QMU-Postgraduate Prospectus QMU PG Mini Prospectus 2019 sp | Page 59

Why QMU? Research Entry requirements Our MSc Gastronomy course is unique in the UK. It is the only course that currently offers students the opportunity to engage in the multidisciplinary study of food, taking a holistic view and developing an understanding of the complex connections between food culture and communication, systems and science, production and politics and more. The broad-reaching and multidisciplinary nature of the field of gastronomy, and the wide-reaching and ubiquitous nature of food to our lives, means that the research elements can of course include or be related to many areas of research. At the time of writing, current students are researching issues around the sustainability and marketing of food, the representation of food in the media, food’s role in shaping identities and relationships, and the role of food in knowledge transfer and art. Staff members are currently researching the social influence of TV chefs, the notion of food sovereignty in Scotland, emerging trends in the teaching of food, and the growing recognition of the importance of the emerging field of gastronomy itself. There are several routes to entry. Through a diverse range of course tutors and expert guest speakers, and on a variety of field trips and site visits, students gain invaluable insight into the many different ways that food influences our lives and shapes the world around us, and how a better understanding of food can help to solve many of the world’s social and environmental problems. The course builds on QMU’s history as an innovative provider of food-related courses and is continuing to break new ground in this developing field. After studying this course, we promise you’ll never eat the same way again! The tutors aim to make the course as experiential and inspirational as possible, using field trips, site visits, practical workshops and expert speakers to explore food from every possible angle. This is not a cookery course! Building on the definition of gastronomy as ‘the study of all things concerning the nourishment of humankind’, students are exposed to a wide range of topics and debates including, physiology and microbiology, taste and quality, anthropology and sociology, economics and politics, agriculture and public health, linguistics and semiotics, and so much more. Understanding how all of these topics and issues are linked and influence each other is the basis of the gastronomical approach. Career prospects Students will place themselves in the enviable position of gaining exposure to a wide range of industry experiences and contacts, and a broad range of contemporary food issues, which will enable them to gain employment and make interventions and transformations in a wide variety of areas. Past graduates from the course have, for example, gone on to further study and research, started new food businesses and consultancies, developed new food products, started community projects and social enterprises, moved into campaigning and policy roles, and have gone on to teaching jobs at secondary, further and higher levels. There is no single route into gastronomy, and there is no single route out. 57 - Applicants may have a first degree in an associated subject, for example, a BA (Hons) in Hospitality, Culinary Arts, or Nutrition. - An honours degree (or equivalent) in a different discipline but where the applicant has a demonstrable passion for food and drink. - An applicant may potentially be a mature student who has spent a considerable period of time in industry and wishes to formalise their education. International: Where your honours degree has not been studied in English, you will be required to provide evidence of English language competence at no less than IELTS 6.5 with no individual component score less than 6.0. Full course information can be accessed on our website at www.qmu.ac. uk/study-here/course-a- z/?tab=postgraduate