Master of Science in Food Technology and Industrial Processing
Scaling a food product from a pilot batch to an industrial line, and keeping it compliant enough to export, is where most African food manufacturing ambition fails. This programme is built for that specific failure: process scale up, plant ...
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 process engineer
- production and plant manager
- quality assurance manager
- product development lead
- export compliance manager
- food manufacturing consultant
- manufacturing founder.
Employer types
- Food and beverage manufacturers
- dairy, grain, coffee and horticultural processors
- export companies
- equipment suppliers
- standards and regulatory bodies
- and industrial development programmes.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Senior technical and management roles in a growing manufacturing sector with acute shortage of qualified process engineers.
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 Master of Science in Food Technology and Industrial Processing. 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?
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 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 510 | Advanced Food Engineering and Unit Operations Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| AFT 511 | Advanced Food Chemistry and Microbiology Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| AFT 512 | Process Analytics and Statistical Quality Control Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AFT 513 | Food Regulation, Standards and Certification Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AFT 520 | Process Scale Up, Validation and Technology Transfer Performance | 7 | 1-0-12 |
| AFT 521 | Plant Design, Utilities and Process Economics Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| AFT 522 | Advanced Product and Package Development Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| AFT 523 | Export Systems, Traceability and Audit Readiness Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 524 | Advanced Elective Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFT 530 | Dissertation: Industrial Process or Product Commission Performance | 20 | 0-2-38 |
| AFT 531 | Manufacturing Operations, Maintenance and Lean Systems Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AFT 532 | Research Communication and Technical Reporting Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
Total credit units: 90
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 Master of Science in Food Technology and Industrial Processing
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 SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU
Cumulative
30
Programme total
90
30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)
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 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- 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 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- 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 1Design and optimise industrial food processes and their unit operations.
- PLO 2Scale a product from pilot to industrial production with documented validation.
- PLO 3Design plant layout, utilities and process economics for a manufacturing investment.
- PLO 4Implement and audit advanced food safety and quality management systems.
- PLO 5Achieve regulatory and buyer compliance for regional and international markets.
- PLO 6Conduct applied research or a development project to commission standard.
Why this programme exists
Scaling a food product from a pilot batch to an industrial line, and keeping it compliant enough to export, is where most African food manufacturing ambition fails. This programme is built for that specific failure: process scale up, plant ...
Admission requirements
A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division in food science, chemical or agricultural engineering, chemistry, biotechnology or a cognate discipline. 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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