Key information
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time
- Degree qualification
- MSc
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Start date
- September
Our MSc Food Process Engineering provides you with an opportunity to develop your chemical, process engineering, food science, or biology knowledge to the specific requirements and context of the food and drink sector. You’ll explore core theories and subjects across chemical engineering, process engineering, brewing, distilling, bioscience, and biology to set you up for a process engineering career in the food and beverage industry.
During your studies, you’ll apply engineering skills and knowledge to the specialist requirements of the food and drink sector and gain a broad spectrum of expertise. You’ll assess sustainability issues involved in food production and learn to apply a variety of solutions to food and drink sustainability problems.
You’ll have the opportunity to learn from a comprehensive course structure, exploring topics in food and beverage biotechnology, processing, chemistry, toxicology, microbiology, nutrition, and biochemistry whilst also analysing emerging food products, and the life cycle of food production. During the Future Foods course and your summer Dissertation, you’ll customise your learning by focusing in on a chosen subject as part of your individual research projects.
Beyond the science and engineering, you will work with your academics and peers to gain valuable transferable skills. You’ll develop your team working ability, communication, time management, prioritisation, job seeking, and interview skills and techniques.
Upon completion of the programme, you will have the breadth and depth of knowledge in the necessary subjects required by the food and drink industry. You’ll understand the underlying principles, concepts, theories, methods, and current and emerging developments in the food industry, which will equip you for life after graduation.
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active chemical and process engineers and academics, and our brewing and distilling scientists and academics. You’ll be taught by academics who have been employed within the Food Industry, with years of practical and professional experience in research and development.
96% of Heriot-Watt University’s engineering research was classed as world-leading in the REF 2021 review, which ranked us 1st in Scotland and 3rd in the UK for engineering research through a joint submission with the University of Edinburgh.
Chemical and Process Engineering has been taught and researched at Heriot-Watt University for over 50 years. Heriot-Watt is ranked 2nd in Scotland and 8th in the UK for chemical engineering by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2024). The MSc Food Process Engineering is directly informed by the world class research carried out by the Research Institute for Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering.
Research Institute for Biological, Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering focuses on four main themes:
- Biological Chemistry
- Bioengineering
- Brewing and Distilling
Teaching in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt began in 1903, which led to the establishment of the highly reputable International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) in 1989. The ICBD has established itself as an excellent research centre, with close ties with the professional and industrial world of science, engineering, and technology.
The International Centre for Brewing and Distilling is a unique teaching and research facility which meets the needs of the brewing, distilling and malting industries worldwide. You will learn directly from academics involved in this world leading research, whose work focuses on promoting excellence across five main research themes across the brewing and distilling industries:
- Raw materials
- Malting
- Process improvement
- Sustainability
- Biochemistry and microbiology
As part of the Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, our academics are involved in in food science research. You will learn directly from academics involved in world leading research focusing on the functional properties of food proteins, characterisation of beneficial food related phytochemicals, and nanomaterials in food.
The research relevance of this postgraduate programme ensures your studies remain innovative and industry focused.
Go Global
With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.
Inter-Campus Transfer
Course content
September Intake - Edinburgh
Mandatory September
- Process Engineering A
- Future Foods
- Beverage Microbiology and Biochemistry
- Food and Beverage Toxicology
Mandatory January
- Research and Professional Practice
- Food Processing
- Food Biotechnology
- Chemistry of Food
Mandatory May
- MSc Dissertation Project
Fees and funding
| Status | Full Time |
|---|---|
| UK | £12,192 |
| International | £25,480 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Scholarships and bursaries
Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
A minimum of honours degree at 2:2 or non-UK equivalent in a related subject. Suitable degrees can include chemical engineering, chemistry, biosciences/technology, agriculture, food engineering or cognate discipline. If your degree does not contain mathematics or chemistry content, we hope to see this evidenced through alternative means such as secondary school certificate. Non-relevant degrees will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Student life
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