BScFood Quality, Safety and Nutrition
This degree programme is about gaining the knowledge and understanding of three key areas in relation to food production and consumption.
- Food Quality concerns the ‘fitness for purpose’ of our food in terms of appearance (eg colour and surface qualities, texture, flavour and odour) and how these can be improved.
- Food Safety considers the physical, microbiological and chemical aspects of our food, which may be harmful to human health, and how these can be minimised.
- Nutrition concerns the nutrient supply from foods necessary to support the human body in health and during ill health throughout all life stages.
These degrees emphasise the inter-relationship between these areas and their equal importance in food production.
- Entry requirements
- BBB including Biology and Chemistry + GCSE Mathematics grade C
- English language requirements
- An IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component.
- Tuition fees
- £20,800 / ¥189,260
Course Content
The subjects studied on this course are wide ranging and include; Food (Biochemistry, Chemistry, Commodities, Hygiene, Marketing, Microbiology, Policy, Processing, Product Development, Psychology, Quality And Safety), Fundamental and Clinical Nutrition, Human Physiology, Diet and Health, as well as Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The modules are:
Stage 1
- Chemistry and Composition of Foods
- Fundamentals of Nutrition and Food Policy
- The World of Microorganisms
Stage 2
- Food Commodities, Processing and Hygiene
- Food Choice, Diet and Health
- Principles of Food Quality
Work Placement
- Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition students can complete an optional 16- week degree-related work placement
- Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition with Professional Studies students will complete a one-year, degree-related work placement.
Stage 3
- Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Clinical Nutrition
- Food Product Development
- Food Supply Chain Safety and Security
- Supply Chain Management
- Research Project (BSc students only)
Stage 4 (MSci students only)
- Research Project
Related courses
- Food Science and Food Security
- 4 years (D990)
Applications open
Why Queen's
Prizes and Awards
All students undertake the Level 3 Award in Food Safety Supervision for Manufacturing as part of the module Food Commodities, Processing and Hygiene.
Yakult provides prizes for the best overall final year student and the best Honours project in final year. Safe Food also provides a prize for the best essay in the final year module ‘Food Supply Chain Safety and Security’.
Work Placement
Work placements on these programmes provide students with the opportunity to utilise the practical skills gained during the teaching of their degree and apply these in a work environment.
For many students this is the most important aspect of the degree, enabling them to experience the types of jobs which are available on graduation and through the preparation of CVs, interviews, etc, ensuring they are well prepared for the job market.
Our past students have gained work placement with organisations such as: Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Kerry Group, Kraft Foods, Moy Park, Tayto, Ulster Cancer Foundation, hospital trusts and many more.
Flexibility
The unique flexible design of these degrees enables transfer to the MSci Food Science and Food Security degree up until the end of Stage 2 (provided students meet the necessary requirements).
Careers/further study
Studying for a Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions.
Although the majority of our graduates are interested in pursuing careers in the food industry or health promotion, some develop careers in a wide range of other sectors. The following is a list of the major career sectors that have attracted our graduates in recent years:
- Food industry – graduate recruitment schemes
- Food industry – new product development
- Food industry – technical areas
- Food industry – quality management
- Charities – health promotion
- Nutrition – assistant dietician in a hospital trust
- Teaching – home economics [PGCE needed]
- Research – industry research association
- Research – PhD studies
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including all those who provide work placement opportunities. These range from multinationals such as Moy Park and Sainsbury’s to local companies such as Irwin’s and Tayto.
Many companies provide support for the course and students through repeatedly offering 16-week work placements. A number of such placements lead to employment for the students when they graduate.
We have taken three placements students from Queen’s in the past and we have found the quality of the students to be very high. We have recently recruited students from this course to fill a business need for a dedicated Food Quality Coordinator. We find that students from this course have training and knowledge which make them best placed to help improve areas of our business and provide new ideas and thinking to help meet our future plans for the business.Annie Rooney, Suki TEA (Northern Ireland)
