Foundation Degree in Food Science and Innovation

The challenges facing food production today have never been greater.

Food security, sustainability, nutrition, and food waste needs innovative thinkers able to respond to these global issues. This course aims to develop graduates capable of meeting the demands of the food industry of the future.

UCAS Entry Points

A minimum of 64 UCAS points

Start Date

September 2021

September 2022

Course Length

Full-time: 2 years

The course is delivered in the £7.4 million UCR Food Innovation Centre, an industry-leading academy with an international reputation in the food and drink sector.

The course provides an in-depth knowledge of the food industry with core modules in food science, sustainability, and new product development.

Learning is assessed by a combination of assignments, reports, practical assessments and examinations. Upon successful completion of the Foundation Degree students may progress onto the one year BSc top-up to gain a BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Management.

University Centre Reaseheath is an academic partner of the University of Chester. Foundation degrees, Honours degrees, and Cert Ed are awarded by the University of Chester.

What will I study?

Level 4

Food Materials and Product Manufacture
Food Safety in Manufacturing
Food Science and Composition
Introduction to Human Nutrition
Food Processing and Packaging
Food Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Click here to view the module descriptors.

Level 5

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment Methods

Assessments are designed to encourage both academic skills and skills valued in the workplace. They include a combination of coursework and time constrained online assessments. Coursework may take many forms including essays, reports, data processing, presentations, academic posters, seminar discussions, interviews, critical reviews, portfolios of evidence and practical competency assessments. The time constrained online assessments vary, depending on the nature of the module, but may take the form of multiple-choice questions, essays, practical assessments, data handling questions, short answer quizzes, and in class assessments.

For more information please see our Course Information on our website.

Feedback

Feedback is supplied via Turnitin or directly from the module tutor. The majority of submissions are made via Turnitin and feedback for coursework is provided four working weeks after the submission date. If for unforeseen reasons this is not possible, the reasons will be communicated to the students within 2 weeks and the feedback prioritised within the department.

Written feedback will be supported verbally should the student require clarification. Formative assessment feedback will be provided at the time of completion where possible, with more detailed summative feedback for reports.

Teaching and Learning

Overall workload

Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity, plus field trips. The following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each year of the course:

Year 1:

26% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 306 hours

Independent Study: 894 hours

Year 2:

22% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 268 hours

Placement: 100 hours

Independent Study: 832 hours

Timetable

Additional Qualifications

To offer graduates a leading position in the jobs market, students are given the opportunity to enhance their career prospects by taking additional qualifications during their course of study. These could include a range of qualifications such as:

Highfield Level 3 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing
Students are encouraged to join the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) as an associate (student) member.

Entry requirements

A minimum of 64 tariff points from A and AS levels to include a Food or Science subject.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) – a minimum grade MPP in Applied Science or Food Science
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) – a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
City & Guilds Level 3 Technical Advanced Extended Diploma (1080 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MPP in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma (720 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
Mature students (aged 21+) will be considered on an individual basis on their prior knowledge and experience. This may be assessed by interview, completion of coursework/essay or other methods. There may be a requirement for a formal qualification to be completed first e.g. Access to HE course.

Further study

One year top-up route to BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Management (Top-Up)

Career Options

Sustainability consultant
Environmental socio-economist
Emergency response officer or international aid/development worker
Policy adviser
Food technologist
Supply chain manager
Packaging developer
New product developer
Food innovation manager

Useful Information

How much will this course cost?

Tuition Fees

As a Higher Education student you will have two main costs to meet; your tuition fees and living costs.

Our full-time tuition fees for UK and EU students, entering University, can be found on the student finance page. These fees are charged for each academic year of a course and are set by the college annually.

If you are an international student or for the latest information on tuition fees visit the student finance page on our website.

Additional Costs

A standard laboratory coat can be bought from the Reseaheath shop for approximately £15 or can be purchased from a store of your choice.

Equipment Costs

£15 for a lab coat (can buy via Amazon etc)

Prices of equipment are subject to change dependent on retailer.

Additional financial support

Accommodation

All Higher Education students are given the opportunity to apply for residential accommodation. First year students are guaranteed accommodation and this offer is made to all applicants who live more than a reasonable daily travelling distance from Reaseheath and who apply before 31st July of the year they intend to start their course. For full details on our halls of residence visit the accommodation pages.

Student support

How do I apply?

Before you apply you can come and visit us at one of our HE Open Events to see what we have to offer. Once we have received your application we will invite you to attend an Offer Holder Day.

Applications for full-time Degrees and Foundation Degrees are made through UCAS. Applications for all other full-time courses such as Access to HE and Level 4 Diplomas should be made directly to Reaseheath via the online application form. You can find out more here.

Student contract

For students to get the best out of their time at University Centre Reaseheath, we must both recognise that we owe obligations to each other. These obligations are set out in our Higher Education Student Contract. Before you accept an offer of a place at University Centre Reaseheath, it is important that you read these contract conditions. If you are going to be living in Halls of Residence, you will also need to read the Student Accommodation Licence Conditions. Both of these contracts can be found here.

Click here to view the University Centre Reaseheath Student Protection Plan.

Our food system is going beyond what our planet can currently sustain and we are in need of innovative food thinkers to create change.

Reaseheath’s FdSc Food Science and Innovation degree will help students understand the global nature of our food supply and how a circular food economy approach that replenishes and supports the natural environment will create a more sustainable, viable future.

Lucy Antal FdSc Northwest Regional Food Economy’s Project Manager for ‘Feedback’

Foundation Degree in Food Science and Innovation

The challenges facing food production today have never been greater.

UCAS Entry Points

Start Date

Course Length

What will I study?

Entry requirements

Further study

Career Options

Useful Information

Our food system is going beyond what our planet can currently sustain and we are in need of innovative food thinkers to create change.

Reaseheath’s FdSc Food Science and Innovation degree will help students understand the global nature of our food supply and how a circular food economy approach that replenishes and supports the natural environment will create a more sustainable, viable future.

Lucy Antal FdSc Northwest Regional Food Economy’s Project Manager for ‘Feedback’

Foundation Degree in Dairy Technology (Project Eden)

BSc (Hons) in Food Manufacturing with Operations Management (Top-Up) (Part-time)

Foundation Degree in Bakery and Patisserie Technology