Master in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology

The MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology at Aarhus University is a two-year full-time programme taught in English. It sits where food technology, nutrition and health meet, and the point is practical: you learn to develop foods that can lower the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, allergy and cancer.

What you study

The programme is a collaboration between four main academic areas at Aarhus University, so you are taught by experts from several fields. You get insight into how new processing methods affect the functional characteristics of foods, and you build knowledge of molecular biology and technical skills at the junction between food technology, nutrition and health.

You choose whether to specialise in molecular biology or food science. In connection with thesis and project work you can link up with relevant research groups in one of the four academic areas, or write your thesis at an R&D department in a private food company.

How the programme is organised

The degree takes two years. The standard route ends with a 60 ECTS master's thesis. Instead of that, you can choose a 45 ECTS thesis plus 15 ECTS of elective courses. The programme is full-time and starts in August or September. Teaching takes place in Aarhus.

Who it suits

It suits you if you have a BSc in the natural, technical or health sciences with a molecular biology content and want to work with food and health. The programme is open to international students and to Danish students whose bachelor's degree does not give direct admission.

To be admitted you need a bachelor's degree comparable to a Danish one in level and duration (180 ECTS). The specific requirements are 10 ECTS in biochemistry and 50 ECTS in courses within chemistry, organic chemistry and analytical chemistry as well as molecular biology, 60 ECTS in total. Aarhus University cannot assess your degree in advance, so you apply and then find out.

Certain Danish bachelor's degrees give direct admission: Molecular Biology and Molecular Medicine from Aarhus University, Agrobiology with specialisation in Food Science from Aarhus University, the Bachelor of Engineering in Food Technology from Aarhus University with an additional 10 ECTS of biochemistry, and Plant and Food Science with specialisation in Food Science from Aarhus University. There are no programmes with a legal right of admission to this master's.

Intake is limited, so meeting the entry requirements does not guarantee a place. Applicants are ranked on grades from the qualifying degree, grades in relevant subject fields (molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, food chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry), and the proportion of your bachelor's degree that falls within those fields. Grades earned after the application deadline are not included.

Admission, language and next steps

You must meet the university's English language requirements. Applicants with a bachelor's degree from Aarhus University and a legal right of admission are exempt. Apply through the institution's own application system for this master's programme. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee set by the institution.

Graduates work in research and development, or in advisory and administrative roles in the food industry and the public sector. The degree can also lead to a PhD: you can apply for admission to the university's PhD programme after the first year of the MSc or after finishing your thesis.

Master’s applications go straight to Aarhus University, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.