Less than a week to apply for October 2023 Intake of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence
The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), last call for registration for the October 2023 intake of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence.
Developed by researchers at ZHAW’s Coffee Excellence Center, the postgraduate CAS in Coffee Excellence is an online learning course designed to provide coffee professionals with a multidisciplinary overview of applied sciences within the academic world of specialty coffee. Sanremo Coffee Machines, Sucafina, BWT, Probat, and HACO support this program and its content as research partners.
The program is comprised of three academic modules which cover green coffee, transformation and composition of the bean, and extraction and sensory. Over 15 months, the program is delivered in English exclusively via distance learning and includes virtual classrooms with recognized experts, a self-learning research project and an online exam for assessment, and new interactive virtual lab sessions where instructors invite students to their labs for hands-on virtual experiments. Each module takes 21 weeks with a workload of 125 hours (5-9 hours per week). Successful applicants earn 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and are awarded a “Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence” from ZHAW.
Since the launch of the program in 2021, over 150 students from 45 countries have completed their studies and have been awarded their certificate. Graduates have gone on to excel in their chosen fields, augmenting their day-to-day careers with a detailed scientific outlook on the supply chain.
Students will benefit from a well-rounded applied sciences education that compliments the skill-based setting of the coffee industry. Learning about the reasons why coffee tastes the way it does owing to biological, chemical, and physical processes that occur from seed to the cup. With knowledge gained from their course, students will become equipped with a strong foundation on which to do their own deep dive into the science of coffee.
The deadline is fast approaching for applications for the October 2023 intake. The course is available to people with a university degree and at least two years of professional coffee or related field experience. Persons without a university degree may also qualify with an SCA Coffee Skills Diploma and at least three years of professional experience. Here a short, online admission interview is required. Good written and oral skills in English are required and a basic knowledge of biology and chemistry are helpful.
Registration is open until September 4, 2023 with a start date of October 2, 2023. You can learn more about the CAS in Coffee Excellence at zhaw.ch.