Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Science
Every luxury hotel, fine dining restaurant, airline, cruise ship and food brand competes on the kitchen, and skilled chefs are in shortage on every continent. Africa's culinary traditions are among the least documented and least commercialised in the world, and the region trains cooks by ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2032.
Roles
- Chef de partie to sous chef track
- pastry chef
- executive chef track
- hotel and resort kitchen management
- airline
- cruise and contract catering chef
- menu and product development chef
- food stylist and culinary media professional
- gastronomy researcher and educator
- food safety and quality lead
- restaurant and food venture founder
- Forward University · School of Hospitality
- Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume
Employer types
- Luxury hotels and resorts
- fine dining and destination restaurants
- airlines
- cruise lines and contract caterers
- food manufacturers and product developers
- culinary schools and food media
- safari lodges and remote hospitality operations
- event and banqueting companies
- the graduate's own restaurant
- catering or food brand
- and the graduate's own venture
- incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme targets professional kitchen roles in luxury hotels, fine dining and international catering at internationally benchmarked compensation, and supports food ventures through the Venture Studio. Progression routes include the MSc in Culinary Innovation and Food Entrepreneurship and doctoral study in food science.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4. Read the co-op commitment
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Science. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BCAG 110 | Culinary Foundations I: Knife, Fire and Technique Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 111 | Food Safety, Hygiene and HACCP Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BCAG 112 | Introduction to Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Gastronomy and the Food Industry Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BCAG 113 | Food Science I: Ingredients and Transformation Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BCAG 130 | Culinary Foundations II: Stocks, Sauces and Method Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 131 | Bakery and Pastry Foundations Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BCAG 132 | Nutrition for Culinary Professionals Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BCAG 133 | Kitchen Mathematics, Costing and Purchasing Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recessterm) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BCAG 210 | Restaurant Production I: The Teaching Restaurant Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 211 | Food Science II: Emulsions, Fermentation and Texture Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BCAG 212 | World Cuisines and Culinary Cultures Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 213 | Menu Engineering Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume and Kitchen Economics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BCAG 230 | Advanced Pastry, Chocolate and Plated Desserts Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BCAG 231 | Beverage Studies, Wine and Pairing Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BCAG 310 | Restaurant Production II: Section Leadership Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BCAG 311 | African Gastronomy: Research and Elevation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 312 | Butchery, Charcuterie and Whole Animal Cookery Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 313 | Kitchen Management and Brigade Leadership Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BCAG 330 | Large Volume, Banquet and Airline Catering Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 331 | Food Product Development and Commercialisation Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BCAG 410 | Garde Manger, Modern Techniques and Plating Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BCAG 411 | Intelligent Kitchens: Data, Waste and Production Analytics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BCAG 412 | Advanced Gastronomy and Creative Cuisine Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BCAG 413 | Culinary Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BCAG 430 | Culinary Capstone: Concept, Menu and Service for Paying Guests Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| BCAG 431 | Sustainable Sourcing and Food Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BCAG 432 | Culinary Specialisation Elective II Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| BCAG 433 | Professional Practice and Culinary Leadership Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
Total credit units: 176
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Assessment follows Part E without variation. Across the programme the aggregate weighting is 35 per cent continuous assessment and built artefacts, 25 per cent authentic performance including practical examination and oral defence, 30 per cent external practitioner assessment in the final year, and not more than 40 per cent written examination in any single course. The capstone is client verified and the Day One Assessment contributes 5 per cent of the final year mark. Assessment principles. Assessment is authentic, criterion referenced and, for every capability claim above Level 2, verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer. There is no compensation between competencies: a student must master each one, and a marginal performance in one cannot be offset by strength in another. Feedback is returned quickly, within seven days of a block closing in the Block Sequence, so that it can inform the next unit. A student who does not yet meet the standard is given a further, structured attempt under Part E rather than being carried forward, which protects the value of the award while supporting progression. Reasonable adjustments for disability are made under Part D without altering the competency standard.
Work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4.
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts and Gastronomy Science
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1 | YEAR 1 | 22
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Execute classical and contemporary culinary technique to professional standard, consistently and at pace.
- PLO 2Run a professional kitchen section and a full kitchen: brigade, production, timing and quality.
- PLO 3Apply food science to cooking, preservation ol of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and and product development.
- PLO 4Engineer menus that are excellent, costed and profitable.
- PLO 5Guarantee food safety, hygiene and allergen management under HACCP.
- PLO 6Research, document and elevate African gastronomy to fine dining and product standard.
- PLO 7Create and present pastry, bakery and plated desserts to professional standard.
- PLO 8Apply nutrition and dietary requirements to menu design for diverse guests.
- PLO 9Cost, pitch and defend a food product, restaurant concept or venture.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
Every luxury hotel, fine dining restaurant, airline, cruise ship and food brand competes on the kitchen, and skilled chefs are in shortage on every continent. Africa's culinary traditions are among the least documented and least commercialised in the world, and the region trains cooks by apprenticeship or short course rather than as culinary professionals who understand the science, the economics and the creative discipline of food. This programme produces the chef who can run a professional kitchen to international standard, understands why food behaves as it does, engineers a menu that is both excellent and profitable, and can build a food enterprise. Students are in the kitchen from the first term, cook for paying guests in the Forward Teaching Restaurant throughout, and complete twelve months of paid co-op in fine dining, hotel and international kitchens.
Admission requirements
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education with two principal passes, preferably including a science; plus Uganda Certificate of Education with five passes including English, Mathematics and a science. Applicants complete a practical kitchen aptitude and hygiene task and a short interview, scored against Capabilities C6 and C10. Forward College culinary diplomas are admitted with advanced standing; equivalent international qualifications are assessed against this profile. All applicants must demonstrate competence in English, the language of instruction, through their qualifications or an approved proficiency test under Part A. International and non standard qualifications are assessed for equivalence against the profile above under the Credential Portability provisions, so that a suitably prepared applicant may enter from anywhere in the world. Selection considers the whole application, including the structured admission task, and is conducted without discrimination under the University's admissions policy. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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