Learning Management System, called DTU Learn. Once you have received your student email and password, you will gain access to the system.

What are the prices?
The prices vary according to ECTS points of the courses. You can see an overview of the prices in the accordion tap above. You only commit to one semester at a time and you will only be charged for the courses you have chosen for the specific semester.

Do you have any scholarships?
We do not offer any scholarships that cover continuing education. However, we encourage you to research the options in your home country, with your union or other organizations, which may have an interest in supporting your further education.

Some participants get the education sponsored by their employer. Therefore, we encourage you to seek out that possibility as well.

When do the semesters start?
The spring semester starts around 1 February and the autumn semester starts around 1 September. The specific dates will be announced when you are admitted to the programme.

How long is the study period?
The study period is minimum 2 years and maximum 6 years.