Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Processing Engineering
Uganda exports raw commodities and imports processed food made from them, and the gap between those two facts is the country's single largest unclaimed industrial opportunity. Closing it requires food scientists and processing engineers who can turn a crop into a safe, compliant, shelf stable ...
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
- Food scientist
- food processing engineer
- product development scientist
- food safety and quality lead
- process engineer
- value addition specialist
- production manager
- technical founder
Employer types
- Food and beverage manufacturers
- agricultural processors
- export and value addition firms
- food safety and standards bodies
- development organisations supporting agro processing
- retailers and food service operators
- research institutes
- regulators
- the graduate's own venture, incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme targets strong graduate compensation in agro processing and supports value addition ventures. Progression routes include the MSc in Food Technology and Industrial Processing and doctoral study.
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 Food Science and Processing Engineering. 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 |
| BFPE 110 | Chemistry for Food Science Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 111 | Biology and Microbiology Foundations Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BFPE 112 | Programming and Data for Food Systems Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BFPE 113 | Mathematics for Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BFPE 130 | Introduction to Food Science and Processing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 131 | Food Chemistry Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BFPE 132 | Food Microbiology and Safety Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BFPE 133 | Engineering Thermodynamics and Transport 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 |
| BFPE 210 | Unit Operations in Food Processing I Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 211 | Food Analysis and Instrumentation Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BFPE 212 | Nutrition and Food Composition Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 213 | Unit Operations in Food Processing II 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 |
| BFPE 230 | Food Preservation and Packaging Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BFPE 231 | Process Engineering and Plant Design Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BFPE 310 | Food Quality Management and HACCP Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BFPE 311 | Product Development and Sensory Science Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 312 | Postharvest Technology and Storage Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 313 | Food Safety Regulation and Standards 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 |
| BFPE 330 | Processing Instrumentation and Automation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 331 | Agribusiness Economics and Project Management Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BFPE 410 | Food Value Chains and Export Compliance Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BFPE 411 | Intelligent Processing and Quality Systems Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BFPE 412 | Advanced Food Processing Engineering Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BFPE 413 | Food Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BFPE 430 | Food Engineering Capstone: A Compliant Product and Process Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| BFPE 431 | Sustainability and Waste Valorisation in Food Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BFPE 432 | Food Specialisation Elective II Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| BFPE 433 | Professional Practice and Food Industry 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 Food Science and Processing Engineering
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 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- 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 Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. 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 1Relate the composition, properties and safety of food to its processing and storage.
- PLO 2Design and operate food processing unit operations against a product specification.
- PLO 3Engineer food safety and quality into a process and verify it.
- PLO 4Develop a food product from concept to manufacturable, compliant specification.
- PLO 5Design, run and analyse food science and process investigations.
- PLO 6Scale a food product from pilot batch toward an industrial line.
- PLO 7Apply food regulation, standards and export requirements as constraints.
- PLO 8Apply data and intelligent systems to processing and quality.
- PLO 9Cost, pitch and defend a value addition product or venture to a decision maker.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
Uganda exports raw commodities and imports processed food made from them, and the gap between those two facts is the country's single largest unclaimed industrial opportunity. Closing it requires food scientists and processing engineers who can turn a crop into a safe, compliant, shelf stable product at industrial scale, and the region trains too few of them to the standard that export markets demand. This programme unites food science and processing engineering so the graduate understands both the food and the plant that makes it, with the pilot processing hall and the laboratory central from Year 1 and food safety treated as an engineering constraint throughout.
Admission requirements
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education with two principal passes including Chemistry or Biology and preferably Mathematics or Physics; plus Uganda Certificate of Education with five passes including Mathematics, sciences and English. Applicants sit a structured reasoning task scored against Capabilities C2 and C7. 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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