The CIBD Master qualification stands as the pinnacle of the CIBD qualification hierarchy and holds the utmost esteem amongst brewing and distilling industry senior leaders and educators.  

The brewing and distilling industries senior operational leaders and professional brewers and distillers have seen significant changes in their roles over the past few years. 

The new syllabus was developed in collaboration with brewing industry senior business leaders and learning and development specialists through the CIBD Masters Customer Reference Group. Their feedback ensured alignment with industry requirements. Candidate feedback was also considered, as a recent CIBD survey revealed a strong preference for the qualifications to reflect current and future roles and support aspirations. The content of the new Master syllabus was written with the support of ‘unique contributors’ who are leading experts in their fields and was peer reviewed by senior industry professionals and academics. 

The new syllabus includes modules that test application and leadership, electives that reinforces expertise and a revised assessment methodologies that helps examiners’ gauge candidate’s skills, knowledge, and experience.  

The new syllabus has been designed for senior operational and technical leaders, future operational, supply chain and technical directors. Aspiring industry professionals can now also attain the CIBD Master qualification as a prerequisite for pursuing individual chartered status. 

If you are part way through the existing Masters qualification, then rest assured there are several options that are available to you. Please see the links on the right hand side to see your options.  

There are five Modules in total. Modules 1, 2 and 3 cover the full end to end value chain that encompasses brewing – they can be done in any order, but all must be completed before starting Module 4.  

For Module 4 candidates will be required to select three advanced electives from a list of six. These have been designed to enable the candidates to tailor their qualification to their career and personal goals.  Module 4 can only be attempted once candidates have successfully completed modules one to three 

Module 5 is the final step and must be done last. It consists of submitting a portfolio of evidence followed by an oral examination (viva)  

Candidates should be able to complete the CIBD Master qualification within three years but can have longer, if necessary.  Find out more about this in our examination regulations. 

The CIBD believes in lifelong learning. For those who attain our highest level of qualification, we offer several professional development opportunities that enable you to give back to the community while enhancing your skills in new areas. You may find yourself in future years helping to train the next generation of brewers and distillers, sitting on our examinations board or contributing to the continuous cycle of learning material improvement.  

There are many roles and opportunities for our Master Brewers within our community of global experts. What will yours be?