Course overview

This four-year food and human nutrition degree focuses on developing your practical, professional and research skills so you graduate career-ready.

Between your second and final year, you'll carry out a work placement. This is an opportunity to apply your knowledge in a work environment and gain vital professional experience to help you stand out from other graduates. 

Our industry-recognised qualification helps to fast-track your career, so you can apply for direct entry into the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists as soon as you graduate.

Our degree is informed by research, this ensures you're learning the most up-to-date and relevant theories along with the latest discoveries in the industry. Our food and human nutrition course explores the links between diet and health from the molecular level through to people and populations.

You'll also have the opportunity to explore topics such as genetics, physiology, bioenergetics and sport and exercise nutrition, among others.

Download information about this course as a PDF

Your course during COVID-19
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption.

Given the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commitments outlined are subject to guidelines that may be in place from time to time.

View our COVID-19 Study page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2021-22.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information

Quality and ranking

• 8th in the UK – the Guardian University Guide 2020 (Agriculture, Forestry and Food category)
• 8th in the UK – The Complete University Guide 2021 (Food Science category)
• 90% for overall student satisfaction – National Student Survey 2019 (Subject: Nutrition)

Professional accreditation

This degree is professionally accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN).

This means our graduates can apply for direct entry into the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists at associate level and use the letters ANutr after their name without undergoing further assessment.

See the Association for Nutrition's website for further benefits of studying on an accredited course.

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body.

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

You're introduced to the underlying sciences of food and human nutrition. You study modules in nutrition, genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology and physiology.

You will also be introduced to agri-food systems, covering issues arising through the food chain from production to consumption, as well as the nature and properties of different foods and nutrients.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Microbiology and Immunology	15
Fundamental Principles of Genetics and Biochemistry for Nutrition	15
Human Physiology and Practical Skills	30
Introduction to Nutrition	10
Practical Skills for Nutrition	10
Bioenergetics	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Agri-Food Supply Chains	20
Food Studies	20

You continue to develop your core knowledge of human nutrition and associated topics. In Nutrition, you'll explore nutritional assessment and the importance of good nutrition at each life stage. You'll also investigate food science and food product development, and study the latest research developments in sports and exercise nutrition.

In the module Communication and Behaviour Change, you are introduced to some of the ways in which communication may be used to support positive changes in people’s behaviour.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
New Food Product Development	20
Communication and Behaviour Change	10
Macro- and Micronutrients	20
Food Science and Technology	20
Nutrition Through the Lifecycle	10
Measurement and Assessment of Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status	20
Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition	20

You spend this year on a work placement in the UK or abroad.

In the final year, you will study areas such as nutrition and its relation to health and disease, metabolic and personalised nutrition and the scientific basis for setting nutrient requirements in people.

You will develop your practical skills and your ability to plan and organise by carrying out a research project under the supervision of a member of academic staff.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Nutrition in Health and Disease	20
Research Project	40
Advanced Nutrient Metabolism and Requirements	20
Selected Topics in Food and Human Nutrition	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Developing Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Employability	20
Eating and Weight Disorders	20
Making Sense of Forgotten Senses: Investigating Olfaction and Gustation	20

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They combine data on the planned delivery and assessments of our courses in 2021-22 with data on the modules chosen by our students in 2020-21.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

Contact hours are made up of a combination of:

• lectures
• seminars
• small group tutorials
• practical classes

You supplement this with weekly private study of recommended reading materials.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Case studies

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Projects

Skills and experience

Practical skills

You'll have the opportunity to attend a national conference on food and human nutrition, where you'll hear from world-leading experts in the field. This also gives you the chance to network with other people working across the nutrition industry.

Research skills

In the final year of your degree, you'll complete a research project. The aim of the project is to provide you with experience of planning, researching and analysing a topic that interests you.

You will develop your research skills, as well as improving your problem-solving, analytical and presentation skills.

Opportunities

Study abroad

Experience life in another country by choosing to study abroad as part of your degree. You’ll be encouraged to embrace fun and challenging experiences, make connections with new communities and graduate as a globally aware professional, ready for your future.

You can choose to spend up to a year studying at a partner institution overseas.

If you choose to study abroad, it will extend your degree by a year. 

Find out more about study abroad

Work placement

Get career ready with a work placement and leave as a confident professional in your field. You can apply to spend 9 to 12 months working in any organisation in the world, and receive University support from our dedicated team to secure your dream placement. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice and developing your professional expertise.

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. Work placement is not available if you're spending a year abroad. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements

Additional qualification

You also have the opportunity during your placement to gain a Licentiateship of the City and Guilds Institute, London (equivalent to NVQ Level 4), award. You'll collate evidence of your work experience and skills development as a portfolio.

We are currently the only nutrition course in the UK to offer this opportunity to gain an additional qualification in recognition of your development of personal, and transferable skills in the workplace. 

Facilities and environment

Facilities

Our Nutrition and Food courses are based in the School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences at our city-centre campus. Our School is part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, which is home to Dentistry, Medicine, Psychology and Pharmacy, encouraging inter-professional collaboration. 

You'll have access to our food handling laboratory to help you enhance your practical skills and use of our well-equipped, state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Situated next to Newcastle’s RVI hospital, we’re one of the largest integrated teaching/hospital complexes in the country.

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have when starting university.

Your future

There is great demand for scientists with a knowledge of nutrition. A wide range of opportunities exist across the sector, including:

• product development or quality assurance in the food industry
• with non-commercial bodies such as the Medical Research Council or Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• in research development
• in an advisory capacity with groups concerned with the communication of health messages and food safety advice

Graduates have gone on to take up roles, such as:

• dietetic assistant
• nutritionist
• food technologist
• food buyer
• product development technologist
• sports nutritionist

Make a difference

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Careers support

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK.

Read our detailed explanation

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2021 entry (per year)

Home Fee Students

£9250

International Fee Students

£23400

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for home fee-paying students is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

You will be charged tuition fees for each year of your degree programme (unless you are on a shorter exchange programme). 

The tuition fee amount you will pay may increase slightly year on year as a result of inflation.

For courses commencing from September 2021 and beyond, EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for home fees or Student Finance England support.

If you are from the EU you will pay international tuition fees.

Read more about fees and funding

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Find out more about:

• different tuition fees
• additional costs

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages