Nutrition

This comprehensive integrated four year Masters of Nutrition course provides a robust combination of the theoretical understanding and practical skills essential for cultivating a rewarding career as a nutritionist.

Students commence the course with a view to graduating with a Master of Nutrition (MNutrition) in four years. There is an option for students to transfer to a BSc (Hons) route at the end of year two and upon graduation, both pathways lead to eligibility for registration with the AfN as an associate nutritionist. Both pathways develop professional skills, knowledge and attributes through a combination of university and placement-based learning. The undergraduate master’s offer an opportunity to delve deeper into areas such as leadership, service improvement, research and public health, at a higher level.

The field of nutrition affects everyone in the world every day and has grown in importance in recent years. The science of nutrition employs evidence-based approaches to highlight the relationship between our diet and health, and it enables us to optimise health and prevent disease.

What and how we eat is vital to individual and community health and it is an engaging and rewarding subject to study. 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.

Why QMU?

• Staff expertise: Your learning will be curated by registered nutritionists and experts in the field who are actively researching some of the most interesting and impactful topics in the field of nutrition. QMU has wide ranging and widely recognised expertise in both health and food sciences, and is home to the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation.

• Excellent facilities: You will build professional proficiency in our specialist labs, using advanced equipment and proven research techniques. The practical teaching facilities include specialist microbiology, chemistry, food handling, and nutritional assessment laboratories.

• Professional accreditation/registration: The course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN) and on graduation with an MNutrition or BSc (Hons) degree you can register with the AfN as an associate nutritionist.

• High rankings in the UK: QMU is ranked in the top 3 of Scottish higher education institutions for Nutrition & Food Science (Guardian University Guide 2024).

The course in brief:

Attracting increasing attention in recent years, nutrition is an engaging and rewarding subject to study, offering a pathway to a range of diverse and gratifying careers. Nutritionists generate, assess, and deliver scientific and evidence-based advice across a variety of settings to improve health and wellbeing, and to promote a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The science of nutrition employs evidence-based approaches to highlight the intricate relationship between our diet and health at an individual and population level, with consideration of biological, social, cultural, economic, environmental, and behavioural contexts. This scientific discipline delves into the impact of food on the functioning of the living organism, offering insights to optimise health and mitigate the risk of disease. Nutrition encompasses the study of food composition, digestion and absorption processes, energy metabolism, elimination of wastes, and the vital synthesis essential for growth, maintenance, and reproduction across the life-course.

The course covers all three areas of nutrition specialisation (clinical nutrition, public health nutrition, and sports and exercise nutrition), so students can explore their specific interests and career aspirations. There is strong focus on sustainability with a new module dedicated to sustainable food systems. The new Nutrition Communication module (master’s route only) will foster your public engagement and content creation skills.