Global Public Health Nutrition MSc

Course summary

Our Global Public Health Nutrition MSc will give you the specialist scientific knowledge and practical skills to take an active role in global public health nutrition in a range of different settings.

Nutrition has long been recognised as a vitally important determinant of health status within both industrialised and industrialising countries. Significant changes are occurring in the profile of nutritional problems. Many countries continue to face problems of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, but countries in economic transition also face the public health challenge of rising rates of diet-related chronic disease, such as obesity and coronary heart disease. Also, many industrialised countries now face problems of food insecurity among low-income groups. These challenges have led to growing political resources to address nutrition.

There is now an increased need for trained public health nutritionists, to work in a range of contexts, to control and prevent diet-related problems. The United Nations Secretary General has declared 2016–2025 the Decade of Nutrition. What better time to develop your skills in this crucial area?

As over 800 million people still go to bed hungry while one in three suffer from hidden hunger and one in nine are overweight or obese, there is still a long way to go to achieve these targets. The targets are also essential for achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals, and you'll explore the role of health and nutrition in addressing these global targets by 2030.

You'll be introduced to policy making, leadership and governance frameworks. You'll be encouraged to explore and debate the political and social influences underpinning policy implementation and impact, and to create innovative solutions to addressing global challenges in our food system, such as the impact of climate change and food waste.

Your modules will explore the relationship between diet and disease, the nutrition science underpinning these factors, public health nutrition epidemiology, research methods for health science, nutritional assessment tools and how to develop and manage nutrition programmes.

The course will introduce you to stakeholders and skills that can enhance your professional competency, employability and development as a public health reflective professional.

Top reasons to study with us

• Our course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding health and disease as related to food and nutrition, to reflect the changing profile of public health
• We deliver a broad but balanced approach to the understanding of nutritional issues, in which the perspectives of social science are explored as well as the more traditional disciplines of nutrition, epidemiology and statistics
• We offer a unique Essentials of Nutrition access course for those without an undergraduate degree in nutrition or health
• Our modules are linked to global targets such as global nutrition targets and Sustainable Development Goals, including a module on global challenges focusing on climate change and the food system
• Our teaching staff have strong links with employers, in diverse fields such as school feeding programmes, population weight management programmes and addressing food insecurity in all contexts. Many are alumni of the course
• Our course team is research-active, and in previous years have involved students in ongoing research programmes with all assessments supporting employability skills
• In previous years, field research trips have included locations such as Ethiopia and Zanzibar, and students have also undertaken research within London boroughs and UK NGOs

Employment opportunities for public health nutritionists are growing and there are numerous career paths our graduates follow, from working with Public Health England in writing policies, to acting as nutrition advisers to the Department of Health or other nutrition-focused organisations.

As well as developing the specialist skills to become an effective public health nutritionist, you'll be supported in developing key transferable skills for your career including communication, problem-solving, group-work and organisation.

This course will prepare you for a variety of roles, including:

• Global Public Health Nutritionist working with populations in international development
• Public Health Nutritionist working with non-governmental organisations to improve population health and nutrition outcomes such as addressing malnutrition in children or elderly
• Public health nutrition policymaking
• Programme manager for health and nutrition programmes in the UK or globally
• Academic researcher in public health nutrition
• Nutritionist in private sector or industry roles
• Working with humanitarian responses or international agencies such as UNICEF

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:

• Action Against Hunger
• Concern
• GOAL
• Henry
• Local government public health teams
• Ministry of Health in Somalia
• Obesity think tank
• Public Health England
• Results UK
• Save the Children
• School Food Matters
• Second Nature
• UNICEF
• Urban farming manager