FdSc Bakery and Patisserie Technology

Perfecting your practical skills while exploring the science behind your creations is a recipe for success in the bakery industry.

Whether your goal is to travel the world as an artisan baker, become an awardwinning cake maker with your own business, or be the next celebrity chef, our Foundation degree will ensure you leave with all the skills and knowledge you need for a rewarding career.

People in Action - Food

Course Overview

By studying the FdSc Bakery and Patisserie Technology at UCR, you will be equipped with a well-rounded knowledge of the bakery and patisserie industry, in preparation for employment within the artisan or industrial sectors when you graduate. 

A key focus of your studies will be on the development of practical skills in the first year, followed by gaining a good understanding of industrial automated production methods in the second year. 

You will learn in our Reaseheath Food Centre, which is an industry leading academy and the only one of its kind in an academic setting. Featuring industry standard food processing halls, a bakery and innovation rooms for new product development and scale-ups, we are confident you will not find a better place to begin your bakery career.  

Course Features

  • Experience working in a commercial setting
  • Bread making
  • Sugar and chocolate work
  • Patisserie and desserts
  • Site visits
  • Work placement
  • Strong employer partnerships 

Career Options

  • New product development
  • Research and development
  • Food marketing
  • Buying
  • Laboratory analysis and testing
  • Bakery entrepreneur
  • Quality management 

BSc (Hons) Food Manufacturing with Operations Mgmt (Top-up)

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Course Information

Modules are delivered through practical work and theoretical lectures. 

There is a compulsory 4 week work placement in the chosen specialism module. Travel arrangements for this are at your own cost.

  • A minimum of 64 tariff points from A and AS levels to include a Food or Science subject
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) – a minimum grade MPP in Applied Science or in a Hospitality and Catering subject
  • Pearson BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
  • City & Guilds Level 3 Technical Advanced Extended Diploma (1080 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MPP in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
  • City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma (720 – first awarded in 2019) – a minimum of grade MM in Applied Science or a Hospitality and Catering subject
  • Mature students (aged 21+) will be considered on an individual basis on their prior knowledge and experience. This may be assessed by interview, completion of coursework/essay or other methods. There may be a requirement for a formal qualification to be completed first e.g. Access to Higher Education course
  • Food Materials and Product Manufacture
  • Food Safety in Manufacturing
  • Introductory Bakery Skills
  • Sugar and Chocolate Technology
  • Artisan Bakery Skills
  • Food Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Food Innovation and the New Product Development
  • Weddings Cakes and Entremets
  • Research Methods
  • Artisan Patisserie and Desserts
  • Work Based Learning
  • Processing and Quality Assurance of Baked Goods

Overall workload

Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity, plus field trips. The following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each year of the course:

Year 1:

26% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 306 hours

Independent Study: 894 hours

 

Year 2:

22% of your time is spent in timetabled teaching and learning activity

Teaching, Learning and Assessment: 268 hours

Placement: 100 hours

Independent Study: 832 hours

Assessment Methods

Assessments are designed to encourage both academic skills and skills valued in the workplace. They include a combination of coursework, practical assessments, and time constrained online assessments. Coursework may take many forms including essays, reports, data processing, presentations, academic posters, seminar discussions, interviews, critical reviews, portfolios of evidence and practical competency assessments. The time constrained online assessments vary, depending on the nature of the module, but may take the form of multiple-choice questions, essays, practical assessments, data handling questions, short answer quizzes, and in class assessments.

The approximate percentage of the course assessed by coursework is as follows:

Year 1

71% coursework

21% online time constrained assessments

8% Practical

Year 2

69% coursework

13% online assessments

18% Practical

Feedback

Feedback is supplied via Turnitin or directly from the module tutor. The majority of submissions are made via Turnitin and feedback for coursework is provided four working weeks after the submission date. If for unforeseen reasons this is not possible, the reasons will be communicated to the students within 2 weeks and the feedback prioritised within the department.

Written feedback will be supported verbally should the student require clarification. Formative assessment feedback will be provided at the time of completion where possible, with more detailed summative feedback for reports.

To offer graduates a leading position in the jobs market, students are given the opportunity to enhance their career prospects by taking additional qualifications during their course of study. These could include a range of qualifications such as:

  • Highfield Level 3 Award in HACCP for Food Manufacturing
  • Highfield Level 3 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing
  • Students are encouraged to join the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) as an associate (student) member

Students will be able to access course timetables for the academic year in September.

Timetables are subject to change, but full-time students can expect to spend 2-3 days per week on campus. Part-time students will only attend for summative assessments or required workshops. 

Tuition Fees

As a student at UCR, you will have two main costs to meet; your tuition fees and living costs.

Our full-time tuition fees for UK and EU students, entering University, can be found on our student finance page. These fees are charged for each academic year of a course and are set by the college annually.

Tuition fees for international students can also be found on our student finance page.

Equipment Costs

  • £115 for chef’s whites
  • £50 per year for laundry


Prices of equipment are subject to change dependent on retailer.

Full-time: Apply directly through UCAS

Part-time: Apply directly through Reaseheath

A minimum of 64 UCAS points

September 2022
September 2023

Full-time: 2 years

Part-time: 4 years by blended learning

Useful Information

Here you will find useful information about the services and support available at University Centre Reaseheath. Click to expand each item:

University Centre Reaseheath is committed to providing additional financial support to those who need it. To find out about the bursary schemes available visit our additional financial support page.

For students to get the best out of their time at University Centre Reaseheath, we must both recognise that we owe obligations to each other. These obligations are set out in our UCR Student Contract. Before you accept an offer of a place at University Centre Reaseheath, it is important that you read these contract conditions. If you are going to be living in Halls of Residence, you will also need to read the Student Accommodation Licence Conditions. Both of these contracts can be found here.

Click here to view the University Centre Reaseheath Student Protection Plan.

All UCR students are given the opportunity to apply for residential accommodation. First year students are guaranteed accommodation and this offer is made to all applicants who live more than a reasonable daily travelling distance from Reaseheath (providing you have applied before the UCAS equal considerations deadline. For full details on our halls of residence visit our accommodation page.

We have a team of dedicated professionals on hand to offer you support. These include our Student Services Team, Inclusive Learning Team, Library and Learning Resources Team and the Reaseheath Careers Service. You can find more information on the support provided at Reaseheath on our support page.

University Centre Reaseheath is proud to welcome international students. For more information, please visit our international students page.