Food Security (MSc)

Explore our Food Security taught Master's degree at Warwick

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P-D4A3

MSc

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

29 September 2025

Life Sciences

University of Warwick

Consider the critical factors influencing global food security on Warwick's Food Security MSc, where you will analyse the contributions of climate change, biodiversity, land use, labour, diet and urbanisation. Join the University of Warwick's School of Life Sciences, with 90% of our research rated as 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent' (REF 2021).

Delivering global food security is one of the critical challenges of the 21st century. Each nation needs to balance local food production with imports and consider environmental and economic impact. This master's course considers the critical factors influencing global food security including the contributions of climate change, biodiversity, water, soil, land use, labour, diet and urbanisation.

Skills from this degree

You will gain:

• An understanding of current food production and distribution practices with an appreciation of how they can fail and ensuing health and policy issues
• An ability to critically evaluate how constraints on crop production can change due to biotic and societal pressures
• An ability to select and apply appropriate tools or techniques to tackle a food security question or problem
• Transferable skills including team working, communicating with peers and sector specialists, organising, planning and oral presentation
• Research skills including scientific report writing, conducting surveys, problem solving, data analysis and project work

You'll be taught by expert scientists who undertake research in solving major global challenges in areas such as food security, disease control, bioenergy, systems biology, neurobiology and climate change. Also, external professional experts teach on selected modules giving a vital extra dimension to your teaching experience. 

Teaching is via facilitated sessions, including interactive lectures, short question and answer sessions and interactive workshops/tutorials and field visits. Individual and team learning will be used for case study analysis.

Class sizes for this course vary between 5 to 90 students.

Depending on the module contact hours vary between 15-25 per week.

Assessment is continuous and varies between modules. It typically includes essays, seminar presentations, practical reports, oral evaluation and assessed group work.

You will undertake an individual project during the third term and there is an option to undertake a work-based placement as part of your project. Your project/placement will be assessed by a seminar presentation, a 6,000 word dissertation and a Research Performance piece.

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogueLink opens in a new window.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

• Band B
• 7.0 overall with minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.