To be eligible for the MSc in Food Business and Innovation programme, applicants must hold at least a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ Level 8).

Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) may also be given to applicants who have a minimum of three years of relevant professional experience, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.

For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

- In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

- Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

English Language Requirements
Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

Closing Date: Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.

Non-EU Closing Date: Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

Start Date: 8th September 2025

This course is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests. If these interests do not describe you, this course may prepare you for work you may not find satisfying.

Enterprising

Enterprising people like situations that involve using resources for personal or corporate economic gain. Such people may have an opportunistic frame of mind, and are drawn to commerce, trade and making deals. Some pursue sales and marketing occupations. Many will eventually end up owning their own business, or in management roles in larger organisations. They tend to be very goal-oriented and work best when focused on a target. Some have an entrepreneurial inclination.

Naturalist

Not surprisingly, some aspect of the natural sciences will run through the Naturalist's interests - from ecological awareness to nutrition and health. People with an interest in horticulture, land usage and farming (including fish) are Naturalists.

Some Naturalists focus on animals rather than plants, and may enjoy working with, training, caring for, or simply herding them. Other Naturalists will prefer working with the end result of nature's produce - the food produced from plants and animals. Naturalists like solving problems with solutions that show some sensitivity to the environmental impact of what they do. They like to see practical results and prefer action to talking and discussing.

Skills and Careers Information
Our Food and Innovation course is ideally suited to graduates who seek employment opportunities in a broad sector of food and non-food settings; these areas include market research, consumer research, food business management, product marketing, and brand management, new product development, food retail organisations, the financial sector as food analysts, research institutions and policy organisations, and organisations that support food firms nationally and internationally.

What are our graduates doing?
Graduates on sister programmes have secured employment in international food and non-food firms (Glanbia, Ornua, Kerrygold Ireland, Britvic, Danone, Aldi, Dawn, AIB, LinkedIn), banks, food agencies (Bord Bia, UK Home-Grown Cereals Authority, Teagasc), brand management and marketing departments (Kerry Foods, Musgrave Group, Nestle), non-food agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IBEC, Bord Bia), market research firms (AC Nielsen, Spark Market Research, Dunhumby) and in Higher Education (Munster Technological University, Waterford Institute of Technology, University of Lancaster).