Program Overview

BSc (Honours) Human Nutrition and Health with Foundation Year

Course summary

Study how diet impacts on health at individual and societal levels on an accredited degree that’s ideal for aspiring Registered Nutritionists.

How you learn

This varied and intellectually stimulating course allows you to bring theoretical studies to life. You’ll reinforce your understanding through practicals, consultancy projects and applied learning activities, working alongside external partners ranging from schools to voluntary sector organisations.

Modules

Year 1

• Going Global (20 credits)
  • Introduction to university life and the behaviours and knowledge you’ll need to succeed internationally.
  • Career goal setting and professional behaviours.
  • International business.
  • Tourism.
  • Sustainability and sustainable development.
  • Corporate social responsibility.
  • Business ethics.
  • Living and working with others.
  • Equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Values.
• People, Decisions And Behaviours (40 credits)
  • Stakeholder mapping.
  • Regional and global relationship management.
  • Inspiring and motivating others.
  • Communication strategies.
  • Introduction to marketing.
  • Influencing and negotiation skills.
  • Decision-making theory and practice.
  • Business intelligence and analytics.
  • Equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Preparing For Success (20 credits)
  • Future sector trends.
  • People resource planning.
  • Global labour markets.
  • Personal and organisational change.
  • Resilience.
  • Research and data analysis.
  • Digital literacy.
  • Life-wide and long-term career planning.
  • Professional accreditation and credibility.
  • Your learning practice.
• Sustainable Innovation (40 credits)
  • Generating creative, innovative and responsible business solutions.
  • Digital innovation.
  • Basic project management techniques.
  • Business environment analysis and economics.
  • Business ethics and sustainability.
  • Data and financial management.
  • Sector/organisational types.
  • Business and events planning.

Year 2

• Applied Academic Skills (20 credits)
  • Understand the importance of academic research and referencing.
  • Learn to effectively read, analyse, evaluate and synthesise academic literature.
  • Apply the development of study skills to academic report and essay writing.
  • Engage with an external organisation and apply research and analytical skill development to identify and articulate solutions to a current organisational challenge.
  • Practice and develop verbal and digital communication skills.
  • Identify and act upon development needs and recognise progress.
  • Undertake and reflect upon a range of study skills activities.
• Food Choice: People And Planet (40 credits)
  • Effects of diet and lifestyle on the health of people and planet, incorporating nutrition, food sustainability, ethics, choice, as well as policy/governance at a local, national, and international level.
  • Determinants of food choices and social norms.
  • Needs assessment, behaviour change theory, and intervention approaches.
  • Exploration of issues pertaining to food choice in the context of health, well-being and core functions of public health.
  • Population level dietary assessment, nutritional requirements and dietary reference values.
  • Food and planet: life cycle analysis, carbon footprint, food miles, water miles, deforestation and population displacement.
  • Food systems in the global context of the UN sustainable development goals.
  • Food systems in the context of local food chains.
  • Food packaging and planet.
• Fundamentals Of Food And Nutrition: Composition, Safety And Nutrient Function (40 credits)
  • To increase knowledge of food composition including macronutrients and micronutrients.
  • To understand the underpinning principles behind nutrient quantification.
  • To develop an awareness and appreciation of ingredients.
  • To understand desirable and undesirable nutrient composition changes occurring during food preparation and food processing.
  • To identify the main contributing factors of foodborne illness.
  • Understand the basic principles of food risk assessment and HACCP.
  • Develop an appreciation for the importance of food safety culture in a manufacturing environment.
  • Analyse and interpret food safety result data in relation to current regulations.
• Physiology And Biochemistry For Nutrition (20 credits)
  • Homeostasis and the maintenance of internal equilibrium.
  • Integration and control of metabolism at the molecular, cellular and whole body level.
  • Structure and function of the gastrointestinal tract and its accessory organs.
  • Nature and extent of metabolic demand for macronutrients and metabolism of alcohol.
  • Methods of measuring energy expenditure and physical activity.
  • Basic practical and analytical skills including an introduction to the concepts of accuracy, precision and replicability.

Year 3

• Applied Nutrition: Populations, Policy And Practice (20 credits)
  • Dietary reference values.
  • UK and International food based dietary guidelines and government messages for healthy eating.
  • Examples of food and nutrition policy and legislation in the UK and internationally.
  • Theory of public health and health promotion strategies for optimising population health outcomes.
  • Use of nutritional analysis software.
• Nutrition And Health In The Digital Age (20 credits)
  • The psychology of self.
  • Marketing yourself/self-promotion.
  • Professional ethics in the digital environment.
  • Nutrition and health blogs/vlogs & social media.
  • Nutrition and health applications ('apps') and media online.
  • Delivering digital nutrition and health training, support or counselling.
  • Legal context of nutrition and health practice.
• Nutrition In Health And Disease: Meeting Specific Needs (40 credits)
  • The physiology and biochemistry of a range of body systems.
  • The impact of nutrition at different stages of the human life cycle.
  • Age and stage related disease and ill-health.
  • Application of a range of biochemical/physiological markers of health and disease.
  • Metabolic demands of and adaptations to physical activity exercise.
  • Current nutrition policy, dietary guidelines and recommendations that change through the lifecycle.
  • Successful features of behaviour change initiatives to improve diet and health through the lifecycle.
  • Current physical activity guidelines and relevant national/international policies.
  • Adapting physical activity and nutritional guidelines for disease states and population groups.
• Personal And Professional Development (40 credits)
  • Process and procedure to support the employment lifecycle.
  • Standards of ethics, conduct and performance.
  • Training, personal and professional development.
  • Use of relevant sector-specific digital technologies to support personal and organisational development.
  • Leadership, followership and mentorship.
  • Managing conflict individuals, teams, and organisations.
  • Ethical practice relevant to profession.

Year 4

• Food And Nutrition Consultancy Challenge (40 credits)
  • Communication skills for different purposes in the food and nutrition sector.
  • Project management skills.
  • Evaluation tools and techniques suitable for food or nutrition sector projects.
  • Personal and professional reflective skills.
  • Confidence, creativity, adaptability and resilience in order to be career ready.
• Food And Nutrition Research (40 credits)
  • Food and Nutrition research methodologies, discipline areas, perspectives and study design.
  • Using published evidence with due consideration of quality relevant to the discipline.
  • The ethics of investigation.
  • Safe working practice.
  • Exploration and debate of published Food/Nutrition research.
  • Food and Nutrition research methods including relevant practical techniques.
  • Qualitative and quantitative research practice.
  • Data analysis, interpretation and presentation.
• Wellbeing Service Provision (20 credits)
  • Wellbeing services and their efficacy.
  • Health screening & managing client records.
  • Equality & diversity.
  • Effective communication and motivational interviewing.
  • Public Vs private sector & other models for wellbeing service delivery.
  • Marketing wellbeing services.
  • Making recommendations, health education, workshops and health coaching.
  • Articulating with affiliated services.
  • Wellbeing product design, participation, delivery and evaluation.

Future careers

This course prepares you for a career in:

• Nutrition
• Weight and diabetes management
• Behaviour change
• Public health
• Food industry (nutrition)
• Sports nutrition
• Scientific affairs
• Research (including postgraduate research degrees)

Equipment and facilities

On this course you work with:

• Fully equipped food and nutrition laboratories
• Nutrient quantification equipment
• Specialist health and physical activity measurement devices
• Bio-electrical impedence body composition analysers
• Dynameters for measuring strength and power output
• State of the art development kitchens
• A sensory evaluation suite conforming to the latest British standards
• Nutritics, a specialist software for diet assessment
• PebblePad, to record, organise and evaluate all the evidence from your course and relevant extra-curricular activities which support your professional development and reflective practice

Entry requirements

• UCAS points: 64
• GCSE: English Language at grade C or 4, Maths at grade C or 4, Two sciences at grade C or 4
• Access to HE Diploma in a relevant Science, Social Science or Health Science based subject with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2
• IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in all skills, or equivalent

Fees and funding

• Home students: £5,760 for the foundation year and £9,535 per year for the degree (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)
• International students: £17,155 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)