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Master's degree (2 years)
Full time
Sustainable Food Systems

Do you want to solve the future challenges of providing enough food for the world's growing population? Do you want to understand how food is produced? A Master's degree in Sustainable Food Systems will give you the knowledge and experience you need.

Apply here

Start of Studies:

Autumn

Number of students:

30

Requirements:

180 credits, equivalent to a bachelor's degree, are required in subject areas that are relevant within the framework of a food system.

  • Requirements in detail

    Applicants need 180 ECTS, equivalent to a bachelor's degree, in fields relevant to food systems, such as animal science, aquaculture, plants, food, agriculture, biology, environment, public health, waste management, biorefining, or economics. A motivation letter is required and will be an important part of the admission process. A minimum grade of C on the bachelor's degree is required. The program is taught in English, and applicants must document sufficient English proficiency.

Bildet viser " fremtidens mat " representert ved fiskeavfall fiskehode, finner, rekehoder, gresshopper, treverk, kvister, gress og tang
Sauer på beite ved UMB (Norderås)
Gris med matvarer i handlekurv. Illustrasjonsfoto for Husdyrfag. Tatt i grisefjøset ved UMB.
kyr på beite

One of the greatest challenges we face in the future is ensuring access to nutritious and safe food for the global population while reducing environmental impacts. Additionally, we must achieve balance within food systems to ensure social and economic sustainability. Effective resource management requires knowledge of food systems and the complex interactions within and between chains, levels, and dimensions.

Through this program, students will develop interdisciplinary competence and the ability to take action at a high academic level. They will gain insight into complex systems, from micro to macro levels, and across disciplines and timeframes (both short-term and long-term). System understanding is enhanced through hands-on reflection and teamwork. By recruiting students from various academic backgrounds, the program benefits from a wide range of perspectives from different parts of the food system. A digital learning tool is under development to explore food systems and analyze the consequences of changes.

The program consists of 120 ECTS credits, of which 30 are mandatory courses. In addition, students can choose electives within their areas of interest in food systems, participate in exchanges, or undertake internships. During the spring semester of the second year, students will write a 30-ECTS master's thesis, which is encouraged to be completed in collaboration with a fellow program student. Read the education plan here.

Career opportunities

The business sector and other key societal actors are increasingly seeking expertise in sustainable food systems. The job market for candidates with a master’s degree in sustainable food systems is highly diverse, offering opportunities in both the private and public sectors, industry, and academia—both nationally and internationally.

Graduates of the master’s program will also be well-qualified to pursue PhD studies at universities in Norway and abroad.

  • Learning outcomes

    Sustainability in food systems is a transdisciplinary field that requires reflection skills and the ability to see the whole in complex systems. These are qualities that must be trained in the students, who enter the program with different professional backgrounds. Through various learning activities, the students must build up their own ability to interact and utilize knowledge both within and between professional professions and in various structures in society (e.g. interest organisations, authorities etc.).

    A candidate who has completed the education is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence.

    Knowledge

    • Have advanced knowledge of different food systems and assess what affects the balance in the systems
    • Be able to analyze complex issues in food systems, such as e.g. organization of food systems, insight into global food systems, nutrition/health aspects, documentation of sustainability, shifting of burdens or competition between food/feed, as well as assessing sustainable solutions
    • Be able to assess sustainability in a food system in different perspectives and dimensions
    • Be able to assess interactions and contradictions between different dimensions and sustainability goals and make qualified priorities to achieve innovative solutions

    Skills

    • Make relevant contributions in an interdisciplinary team by being able to convey and communicate about issues within the field
    • Be able to analyze sustainable solutions based on empirical observations and data as well as available literature at an advanced level
    • Be able to critical thinking, reasoning and communicate possible solutions for sustainable food systems and how these are related to the sustainability goals

    Competence

    • Apply acquired knowledge and skills to assess complex issues related to sustainable food systems
    • See the whole of a food system and analyze different perspectives of sustainability and how this can produce different solutions and consequences
    • Ability to demonstrate operational competence around sustainable food systems at a high professional level

    Make scientific assessments of issues related to sustainable food systems

  • Exchange possibilities

    Arrangements are made for traveling on exchange in the second half of the programme. In the spring parallel, there are no compulsory courses, and SDG300, which is added to the January block of the same semester, can be taken the following year for does going on a exchange. Students can go on exchange with one of the 150 exchange agreements NMBU already has.

  • Program structure

    The study comprises a total of 120 credits. In the first autumn, you have a compulsory course that starts in August and continues in the autumn parallel. In January, you continue with the compulsory course SDG300. You can then choose optional courses in the first spring and the second autumn. In the spring of the second year, everyone is encouraged to write 30 credits master's thesis in collaboration with another student on the master's programme.

    Social relevance

    Knowledge of food systems and the complex interactions within and between chains, levels, and dimensions is essential for optimal resource management. NMBU has a responsibility to produce and disseminate this knowledge to contribute to a sustainable future based on informed decisions. Sustainable food systems require interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, where different disciplines and academic levels come together to find new solutions.

    Young people are highly motivated to contribute to sustainable solutions, and study programs in sustainability and food systems are in high demand among students. Similarly, employers in both the business sector and other critical societal functions seek expertise in sustainable food systems. NMBU thus has a societal mission: to educate outstanding candidates who, together with our research, develop new perspectives and innovations to secure the foundations of life for the future.

    Learning activities

    Learning activities are largely student-centered and include case studies in interdisciplinary teams, reflection, seminars, and presentations. Teaching is project- and case-based, focusing on work in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams. This enables students to see the bigger picture, apply knowledge across disciplines, and develop collaboration skills. The goal is to foster innovative solutions for the future of food systems.

    Students will also be trained in critical thinking and reflection on the interactions and trade-offs within food systems that affect sustainability. Seminars and presentations will serve as important platforms for enhancing academic communication skills.

    Mentorship Program
    A mentorship program will be established, where master’s students in their fourth semester serve as mentors for bachelor’s students, particularly in the course SDG200. Through this mentorship role, master’s students can test and systematize their reflections on current issues, thereby strengthening their reflective and action-oriented competence. At the same time, the learning activities in SDG200 will be expanded, providing bachelor’s students with early exposure to complex topics.

    Practical Experience and Internships
    To connect students’ learning with relevant real-world challenges, internships with relevant companies or research projects will be facilitated during the program. Two new courses are proposed: one focusing on sustainable food systems and one on research practice. This allows students to choose a practical or research-oriented track, depending on whether they aim for a career in industry or academia.

  • More about the program
    • Societal relevance

      Knowledge of food systems and the complex interactions within and between chains, levels and dimensions are essential for managing resources as best as possible. NMBU must produce and deliver such knowledge so that we help shape the future through knowledge-based decisions. Knowledge of sustainable food systems requires cross- and transdisciplinary collaboration, where different disciplines and different professional levels can find new solutions together. Young people are highly motivated to contribute in this direction and education offers in sustainability and food systems are in demand by students. Businesses and other possible employers for our students in important social functions also demand expertise in sustainable food systems and we must produce the knowledge that is necessary. Our societal mission is precisely to educate outstanding candidates who, together with our research, raise new perspectives and create innovation that helps to secure the basis of life for the future.

    • Learning activities

      The learning activities in the program will mainly center around student activities, such as case studies, experts-in-team, reflection, seminars and presentations. Project-oriented and case-based teaching, with work in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, will contribute to the students being able to see connections and apply acquired knowledge, while at the same time developing good abilities for collaboration and for utilizing available knowledge resources crosswise to promote innovative solutions for future food systems. At the same time, the students will be trained in critical thinking and reflection around interactions and contradictions in various parts of a food system and which affect the sustainability of the system. In order to strengthen the ability to disseminate specialist knowledge, seminars and presentations will be part of the learning activities.

      A mentoring scheme will be established where the master's students from the spring parallel in the 4th year of study will be able to act as mentors for students at lower level, preferably in the course SDG200. Through being a mentor, the master's students will be able to test out and systematize their own reflections on current issues, which will further mature their own reflection and action skills. In addition, it will expand the possibilities of having more types of learning activities in SDG200, which stimulate early reflection among the students.

      In order to link the students' learning to current and practical issues in working life, arrangements will be made to take an internship at relevant companies or research projects during the course of the programme.

    • Examination

      The students' learning is in focus, with separate learning processes for the development of reflection as competence, so that the students are trained to reflect on complex problems in a good way. Such competence must be practiced through practice and the use of reflection notes will therefore be central to the assessment of the learning outcome of the individual student and will be a compulsory activity. In addition, students will be assessed through presentations, group assignments, semester assignments, oral/written exams, depending on the need in the individual courses.

Study advisor(s):

Gisken Trøan

Gisken Trøan

Senior Advisor
Cathrine Strømø

Cathrine Strømø

Senior Advisor