Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology

Introduction

As the media remind us on a daily basis, we are what we eat. The key message here – whether from health gurus or from medical advisors urging overweight people to tackle their problems by eating less and changing their diet – is that there is a link between the composition and quality of the food we eat and our health.

With the MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology, you can acquire the tools and knowledge required to develop nutritious foods – foods designed to reduce the risk of developing the lifestyle diseases of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, allergy and cancer.

Interfacing food technology, nutrition and health

The MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology is a collaborative effort between four main academic areas at Aarhus University. This broad foundation means that students are taught by experts in their fields and also that the programme is based on a holistic understanding of the importance of food for human health. As a student on the programme, you will gain insight into how new processing methods affect the functional characteristics of foods. The MSc degree provides knowledge of molecular biology and technical skills at the all-important juncture between food technology, nutrition and health.

The MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology is open to students with a BSc degree in the natural, technical or health sciences with a molecular biology content.

Research support

Students choose whether to specialise in molecular biology or food science, and may linked up with relevant research groups in one of the four main academic areas in connection with thesis and project work. Another option is for students to write their thesis at an R & D department in a private company in the food industry.

Career profile

The MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology equips graduates for jobs in research and development and for advisory or administrative jobs in the food industry as well as in the public sector. The degree can also be the stepping-stone to a research career: students can apply for admission to the university’s PhD programme either after the first year of the MSc degree or following completion of the thesis.

Food and Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University

The field of Food and Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University belongs to the elite among agricultural science institutions worldwide and carries out cutting edge research. The core areas of research are: Climate and natural resources, environment and bioenergy, organic farming, food quality, farm animal production and plant production.
Sustainability is a fundamental principle. The goal is to seek solutions that contribute to environmentally and economically sustainable development of the agricultural and food industries.

Food and Agricultural Sciences in the rankings

In the 2022 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, Aarhus University (AU) is number 19 in the field of Agricultural Sciences, in the 2023 U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking, AU ranks 55 in the same field. In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, AU ranks 39 in the field of Agriculture and Forestry.