Nutrition and Health BSc (Hons) with foundation year

Course overview

Why you should study this course

Foundation year

• Supports you to gain the academic skills required for degree-level study.
• Provides a grounding in key areas of biosciences.

Degree

• No.19 for Food Science in The Complete University Guide 2024.
• Support applying for placements to gain crucial real-world experience².
• Supported and taught by an academic team which includes registered nutritionists, food scientists, microbiologists, and food safety experts (staff may be subject to change).
• Gain hands-on experience of a wide range of industry techniques in our modern laboratories based in the Alison Gingell Building⁴.

Careers and opportunities

You will be taught in a variety of settings, including laboratories and a purpose-built kitchen, so that you have the chance to develop the analytical and practical skills required by employers – working with accuracy and precision to obtain data and results.

Where possible, coursework uses applied tasks that mimic the skills needed in jobs to help ensure you are attractive to potential future employers, such as collection and interpretation of nutritional data to assess nutrient intake from a food diary, or critically appraising evidence to inform the public of current nutrition and health topics. We also offer the opportunity for industry visits and fieldtrips², which have previously included trips to a local food bank and conferences such as Food Matters Live.

You will also have support with applying for short and long-term placements to gain the experience employers desire. Past students have undertaken one-year placements in the food industry with organisations such as Coventry City Council and Public Health England².

The careers team can help you find suitable work placements and give you advice on how to get the most out of them.

The need for nutritionists is growing with the increasing incidence of diet-related health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Consequently, graduates from this course should be well equipped for a wide range of roles in the field of nutrition and health – from working on emergency relief projects in low income countries to devising health initiatives to target dietary intakes of specific groups, such as pregnant women, school children and the elderly.

Opportunities may exist within local authorities, charitable organisations, the NHS, parenting organisations, health promotion, and the food and leisure industries. You could also find yourself advising policy makers, regulatory bodies or working in education or the media.

You will be strongly encouraged to take a year out by applying for a work placement or completing a summer internship².