Nutrition and Home Economics
This Bachelor of Science degree course is centred around the practical application of scientific expertise and is interdisciplinary in nature, encompassing science, social science and economics-oriented subjects.
It qualifies you for a professional career in nutrition and dietetics, providing nutritional advice and dietary education to people with and without health issues, or developing and testing foods, production equipment and procedures for the food and beverage industry. We run focal modules on organising catering and food supply services and on ensuring and monitoring food safety and food product quality.
Your future career
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The course’s interdisciplinary character means its graduates are ideally suited to careers at the points of intersection between various fields of manufacturing, services and the public and third sectors.
You might provide nutritional advice and education in schools, hospitals and businesses; develop and market new food and beverage products; plan and manage large-scale catering services for everything from canteens and hospitals to major events; or manage and monitor food safety in industry or catering.
Course content and structure
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The course begins with foundational modules in business administration, chemistry, social science research and statistics, ergonomics, nutritional physiology, human biology, communication, psychology, sociology, food and nutrition, food product studies and process engineering for food products, maths, physics, engineering, IT, and scientific methods.
You may subsequently specialise in accordance with your interests in the following areas:
- Nutrition and health
- Products and marketing
- Food safety and supply
The course, which is six semesters in duration, concludes with a sixteen-week internship and your Bachelor thesis.
Your interests and skills
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A strong interest in science along with the ability to engage with issues from the social sciences, law, business and technology are crucial to success in this course. You’ll do best in your future career if you are a good communicator and team player with solid English and IT skills and like the idea of working with foodstuffs.
Interested – but not quite sure yet whether this is the right course for you? Our self-assessment test can help you make up your mind. Take it here: HAW Navigator.
Admission requirements
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Higher education entrance qualification
You can apply directly for this course if you hold one of the following qualifications:
- Fachhochschulreife
- Allgemeine Hochschulreife
- Fachgebundene Hochschulreife (subject-specific HE entrance qualification)
- Meister*in (vocational qualification – master tradesperson)
- Fachwirt*in (certified specialist)
Applicants who do not hold a higher education entrance qualification but have completed vocational training (Berufsausbildung) and at least three years of subsequent work experience can apply under Section 38 of the Hamburg Higher Education Act, which sets out special provisions for these applicants (Besonderer Hochschulzugang für Berufstätige).
Find out more atAdmission requirements for a Bachelor's degree.
Pre-course experience
We do not require you to have completed pre-course experience for this course.
International applicants
If you completed your schooling outside Germany and want to study here for a Bachelor’s degree, you need to hold an academic school-leaving qualification which entitles you to admission to higher education; that is, it needs to be comparable to a German Abitur or Fachhochschulreife. The organisation uni assist will check your certificates from school and any degree-level studies to establish comparability. Please note that you are also required to have proof of German at level C1 – for example, in the form of a TestDaF certificate – in order to apply for all Bachelor's degree courses (except Information Engineering).
You can find more information about HAW Hamburg’s application criteria at International applicants.
Application process
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We only accept online applications. Before applying, applicants must register with www.hochschulstart.de. During the application period (for the winter semester: 1 June–15 July; for the summer semester: 1 December–15 January) you can find the online application and detailed information about the application process on the Applying for a Bachelor's degree course page.
You can find information about the selection process and the numerus clausus (NC) from the previous semester here: Applying for a Bachelor's degree course/Selection criteria
International applicants are also required to apply during the application period.
To make the process easier for you, we have compiled a step-by-step checklist: International applicants
Questions about selecting a course, applications, admissions and degree courses
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Applications and admissions
Student Admissions and Registration Office (Studierendensekretariat)
Stiftstraße 69, 20099 Hamburg (ground floor)
T +49.40.428 75-9898
studierendensekretariat (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de
Contact us with your questions about applications and admissions
The Information Point is open at the following times:
Monday–Thursday: 10:00 am–1:00 pm
Friday: closed
In-person office hours:
Thursday: 2:00 pm–4:00 pm
Telephone office hours:
Monday and Tuesday: 9:00 am–10:00 am
For general queries about HAW Hamburg degree courses and course choice
Student Counselling Team (Zentrale Studienberatung)
Stiftstraße 69, 1st floor, room 122
20099 Hamburg
T +49 40 42875 9110
Contact form
Office hours
Contact person for applicants with disabilities or chronic health conditions
Meike Butenob/Dieter Röh
Stiftstraße 69, Haus 3, room 37
Tel. +49.40.428 75-7220
inklusion (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de
Contact the department
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Specifically subject-related queries
Student advisor
Prof. Dr. Nina Riedel
Ulmenliet 20, Raum N 5.29, 21033 Hamburg
Tel.: + 49.40.428 75-6115
nina.riedel (at) haw-hamburg (dot) de
Deputy student advisor
Prof. Dr. Jörg Andreä
Ulmenliet 20, Raum N 5.37, 21033 Hamburg
Tel.: + 49.40.428 75-6321
joerg.andreae@haw-hamburg.de
