Program Overview

As well as providing impartial advice about nutrition and health, dietitians are involved in the prevention and treatment of nutrition-related problems and in the dietary treatment of disease. This course provides a sound background in nutrition, the scientific study of the foods we eat, the nutrients contained within foods and the fate of the nutrients when foods are eaten, and the effect of diet on health and well-being.

Therefore, this course includes the study of the science of nutrition and dietetics, the supportive sciences of chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, biology, immunology, genetics, pharmacology, pathology, food science, epidemiology and statistics, as well as inputs from the social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, communication and management.

The number of places available on the dietetics course is limited by the availability of dietetics clinical placements.

Attendance

This is a four year full-time course with a compulsory placement year.

Typically there are 20-25 timetabled hours per week between 9.15am - 5.05pm Monday - Friday, including lectures, tutorial and seminars.

During your placement, you will be expected to work on a full-time basis.

Start dates

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical sessions allowing you to gain a deep understanding of the subject.

We will assess your learning through a variety of methods including class tests, case studies, projects, examinations, workbooks, presentations, literature-based assignments and project reports.

In Year 3, you will also get the opportunity to work alongside an academic member of staff within the world-renowned Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health to undertake an independent research project.

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise.  The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff.  This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.