Food Nutrition & Health

MSc Food, Nutrition & Health
Graduate Taught (level 9 nfq, credits 90)
The MSc Food, Nutrition and Health is aimed at graduates from a variety of disciplines who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of food as it relates to human nutrition and health.

The programme is suitable for graduates with no formal educational background in food science or nutrition, who wish to up-skill and become competent and employable in this increasingly important and rapidly evolving field.

This programme is delivered and assessed entirely on- line. The minimum registration to the MSc is two years, however students have four years in which to complete the programme thereby affording flexibility. The flexible and online format of the programme enables the majority of students enrolling on the programme to combine studying while in employment.

Hosted by the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, the Food, Nutrition and Health programme brings together academic and research staff from across UCD in health-related aspects of food research, including food science, human and public health nutrition, food production, biosystems engineering, food law, consumer behaviour and food safety.

Students will gain an understanding of the nature of food, how it is produced, how it is affected by processing, why we eat, what happens to food when we eat it, and how food components can interact with the functioning of humans. Upon completion of the MSc graduates will be able to apply this knowledge to address nutrition-related problems in different groups, cultures and societies.

Graduates will be educated to a high level in the science of food as it pertains to human nutrition and health.

Vision and Values Statement
The MSc in Food Nutrition and Health aims to enable students to transform their careers, and develop intellectually and professionally, to achieve and demonstrate the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary to succeed in times of rapid global food nutrition and health change. It provides an academically challenging and professionally relevant, focused programme of study for students who wish to develop careers in Food Nutrition and Health. The programme will allow students to develop subject specific knowledge in core areas of Food, Nutrition and Health, develop fundamental skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis, provide opportunities to develop innate creative ability, act creatively, and develop capacity for independent research, analysis and ethical experimental design. Teamwork, collaboration and communication are integral components of the programmes. The programme will provide opportunities to become connected with fellow students from a range of disciplines and cultures, and utilise the online nature of the course to strengthen connectedness, and design innovative and creative solutions to problems across the Food Nutrition and Health spectrum.

Programme Outcomes
Be skilled in proposing and developing solutions to nutrition-related problems as they relate to human health and disease and communicate these to stakeholders, at a professional and appropriate level, utilizing information technology and a range of approaches

Demonstrate a critical awareness of principles relating to scientific integrity and ethical issues in Food, Nutrition and Health

Demonstrate competence to acquire, organise, analyse, integrate and critically review information from a wide range of sources relating to issues in Food, Nutrition and Health and construct and defend reasoned conclusions

Demonstrate effective time management and organization skills
Have a working knowledge of the structures and theoretical tools that enable efficient team work, in order to generate innovative ideas and know-how to approach their subsequent selection for further development

Integrate and apply knowledge of key principles underlying Food, Nutrition and Health

Think independently, show initiative, evaluate and select appropriate and reasoned approaches to solve problems

Use the principles of scientific inquiry, to research a particular Food, Nutrition and Health issue that merits a detailed research investigation

The Masters in Food, Nutrition and Health is delivered through the UCD online learning platform (Brightspace) and will consist of:

pre-prepared lecture material delivered online
videos and demonstrations by lecturers
interactive learning reinforcement quizzes
online assessed multiple choice quizzes
interactive discussion boards
virtual classroom environments

For each 5 ECTS credit module earned students are expected to undertake about 125 hours of work, to include on-line activity and performing their own study. Students will be required to complete quizzes periodically so that we can monitor progress. Formative assessments will be used to help you develop and critically assess your own understanding of the material presented. All modules will have a high continuous assessment component.

The MSc Food, Nutrition and Health is delivered and assessed online. Therefore students do not need to attend UCD campus for classes or assessment. Many of our current students are based internationally.

Each module is assigned a Module tutor; students can make direct contact with the Module Tutor and Module Coordinator with any queries.

The course is aimed at graduates from science-based disciplines with no previous or recent formal educational background in Food Science or Nutrition who wish to up-skill and become competent in this increasingly important and rapidly evolving area.

Applicants must hold a minimum of a Second Class Honours degree in a cognate subject (Science, Engineering or related discipline), or international equivalent.

Applicants with other awards who hold substantial relevant work experience will be considered.

Applicants who do not hold the requisite Science qualification (but who hold a Level 8 Honours degree or equivalent) have been admitted previously and are advised to submit an application for assessment by the Programme Coordinator to determine eligibility.

All applications are assessed on a case by case basis by the Programme Director.

Applicants are asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement with their application, along with Academic Transcripts (non UCD Graduates) and proof of English proficiency if required.

Applicants who would like to take a stand-alone module may do so as an Occasional Student, and should contact the School of Agriculture and Food Science directly for further details on how to apply and cost per module. Email: foodonline@ucd.ie

The following entry routes are available:

MSc Food, Nutrition & Health PT (X436)
Duration

Deadline
Rolling*

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised

2 years part-time online.

Careers & Employability
There are excellent job prospects for graduates in Food, Nutrition and Health with graduates working in a range of roles across the food industry, public health and regulatory agencies. Graduates have the distinct advantage of bringing a nutrition or health perspective to their roles.

Within the food industry graduates will work in areas such as product innovation, technical sales, product quality enhancement, nutrition and health promotion or food labelling regulation.

Graduate Roles include:
Product Innovation
Technical Sales
Production Quality Enhancement
Health Promotion
Food Regulation