Food Technology with Bioprocessing with Industrial Training

Food technology with bioprocessing is a discipline at the junction of food science, chemical engineering, and biotechnology. It addresses the practical and scientific challenges of producing safe, nutritious, and appealing food at scale: how ingredients behave during processing, how microbial and enzymatic processes can be harnessed to produce fermented foods, flavours, and functional ingredients, and how quality and safety are maintained from raw material to consumer. Bioprocessing adds the dimension of biological manufacturing, which is increasingly central to the production of food ingredients, dietary supplements, and novel protein sources.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Reading includes an industrial training period, giving you direct professional experience in a food or bioprocessing company as part of your degree. Reading has a long and distinguished history in food science, with research and teaching that connects directly to the food industry, and the industrial placement builds on those connections to give you access to real manufacturing, quality assurance, or product development environments. You will study food chemistry, nutrition, food microbiology, process engineering, bioprocess design, fermentation science, and the regulatory and quality management frameworks that govern food production.

Graduates from this programme pursue careers in food manufacturing, product development, quality assurance and food safety, regulatory affairs, ingredient supply, and the growing bioprocessing and alternative protein sectors. Many graduates enter the major food companies, ingredient manufacturers, and contract research organisations that make up the UK and global food industry. The bioprocessing specialism is increasingly valuable as the industry shifts toward fermentation-derived proteins, precision fermentation, and biologically manufactured ingredients.

Postgraduate study in food science, biotechnology, or process engineering is available for those who want to specialise further or move into research roles.