Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Systems

While large populations face hunger and undernourishment, overweight and diet-related chronic diseases have taken on pandemic proportions. In addition, human diets have a significant impact on natural resources and the climate. More than ever, food systems changes are required to improve human diets, promote planetary health, and achieve sustainable development. The MSc Nutrition and Food Systems focuses on human nutrition and diets from a food system perspective.

After completing this degree, our students:

• have a solid academic background in human nutrition;
• understand how human diets and nutrition are driven by food systems, from the primary production, post-harvest handling, marketing, consumer behaviour considering the socio-cultural, economic and political context;
• can identify nutritional problems, their underlying causes, and to develop, manage, and evaluate relevant interventions;
• can evaluate nutrition research findings critically and be competent to develop evidence-based recommendations;
• can collaborate, communicate and apply these competencies creatively across the disciplines for sustainable food systems transformations. You acquire international and intercultural competencies through interactions with a diverse and international group of students and lecturers.

Our graduates start their professional career with an international network. The MSc Nutrition and Food Systems Programme has run as an international programme at Ghent University since 1987 and has a wide network of alumni and stakeholders.

The Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Science is an Accredited Degree Programme by the Association for Nutrition, (accreditation granted 09.02.2026, due for reaccreditation 09.02.2031). Graduates are hence eligible to apply for direct entry to the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists at Registered Associate Nutritionist level. The accreditation assures potential employers that graduates of the master programme have covered set competencies to work as a nutrition professional.

The two-year curriculum is a gradual build-up of learning opportunities staggered over four terms.

The first term contains general courses and establishes a common ground for all students as many enter the programme with different education and professional backgrounds in disciplines such as food technology and engineering, nutrition and dietetics, biomedical sciences, or medicine. The second term builds on this knowledge with more advanced courses and one elective course.

Students can specialise during the second year and tailor a part of the curriculum to their own need, talents and interests. The third term contains no mandatory courses and provides an (elective) internship to gain professional experiences. Students can also choose from a broad range of elective course units at Ghent University or participate in international mobility, for instance through the EU Erasmus programme. The final term contains the Master’s dissertation alongside courses that prepare students for employment.

Our alumni are found at local and national governments, United Nations agencies, (inter)national non-governmental organisations and research institutions across the globe. A considerable number of our students pursues further PhD study. The labour market opportunities are, in particular:

• positions at public institutions and local governments. Examples are technical experts at consumer organisations, city administration, regional health authorities, nutrition advisers at the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO, UNICEF, WHO or NGO’s such as ACF, Rikolto, etc;
• research and education positions at universities or private research institutions, e.g., senior researcher, lecturers, professors;
• PhD programmes on nutrition, bioscience engineering, biomedical sciences, and life sciences;
• employment and consultancy services for NGO’s, European-, UN or international organisations, active in nutrition or nutrition-sensitive programmes and/or sustainable development;
• private sector R&D positions, for example to guide the development of new products or services to suit the needs of consumers and markets.