Course description
Programme description
- Well-established, broad-based conversion course covering all aspects of nutrition.
- Taught in a research-led environment by staff who are experts in a wide variety of specialities.
- An excellent stepping stone to nutrition planning, teaching or research in the health and education services, government or the food industry.
MSc and PG Dip: teaching covers the principles of nutrition, public health nutrition, clinical nutrition and nutrition research skills.. From May to August MSc students undertake a supervised research project.
Programme format and assessment
Lectures; weekly tutorials; interactive seminars; laboratory, statistics and computing practicals; research project (MSc only); attendance at research seminars encouraged.
Programme modules for MSc, PG Dip Nutrition
Nutrition Research Skills (Core Module)
At the end of the module the student should: - be familiar with techniques used to assess nutritional status of individuals and populations; - be familiar with methods used to analyse the composition of foods; - be able to plan, conduct and report on investigations in the laboratory in a responsible and safe manner; - be able to record, collate, analyse and interpret data using appropriate quantitative and statistical methods.
Principles of Nutrition (Core Module)
At the end of the module the student should have: - detailed knowledge of the sources and functions of the essential nutrients and other major dietary components, - detailed knowledge of the effects of deficiencies and excesses of the essential nutrients, - understanding of the factors that determine the chemical composition, production and supply of food, - increased knowledge of the methods used for acquiring and interpreting nutritional, biological and epidemiological information, - improved ability to analyse, synthesise and summarise information critically, - improved ability to recognise the moral, ethical and social implications of scientific investigations and human intervention in the food chain.
Public Health Nutrition (Core Module)
At the end of the module the student should: - understand the factors that determine nutritional needs throughout the life-cycle, - understand the role of nutrition in the aetiology of health problems of widespread importance in industrialised and non-industrialised countries, - be able to critically appraise food and nutrition policies and direct and indirect interventions implemented to address public nutrition problems in developed and developing countries, - understand the role of cultural, social and psychological factors in shaping the eating habits of an individual and the influences which may contribute to changing eating patterns, - have increased knowledge of the methods used for acquiring and interpreting nutritional, biological and epidemiological information, - have improved ability to analyse, synthesise and summarise information critically, - have improved ability to recognise the moral, ethical and social implications of scientific investigations and human intervention in the food chain - have improved written and oral communication skills and information retrieval skills
Clinical Nutrition
At the end of the module the student should: - understand the framework of therapeutic options for the management of specific diseases and know where diet fits in, - be able to critically evaluate the evidence concerning the role of diet in the causation of specific diseases, - understand the effects of specific diseases on the nutritional status of patients, - have improved ability to analyse, synthesise and summarise information critically, - have improved ability to recognise the moral, ethical and social implications of scientific investigations and human intervention in the food chain - have improved written communication skills and information retrieval skills.
Research project - Nutrition
Applied to MSc only.This comprises a major piece of research carried out in collaboration with a member of staff. The aim is to introduce students to the design, execution and analysis of individual research. The project is presented as a written research report. Students are encouraged to suggest a topic for research, or they may choose a project from a list which is circulated during the second term. Research usually begins in May (after the written exams), and the report is submitted early in August. Examples of recent projects include: - Energy expenditure in humans: response to aspartame and emotions - Thiamin status in patients with AIDS - Prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency in N.W. province of Cameroon - The effects of dietary calcium and physical activity on bone mass of women age 35-40 - Effects of trans fatty acids on plasma high density lipoprotein concentrations Influence of vitamin C on iron bioavailability - Assessment of body image and obesity among school children - The nutritional evaluation of genetically modified foods - The antioxidant properties of soy isoflavones - Growth and diet in poor inner city children
Duration
MSc one year, September to September, FT only; PG Dip eight months, September to April, FT only.
