Master's degree Nutrition and Food Sciences Track Food Quality and Health Innovation
field(s) of training :
Science, Technology, Health
diploma level :
Grade de Master (Bac+5)
duration of the program :
2 years
location(s) :
Caen
Course overview
You wish to specialise in food quality management and in research & development for the food industry? The master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences offers the Food Quality and Health Innovation path!
This two-year full-time programme teaches the scientific and professional knowledge and skills necessary to work in food transformation. The curriculum essentially focuses on food and its consequences on health and well-being, which involves food technology, sensory, microbiology, nutrition, toxicology and functionality. Besides, a major part of the master’s is dedicated to practice, so that you are able to:
- Implement and review quality insurance policies for food productions (in application of ISO, BRC, and IFS standards)
- Conceive new food products, taking into account food issues depending on various population (athlete, youth, seniors, pregnant people).
Highlights
This research-oriented master’s programme relies on research teams in biology or pharmacy, food industry professionals, doctors, and dieticians. Hence, you will be evaluated on several research and experimental assignments, such as:
- Practical project
- Literature review
- Oral presentation and poster displaying
- Experimentation conception and implementation
- Case studies
- Press reviews
- Supervised projects: in team, you will have 5 weeks to develop of an innovative health food product, and can be done in partnership with professionals. At the end of the project, the product will be conditioned and labelled according to standards, and presented to the jury.
During your master’s, you will also visit food companies and laboratories, and attend SIAL, the Global Food Marketplace in Paris, in order to get a better insight into food industry.
Application requirements
Entry requirements
To enter this master’s, you should
- Graduate from a degree in Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Plant Sciences
- Master fundamentals in microbiology, molecular biology and plant sciences
- Read scientific English
- Write fluently in French and/or in English
- Work in team
- Be autonomous and creative
Language proficiency requirements
Minimum French level proficiency required: C1
Minimum English level proficiency required: B1
Specific conditions
If you successfully completed Year 1 of this master's, you will automatically enter Year 2.
Course structure
Courses
- Take place on site in the University of Caen Normandy
- Campus 1 for most of the courses
- Campus 2, in the Food technology technical centre for supervised projects
- Are completed by two compulsory internships
Course units
This research-oriented master’s programme mostly offers scientific and technical courses units:
- Food technology and quality management
- Toxicology and food health security
- Food microbiology and microbiology practical project
- Plant products: plant polymers and their applications
- Genomic/transcriptomic or improvement and plan biotechnologies
- Biostatistics
- Animal, plant and food products quality
- Nutrition and functional food
- Food innovation
- Food law
- Professional communication and English
Internships and placements
The master’s programme in Nutrition and Food Sciences includes two compulsory internships, in a company or a laboratory, in France or abroad:
- Year 1, 2nd semester: 8-week- to 5-month-long internship (from March)
- Year 2, 4th semester: 6-month long internship (from March to August)
Both internships will be evaluated through detailed written report and an oral presentation of this report.
Coursework and assessment
The course lasts 2 years and is divided in 4 semesters, each comprising several courses units. Examinations are held at the end of each semester and are graded on a scale from 0 to 20, 20 being the best grade. Grade compensation is organized within a semester without eliminatory marks and on the basis of the general average obtained in every course unit. However, for the 4th semester, you must obtain at least 10 points of 20 for the supervised project and for the internship.
The 2 semesters do not compensate each other.
To successfully complete a semester, you must have an average mark of at least 10 points out of 20. If you have not completed your semester, you can retake the courses units you failed; you do not have to retake the courses in which you have obtained at least 10 pts out of 20.
Language
- French
- English (for some conferences)
Learning outcome
By the end of the master’s, you will be able to
- Implement and monitor quality insurance policies linked to food products
- Identify risks
- Establish diagnosis
- Take part in the transformation of food industry products
- Master quality and supplier reference frames
- Design new food products
- Write food alimentation review
- Identify targets’ specificities
- Lead formula experimentations
- Dialogue with production
- Take into account food law constraints
- Lead a project in professional environment
- Realise a thematic action for a company
- Plan out a project and its actions
- Work in team
- Analyse a situation
- Adapt to professional situations
Further study
The Nutrition and Food Sciences programme being research-oriented, you are encouraged to pursue doctoral studies, depending your research topic.
Careers
Food industry offers many career opportunities, notably in industries, companies, laboratories or technical centres:
- Animal or human food products (meat, dairy, plant, fish, convenience food, drinks)
- Functional food or dietary supplements
- Food distribution
- Food away from home
You can also work for organisations specialised in designing and implementing clinical or observational studies on ingredients, functional food or dietary supplements.
With an expertise in food quality and health innovation, you can work as:
- Head or deputy head of quality
- Head or project manager in research & development
- Project engineer
Address
Université de Caen Normandie
UFR des Sciences
Esplanade de la Paix · CS 14032 · 14032 Caen Cedex 5
France