A career in food - University College Birmingham

Cooking up incredible careers

University College Birmingham is a centre of excellence for higher education and our chef, bakery and food and nutrition degrees will give you incredible creative and technical skills sought by industry, as well as excellent management skills.

Your studies will be led by industry and you will have access to our wide network of contacts, with placements to give you vital real-world experience. And we have incredible facilities, used by the likes of Michel Roux Jr. to find his yearly scholar.

When it comes to student feedback, our university stands out. We were regional winners for student support at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2024, as voted for by students, demonstrating our commitment to the student experience.

Ready to apply?

Applications for our chef, bakery and nutrition degrees starting in September 2026 are open. You can apply to us today.

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£6k Cost of Living Allowance

At University College Birmingham, we believe the cost of living shouldn’t hold you back from achieving your goals. That’s why we’re providing UK full-time undergraduate students starting in September 2026 with £6,000 each to support expenses like food, bills, and transport - completely free, with no need to pay it back.

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Explore our food-related degree courses

The beauty of studying a culinary degree at University College Birmingham is that we are highly vocational, meaning there are many practical elements on your course, with plenty of opportunities for real, industry experience. Discover more about our culinary courses, including bakery and food science, and what your studies will look like below. Apply on the course page to see if we can make you an offer.

Culinary Arts Management BA (Hons) / FdA

Do you dream of managing high-profile restaurant kitchens or becoming an executive head chef? This flagship course provides the advanced skills you ne…

Professional Chef FdA

If you aspire to work in high-quality food establishments featured in the Michelin Guide or boasting AA rosettes, our two-year Professional Chef foundation degree will e…

Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) / FdSc

Passionate about baking? Whether you dream of being a chocolatier, patissier, making artisan breads or working as a bakery technologist, thi…

Food and Nutrition BSc (Hons) / FdSc

Our Food and Nutrition degree will give you essential knowledge of food science and covers a wide range of core competencies to prepare you for an array o…

£300 million investment into campuses, equipment and resources
City centre location - surrounded by booming businesses, gorgeous green spaces and vibrant nightlife
Network of 1,000 employer contacts to provide valuable placements and excellent careers guidance through HIRED
Tailored support - in the 2025 National Student Survey (NSS), we scored more than 90% on questions about quality of support and student development

Community and support

Our community is diverse and inclusive, helping you forge lifelong friendships, find your people through clubs and societies and build a home away from home.

We also have award-winning support, with expert teams on hand for you to to access everything from academic writing support to help with your health and wellbeing. Our top priority is ensuring you have no barriers to study.

Visit our open day

Come and visit our upcoming open day to learn what it's like to study with us. Our friendly student ambassadors will show you around the facilities and tell you all about student life at University College Birmingham.

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Start your culinary career with the best