Want to drive positive change and have a rewarding career?
Are you passionate about food? Interested in changing direction and open to new experiences and career pathways for your future? This 12-month coursework postgraduate degree will allow you to transfer your undergraduate skills to help make an impact in the food sector.
You will receive practical and research-oriented teaching in interdisciplinary areas such as food systems, principles of agriculture, sustainable food production, processing, chemistry, biotechnology, flavour, brewing and fermentation, shelf life and quality, consumer behaviour, sensory science, and food waste.
This comprehensive “farm-to-fork and beyond” degree, with its strong emphasis on future foods, will empower you to improve food systems' social, environmental, and economic sustainability in Aotearoa, the Pacific, and the world.
Find your food science career path
You don't need to have a background in food science to enrol in the MAppSc in Food and Agriculture. The programme can be tailored to either extend the skills and knowledge of those already working in the food industry, or to provide graduates from a wide range of backgrounds with the essential knowledge and skills to move into a career in the food sector.
The MAppSc can be completed in 12 months' full-time study, or part-time over a longer period, providing flexibility for recent graduates and working professionals.
The MAppSc in Food and Agriculture is a coursework programme comprising taught papers and a supervised independent study- or work-based project. It does not provide a pathway to study for a research-based higher degree.
Programme requirements
Master of Applied Science (MAppSc) in Food and Agriculture
Module choices and selection process for the Advanced papers
For each of your chosen Topics in Advanced Food Science papers, you will select two modules (10 credits each). Each paper is worth 20 credits.
You will select your papers when you enrol in the course via eVision, but the modules are chosen within the Department of Food Science and not in eVision. The modules on offer will be discussed in more detail on the first day of the semester, and you will have the first week to finalise your module choices.
Students are encouraged to select a reasonable combination of food and agriculture modules, ideally one of each per paper.
The Agriculture modules offered for 2024 are:*
- Intro to NZ Agriculture
- Regen (NZ) Agriculture
- Agricultural Plant Science
- Agritech
- Livestock Animal Physiology
- Seeds Industry
The Food modules offered for 2024 are:*
- Intro to Food Processing
- Intro to Food Chemistry
- Intro to Sensory and Consumer Science
- Sustainable Food Production
- Food Packaging
- Thermal Processing
- Food Enzymology
- Flavour Science
- Food Waste
- Food Biotechnology
- Fermented Foods and Beverages
- Brewing
- Sensation and Perception
* The above modules are subject to availability, which may depend on demand. If your preferred module is not available we can advise you on selecting an alternative.
Interested in applying?
We strongly recommend that you contact us before applying.
Contact the Department of Food Science
When you are ready to submit your application, you can apply online following the University of Otago application process (unless you are an international student).
International applicants who are new to the University of Otago should refer to the International section of the website before making an online application.
International – University of Otago
Resources
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Regulations on this page are taken from the 2023 Calendar and supplementary material.