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Food Science and Nutrition

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Overall: BBB We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers. Required subjects: Biology grade B and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of: Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology, Home Economics or Nutrition and Food Science. Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.

Access to HE Diploma

D:27,M:18

Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall including 27 at Distinction and 18 at Merit. Required subjects: 15 credits each in two sciences to include Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Mathematics (Chemistry or Biology preferred). Other subjects such as Food Technology, Home Economics, Applied Science or Environmental Studies will also be considered in combination with a core science subject.

Extended Project

A

Applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) will receive our standard A level offer, plus an alternate offer of one A level grade lower, subject to achieving an A grade in the EPQ. The one grade reduction will not apply to any required subjects.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English and Mathematics grade C (4) (or equivalent).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

Overall: 32 Required subjects: HL5/SL6 in Biology and Chemistry, or HL5/SL6 in Biology/Chemistry and one of: Physics, Mathematics, Psychology, or Sports, Exercise and Health Science GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Overall: DDM in Applied Science (please contact us if you are taking a different BTEC).

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B,B

Overall: BBB Required subjects: Biology grade B and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology. GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B

Overall: ABBBB Required subjects: Biology and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry and one of Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology. GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C

Overall: Pass overall with BBB from the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Required subjects: A level Biology grade B and Chemistry, or A level Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of: Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.

UCAS Tariff

120-144

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Nutrition

Food science

**Why choose this course**
-Study on an Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) accredited course ranked 2nd in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2023 and 2nd in the UK by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. We have an over 90% satisfaction score for Food Science and Nutrition in the National Student Survey 2022

-Access our £12.5 million Innovation for Health Learning Laboratory to acquire practical experience that is essential for a research career and valued by a wide range of employers

-Gain industry experience through our Professional Training placements, where you can work for a range of employers, including the Government, specialised bakery, confectionary, cereal and dairy food companies, as well as nutrition businesses

-Learn from lecturers who’ve been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize 2017-18 for Further and Higher Education, in recognition of their research excellence in the field of food and nutrition

-Join the 97 per cent of our biosciences and medicine graduates who go on to employment or further study.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey 2022, HESA.

**What you will study**
Food science is a multidisciplinary subject that applies biology and chemistry to the study of food.

In your first year, you’ll study a broad range of topics, including food science and nutrition, to give you a solid foundation upon which to build the rest of your degree.

In your second year, you’ll develop your understanding of what happens to the components of food during processing and storage. You'll gain an understanding of the role of food microbiology and how safe, nutritious food can be produced. You’ll acquire an appreciation for the functionality of ingredients used in foods, while exploring the basis of nutrition and the role this has on aetiology and prevention of key disorders, such as cancer.

In your third year, you’ll have the choice to specialise further, studying topics like food chemistry to continue to evaluate the role of natural and added components in the foods we eat. You will also gain a more in-depth understanding of the technologies used to produce safe and nutritious foods as well as the importance of food security. You’ll also advance your knowledge of the role of nutrition in illnesses like cardiovascular disease.

Modules

To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.

Extra funding

The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.

The Uni


Course location:

Stag Hill

Department:

FHMS - School of Biosciences and Medicine

Read full university profile

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.

91%
Nutrition
93%
Food science

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

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
94%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

92%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
95%
Course specific equipment and facilities
90%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

70%
UK students
30%
International students
13%
Male students
87%
Female students
73%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
A

Food sciences

Teaching and learning

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
86%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
93%
Course specific equipment and facilities
100%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

37%
UK students
63%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

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 and dietetics

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.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education
96%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

88%
Health professionals
5%
Engineering professionals
4%
Teaching and educational professionals

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Nutrition and dietetics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£26k

£26k

£31k

£31k

£32k

£32k

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here