Overview The global food sector is highly complex: ingredients are diverse, production and processing cross borders, and supply chains span continents. This two-year English-taught Master's programme in Germany is designed to tackle those complexities by focusing on sustainable production and distribution of safe, high-quality food. The programme is noted in Germany for directly addressing pressing 21st-century challenges such as feeding a growing world population and optimising or developing resilient supply chains.
What you will learn and how The curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach that blends scientific, legal and economic perspectives. You will work on real-world case studies and participate in ongoing research projects, gaining practical problem-solving experience. Core teaching areas include:
International students should note the programme language is English. To prepare for application and study abroad, check visa and residence requirements, estimated living costs for Bayreuth, and options for housing; contact the programme office for guidance on internships, supervision, and research opportunities.
Requirements (summary)
This full-time master’s programme runs for four semesters and totals 120 ECTS (30 ECTS per semester). It is organised in modular form to build a coherent, practice-oriented curriculum that combines laboratory- and data-focused topics with legal, managerial and communication skills. You will complete case studies and a compulsory internship to apply theory in real-world settings and strengthen professional competencies.
Core subject modules include Biology and Biochemistry of Food, Human Biology, Food Chemistry, Data Science/Statistics, Food Law, Management and Science Communication. Together these modules deliver:
Teaching and research take place at the Faculty of Life Sciences in Kulmbach (about 25 km from the university’s main campus), where students benefit from close links to industry and public institutes — for example the Max Rubner Institute, the Bavarian Control Authority for Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine, KErn (Competence Centre for Nutrition), the State Technical College for Food Technology and the Kulmbach Clinical Centre. These partnerships inform practice-oriented courses, offer project and networking opportunities, and often open career pathways. Prospective students can preview the faculty’s work through a related MOOC, which is free to audit and offers a paid verified certificate after passing the exam.
Admission overview
You must hold a completed university degree (Bachelor’s) in Biology or Biochemistry — or a closely related Life Sciences programme — with a final grade of 2.5 ("gut") or better on the German grading scale. If your qualification is judged comparable to these subjects, it may also be accepted.
Applicants who earned their degree outside the EU must submit their application documents through uni-assist and will go through uni-assist’s fee-based special procedure for document checking. There is an aptitude test as part of the selection process. For detailed instructions, required documents, deadlines and any additional steps, consult the program’s application information on the website and the uni-assist documentation pages.
Key application requirements (summary)
Winter Semester (International)
15 June 2026
Winter Semester (EU/EEA)
15 June 2026
Graduates are prepared for professional roles in the food industry, public authorities, regulatory bodies, quality and safety management, food law and compliance, supply chain management, and related consulting positions. The programme’s mix of scientific, legal and economic training equips alumni to work in quality assurance, risk and safety assessment, product development oversight, regulatory affairs, and industry or institutional compliance units.
Thanks to the faculty’s close cooperation with regional companies and research institutes, graduates also have good access to applied research roles and networking opportunities that can lead to positions at research institutes (e.g. Max Rubner Institute), governmental food safety authorities, private-sector quality departments, and international organisations. The integrated internship and practice-oriented modules strengthen employability for both industry and public-sector careers; academically inclined graduates can also pursue research or doctoral studies afterwards.