Bachelor of Science in Food Science, Safety and Value Addition
Uganda exports raw commodities and imports processed food made from them. The gap between those two sentences is the country's single largest unclaimed industrial opportunity, and it is not closed by policy alone: it is closed by food techn...
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: 2031.
Roles
- Food technologist
- product development scientist
- quality assurance and food safety manager
- processing plant supervisor
- export compliance officer
- sensory and quality analyst
- packaging technologist
- food manufacturing entrepreneur.
Employer types
- Food and beverage manufacturers
- dairy, grain, coffee, oilseed and horticultural processors
- export companies
- supermarket and retail supply chains
- the national bureau of standards
- regulatory and inspection bodies
- development programmes
- and student founded food ventures.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A large and growing manufacturing sector with persistent shortage of qualified technologists, plus an unusually strong venture route because value addition can start at small scale.
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
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Food Science, Safety and Value Addition. 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 |
| AFT 110 | General and Organic Chemistry Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 111 | Introduction to Food Science and Commodities Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| AFT 112 | Mathematics and Statistics for Food Science Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| AFT 113 | Food Laboratory Practice and Safety Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 130 | Food Chemistry Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 131 | Food Microbiology Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 132 | Food Engineering Principles: Heat and Mass Transfer Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 133 | Nutrition and Human Health Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 210 | Food Processing and Preservation Technologies Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 211 | Food Analysis and Instrumentation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 212 | Food Safety Management Systems and Hazard Analysis Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 213 | Postharvest Handling and Loss Reduction Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| 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 |
| AFT 230 | Pilot Plant Processing Practicum Performance | 6 | 1-0-10 |
| AFT 231 | Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Science Performance | 2 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 310 | New Product Development Studio Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| AFT 311 | Packaging Technology and Shelf Life Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 312 | Dairy, Grain and Oilseed Processing Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| AFT 313 | Food Quality Data and Statistical Process Control Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| 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 |
| AFT 330 | Industrial Placement in Food Manufacturing Performance | 6 | 0-0-0 |
| AFT 331 | Food Law, Standards and Certification Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AFT 410 | Export Compliance, Traceability and Market Access Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 411 | Beverage, Coffee and Fermentation Technology Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 412 | Plant Design, Utilities and Process Economics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AFT 430 | Food Capstone: Product Launch or Plant Improvement (client verified) Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| AFT 431 | Fruit, Vegetable and Horticultural Processing Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| AFT 432 | Food Enterprise, Costing and Route to Market Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 433 | Professional Practice and Ethics in Food Systems Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 178
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Food Science, Safety and Value Addition
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 · 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 4 of 4, Leading
- 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 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 3 of 4, Independent
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
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 1Apply food chemistry, microbiology and physics to product behaviour and stability.
- PLO 2Design and operate unit processes for preservation transformation and packaging.
- PLO 3Develop a new food product from concept to specification and validated shelf life.
- PLO 4Implement and audit food safety management and quality systems.
- PLO 5Meet the standards and documentation required for regional and international market access.
- PLO 6Apply data and sensory science to quality control and consumer acceptance.
- PLO 7Build the economic case for a value addition investment.
Why this programme exists
Uganda exports raw commodities and imports processed food made from them. The gap between those two sentences is the country's single largest unclaimed industrial opportunity, and it is not closed by policy alone: it is closed by food techn...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Chemistry and Biology, or Chemistry and Agriculture, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and English. 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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