MSc Nutrition & Behaviour

Accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) this is the first course of its kind in the UK to explore the bi-directional impact of nutrition on behaviour and the brain, and the impact of behaviour on diet.

Delivery:
Full time according to Funding Council definitions, Part-Time

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Why study MSc Nutrition and Behaviour at BU?

Nutrition-related ill-health contributes towards preventable disease including obesity and many of the non-communicable diseases on both a national and global scale.
Gain a foundation in the physiology and biochemistry of nutrition, complemented by units on the role of nutrition in behaviour and cognition, and the management of associated clinical conditions.
Discover the role of nutrition from preconception to old age including topics such as in-utero programming, infant feeding practices, the development of food likes and dislikes in children, food promotion, psychological factors contributing to the development of obesity including appetite and weight control, disordered eating behaviours, prevention of diet-related disease, and the role of diet in normal ageing and age-related conditions.
Put learning into a professional context with a short placement in an environment of your choice; locally or internationally and in the healthcare, community or private sector.

Find out more about the content of this course.

For September 2021 entry: In order to take advantage of new approaches to learning and teaching, as well as developments in industry to benefit our students, we regularly review all of our courses. This course is currently going through this process and we will update this page shortly to give you full information about what we will be offering once the review process has concluded.

''I really enjoyed studying the MSc Nutrition and Behaviour at BU. The content of the course was extremely interesting and I was able to develop an in-depth knowledge of the relationships between our body and mind and nutrition, which is increasingly important in the current health climate. I now work for Cornwall Council for the Health Promotion Service as a Healthy Schools Advisor, promoting the health and wellbeing of children’’. Harriet Kretowicz, graduate

Course accreditation

This course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) which means that after graduating you will be able to apply for Associate level status with the AfN.

Explore the course and our facilities

Next start date:

September 2021, September 2022

Location:

Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus

Duration:

1 year full-time, or 2-4 years part-time

Accreditations:

Association for Nutrition

Required subjects:

Clinical/life sciences, Nursing, Psychology, Nutrition, Neuroscience

Entry requirements:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in a required subject. If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component of writing, speaking, listening and reading. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

Talk to a student on this course

Course details

On this course you will be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students.

Download the programme specification (pdf 1.2mb)

Core units

Advanced Research Methods: This module will provide an overview on experimental, survey and qualitative research analysis together with the relevant data analytic techniques and statistical analytic software. The unit will also reflect recent developments in medical research such as the need for effect size, power and sample size calculations.
Contemporary Nutrition: The aim of this unit is to enable you to develop and broaden your in-depth knowledge of the latest research findings within the context of the interaction between nutrients, physiological functions and the health conditions they influence. The course of lectures will aim to provide integrated information on nutrition, physiology, health and disease and public health applications – all in one unit.
Nutrition and Brain Function Across the Lifespan: This module provides an advanced insight into the interaction between nutrition and brain research and gives a core of knowledge about the role of nutrition in brain disorders from pre-conception to old age. It is designed to discuss the topical issues, such as development, neurological and neuro-degenerative disorders, neuro-protection and recent theories of the neuro-immuno-endocrine axis.
Nutrition, Health and Psychology: The course of lectures will encompass a review of recent evidence and current thinking on the control of appetite, food intake and the regulation of energy balance. You'll develop a detailed understanding of the interplay between the physiological and psychological (behavioural) regulatory processes underpinning the control of feeding and energy intake with a view to improve the health and quality of life among individuals and groups in the community.
Nutrition in the Prevention and Management of Disease: This module examines foundations of nutrition, for example macro nutrients and micro nutrients, vitamins, methods of assessing dietary intake and nutritional status, energy and nutrient requirements, metabolic pathways related to nutrition, and function of nutrient digestion and absorption. It also evaluates the prevention and management of disease in the community setting, for example gastro intestinal disorders (i.e., celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome), food intolerances and allergies, obesity and metabolic disorders, cancer and heart disease.
Dissertation Project: This is a student-managed piece of work that is undertaken with guidance from academic supervisors. The unit encourages you to draw on prior learning and aims to develop your ability for independent study and project management. It seeks to expand your knowledge and/or practice in a complex professional context. A large and varied range of dissertation projects are offered, including both laboratory and clinically based.
Evidencing Professional Learning: A unique feature of the MSc programme is the work-based element embedded within the Evidencing Professional Learning unit. Typically student's will spend a minimum of 12 days engaging in professional practice activities in health care, community or the private sector.

In addition to core units there are some timetabled sessions which increase your contact time with other students and academics, and help you to develop and enhance additional skills outside of lectures. These include: academic advisory workshops, journal clubs – which are led by students guided by an academic, and research seminars.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Placements

This course offers a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience in the workplace as part of one of your units, Evidencing Professional Learning.

You’ll have the option of completing your placement locally or nearer home. Placements are wide-ranging and give you the opportunity to pursue your own areas of particular interest in nutrition and or behaviour.

Find out more about placements for postgraduate students

Placement settings and duration

Our placement students have previously worked with

Your application

Background and experience

How and when to apply

There is no application deadline for this course. However, if you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in a required subject, or equivalent. Required subjects include; Clinical/life sciences, Nursing, Psychology, Nutrition, Neuroscience.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

China: 学士学位 (Bachelor degree) with a minimum of 65% overall
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution in Nigeria
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution.
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of at least 7.0, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.
Turkey: Bachelor’s Degree (Lisans Diplomasi -four years) to be considered for a postgraduate course at BU.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Careers

This course will equip you with the academic and practical skills required for professional practice. The emphasis on core practical skills will give you extra marketability in the professional arena.

Upon completion of the course graduates can apply for Associate level status with the Association of Nutrition.

Potential future job roles

Industries you could work in

Our graduates can go on to roles in areas such public health, policy development, health promotion, and food development. Sectors you could find yourself working in include:

The NHS (hospital and community)
Private and independent health care sector (nursing homes and private hospitals)
Education
Academic research.

As you progress through the course, selecting option units and setting up your placement will help you establish the exact career path you want to follow, and the contexts in which you want to put your studies to use.

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section, including details of the Postgraduate Loan (subject to fee status).

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per annum. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Find out more about living expenses for postgraduate students

No hidden extras

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Professional body accreditation of the course.
Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement.
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
Disability and additional learning support
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Laptops, tablets and mobile devices.
Professional Body membership/registration post qualification
AFN membership fee
Accommodation and living costs, view our accommodation price guide.
Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation.
Optional fieldwork travel, outdoor wear and footwear (where applicable)
Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
Sport BU membership.

Repeat units

Financial help available from BU

Deposits

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable £3,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice in the nutrition sector which is integrated into the teaching of this course. Please note that teaching staff can change.

Dr Fotini Tsofliou – Course Lead MSc Nutrition and Behaviour & Principal Academic in Nutrition

Dr Joanne Holmes - Senior Lecturer in Nutrition

Joanne is an experienced Food Scientist and nutritionist and has worked with several large multinational organisations developing new food and beverage products for the European market.

Joanne is also a company director and partner in 1000 cow dairy farm business supplying to an international focused farmer owned co-operative processor. Joanne's research is focused towards improving food, fluid and general nutrition delivery for elderly receiving social care in its broadest context.

View Joanne Holmes' staff profile

Dr Swrajit Sarkar – Senior Lecturer (Academic) in Nutrition

Swrajit is a registered public health nutritionist with the association for nutrition (UKVRN), a member of the Nutrition Society, a full member of the Royal Society of Biology and chartered biologist (CBiol), chartered scientist (CSci) and fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH).

His educational background includes a BSc (H) in Biosciences: Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Masters by Research (MRes) in Public Health Nutrition and a three-year doctoral programme in Public Health Nutrition.

Previous to his current role at Bournemouth University, he was working as an associate senior lecturer in food and nutrition at Leeds Trinity University and he was a lecturer of nutritional sciences at the University of Central Lancashire. He has also worked as an associate of access and widening participation unit and part-time Lecturer of the University of Greenwich.

His key research has been in the field of non-communicable diseases risk identification among south Asian Communities living in the United Kingdom, although he has a broader interest in nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) in developing countries and the impact of the nutrition transition on NCD prevalence among migrants from developing countries into developed countries.

He is a member of the Africa Nutrition Society (ANS) and have assisted the ANS in organising the African Nutrition Epidemiology Conferences (ANEC) in Kenya and South Africa.

View Dr Swrajit Sarkar's staff profile

Iro Arvanitidou – Lecturer in Nutrition

Iro Arvanitidou is a nutritionist, registered with the Association for Nutrition and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy. Her academic background includes an MSc (Med. Sci.) in Human Nutrition with specialisation in Clinical Nutrition from the University of Glasgow and a BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics. Additionally, she holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional and Higher Education from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.

Currently undertakes doctoral studies in the area of maternal nutrition and nutrition education. Previously, she has worked on several research projects in the subject area of Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences. She is Trustee and member of the scientific committee of “Food Fruition” which is a non-governmental organization based in Glasgow aiming to improve quality and flavour of fruits and vegetables by using natural fertilizers, and to promote fruit and vegetable consumption.

View Iro Arvanitidou's staff profile

Dr Jane Murphy – Professor in Nutrition

Jane is an Associate Professor, Registered Nutritionist and Dietitian and Head of Education (Health Sciences) in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Jane's research is committed to key nutritional problems faced by older people that impact on health and wellbeing especially the complex problems faced by people living with dementia.

She co-leads the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) and has led key research to understand nutrition and delivering dignity in dementia care funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing (www.bournemouth.ac.uk/nutrition-dementia). Jane has a seconded role as Clinical Lead for the Nutrition in Older People Programme – Wessex Academic Health Sciences Network to advise and support funded research and implementation projects working with NHS and across social care.

She has secured European Commission funded research (Horizon 2020) to understand the contribution of local sustainable food systems to nutritional health and wellbeing that will identify new competencies for training in public health nutrition. Jane is committed to advancing the professional practice of nutritionists and has been an elected Council member and Trustee for the UK Association for Nutrition (AfN) that defines and advances standards of evidence-based practice across the field of nutrition and currently sits on the AfN course accreditation and certification committees.

View Dr Jane Murphy's staff profile

Gill Glasgow – Lecturer

Gill's areas of interest involve the psychology of eating practice, food choice, and behavioural changes for improved health and wellbeing. More recently, Gill has extended her interests to include mindfulness based approaches for improved wellbeing in particularly its use and applications to eating behaviour.

Alongside developing a personal practice, Gill is now enrolled in a PhD to explore the concept and mechanics of mindfulness in relation to healthy eating and pregnancy.

View Gill Glasgow's staff profile

Dr Jaqueline Landman – Visiting Fellow

Jaqueline’s main interests are applied nutrition involving cohort studies of nutrition in infancy and in pregnancy, working on the first guide to the treatment of severe malnutrition, food and nutrition of school aged children. She researched the food choices of South Asians in Scotland and evaluated the Scottish Health Award Scheme to enable better nutrition health promotion there. Jacqueline commissioned research to inform the development of the nutrition profession as Nutrition Society until 2009 and is an assessor for the AfN and UK Public Health Register.

Jaqueline has taught at and been an examiner at universities in Jamaica, England and Scotland and undertaken international consultancies in professional development, clinical nutrition and nutrition policy. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University.

Course changes

Changes in 2017

Date	Changes to this course
18.01.17	Where the change was made: Key Information Change: Now accredited from the Asociation for Nutrition Previous text: N/A

Changes in 2016

Date	Changes to this course
20.12.16	Where the change was made: Full entry requirements Change: IELTS have changed from a minimum of 5.5 in each component to 6.0. Previous text: IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component or equivalent.
05.12.16	Where the change was made: Programme specification under course details Change: Change in assessment for the unit Nutrition In The Prevention and Management of Disease Previous text: The unit has changed from being assessed by 100% coursework, to 50% coursework (2000 word essay) and 50% exam (2 hours).

Statistics shown throughout this page are taken from Unistats and BU institutional data unless otherwise stated.