Master in Food Innovation and Health

Master in Food Innovation and Health is one of 8 English-taught Agriculture & Environment programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 4 institutions. 8 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 2,400 to EUR 15,000; this programme lists EUR 8,700 a year. 6 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.

This master's at the University of Copenhagen is for people who want to make food that is better for both people and the planet. You work on healthy, sustainable and tasty products, and you look at food from several angles at once: nutrition, design, consumer behaviour, chemistry, gastronomy, sociology and sensory science.

What you study

The programme mixes food science, food innovation and product development. You take compulsory courses such as Determinants of Food Consumption, Advanced Nutrition Physiology and Metabolism, Bioactive Food Components and Health, Food Science and Culinary Techniques, Food and Meal Consumer Research, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and a Thematic Course in Food Innovation and Health. You also choose elective courses, so you can shape the degree around your interests and career plans.

You learn about Danish food culture and food preferences, sensory quality and aesthetics, the composition of food and drinks, and the theories behind composing meals. You work on scientific and everyday problems linked to changing dietary behaviour and to nutritional problems that come from evidence-based health recommendations. Plant-based diets are a starting point for working with sustainability.

Former students have developed meatballs with seaweed, tempeh with legumes, snack bars with insects, sausages with plant proteins, and products from food waste such as crisps made from brewers' spent grain. These are examples of the kind of innovative collaboration with external partners that is possible.

How the programme is organised

You can structure the two years in two ways. One option has 60 ECTS of compulsory courses, 30 ECTS of electives and a 30 ECTS thesis. The other has 60 ECTS of compulsory courses, 15 ECTS of electives and a 45 ECTS thesis. Each block is nine weeks and worth 15 ECTS.

Teaching varies between lectures, problem-based learning, and theoretical and practical exercises. You work both independently and in project groups. You can use elective courses to do a project in practice in Denmark or abroad, for example with a company or institution, or to study abroad for one or two semesters. A supervisor must approve your project and host company before you start.

You finish with a thesis on a topic of your choice, either experimental or a theoretical analysis. There is also a student association called the Gastronomic Playground, which arranges events and gives access to a large experimental kitchen where you can meet student chefs, professional chefs and students from other programmes.

Who it suits

This programme suits you if you have a bachelor's degree with a strong natural science base and you want to work with food from a practical, creative and scientific angle. You should be comfortable with biochemistry and statistics, and curious about how people choose what they eat. It helps if you like working in groups and are interested in sustainability, health and taste.

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal. The programme is taught in English, and you must meet the English B requirement. If you hold a bachelor's degree in Food Science (fødevarer og ernæring) with the Food, Health and Nutrition subject-specific course package (sundhed og ernæring) from the University of Copenhagen, you have a legal right of admission and are guaranteed a place if you apply by the deadline. You can wait up to three years to use that right.

Other Danish or international degrees are assessed individually. You need at least 120 ECTS in natural science, including biochemistry with laboratory work equivalent to LKEB10077U Biokemi 1 (7.5 ECTS) and statistics equivalent to LMAB10069U Statistisk dataanalyse 1 (7.5 ECTS). The university does not offer pre-assessment. If there are more qualified applicants than places, applicants are prioritised by the total number of ECTS credits in natural science courses.

Application deadlines differ by citizenship. For applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, the deadline for September start is 15 January. For applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, the deadline is 1 March. There is also a February start for applicants with legal right of admission, with a deadline of 15 October. Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge. Other students pay a tuition fee set by the institution, and an application deposit is required.

The last intake for this programme is expected to be September 2027. From September 2028, a new one-year focused master's programme is expected to be offered instead.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). 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.