Nutrition
Entry requirements
A level
Chemistry or Biology and preferably one other science (may include Mathematics, Physics or Home Economics) at A-Level or equivalent. GCSE equivalent in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and English at C.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Chemistry or Biology and preferably one other science (may include Mathematics, Physics or Home Economics) at Higher level or equivalent. Maths and sciences at Standard level.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Chemistry or Biology and preferably one other science (may include Mathematics, Physics or Home Economics) at Higher level or equivalent. Preferably must show Chemistry, Biology, Maths and English at Ordinary Level O4 or Higher Level H5 if not achieved at Higher level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Applied Sciences
Scottish HNC
C in Graded Unit required: HNC Sport and Exercise Science HNC Fitness, Health and Exercise HNC Care and Administrative Practice Other courses may be suitable
Scottish HND
CB in Graded Units required: HND Sports Therapy Other courses may be suitable
Scottish Higher
Chemistry or Biology and preferably one other science (may include Mathematics, Physics or Home Economics) at Higher or equivalent. National5 or equivalent in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and English at C.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
If we are what we eat, then nutrition can tell us a lot about who we are, how we live and how we can improve the health of society. As a science it looks at how food affects the functioning of the living organism. It includes the study of food composition, how it is digested and absorbed, the production of energy, elimination of wastes and all the syntheses that are essential for growth, maintenance and reproduction across the life cycle.
In Years One and Two you’ll forge a solid understanding of the biological sciences. You’ll learn the fundamental principles of nutrition and integrate this with knowledge of other related disciplines. Modules will help you develop core study and professional skills as well as laboratory and investigative (information technology and research) expertise.
In Year Three you’ll look at how nutrition influences health at the individual, community and population level across all stages of the lifespan. You will learn to evaluate scientific and lay literature, and develop other key professional skills such as communication.
In Year Four you’ll focus most of your time on developing your individual research project. You will also choose an elective module that interests you; either Health Entrepreneurship or Nutrition in Practice, which allows you the opportunity to develop a nutritional intervention in a population group of your choice.
Modules
Year One
Physiology
Biochemistry
Introduction to Food Science
Contextualising You and Your Profession
Cell Biology and Genetics
Food, Lifestyle and Society
Year Two
Pharmacology
Systems Biology
Microbiology
Nutrition (plus lab-based tutorials) and Food Science
Sensory Tutorials
Research Methods
Evidence-Based Practice
Behaviour Change
Year Three
Disease Aetiology and Management
Dissertation
Nutrition Through the Life-course (plus tutorials in Research Techniques for Nutrition)
Epidemiology in Public Health
Volunteering Module
Year Four
Current Issues in Nutrition Science
Food and Nutrition Policy
Honours Project
plus one of the following options: Health Entrepreneurship or Nutrition in Practice
The modules listed here are correct at time of posting (Feb 2020) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2021. Please check the course provider page for updates.
Assessment methods
You’ll learn in lectures, seminars, practical workshops and laboratories. Outside these timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning through self-study. You will be assessed by written exams at the end of each module or semester.
Please see below for an idea of teaching, learning and assessment for this course for 2020 entry. 2021 information will be added when it is available.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Queen Margaret University
School of Health Sciences
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Nutrition and dietetics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Nutrition
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is the subject you need to study if you want to become a dietician — an important job in the country’s healthcare sector, and the single most common job for nutrition graduates. We don’t have many graduates in nutrition every year and with the population becoming more aware of health and well-being and with many medical needs being addressed by the application of specific diets, this is likely to be an area of increasing demand in the future.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Allied health
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£22k
£25k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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