Nutritional Sciences

Course Outline
The PG Dip Nutritional Sciences is a full-time programme running for 9 months from the date of first registration for the programme. UCC has a long history of teaching and research in food and nutritional sciences and now is amongst Europe's largest multidisciplinary education and research institutions with world-class academics working in all aspects of the food and nutritional sciences.

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
Conduct a comprehensive literature search using all available resources of seminal and recent research in a specified topic

Analyse, synthesise and summarise information critically, including published research or reports, and write a well-constructed and concise scientific report.

Explain the principles of, and apply in practice, techniques used in nutritional sciences research;

Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between nutrition and the development of disease and disorders;

Demonstrate the importance of nutrition to facilitate optimum physical and mental development and maintenance of health throughout life;

Apply critical thinking skills to solve problems in nutrition;

Communicate effectively on nutrition-related issues with different stakeholders;

Demonstrate the capacity to undertake lifelong learning.

Why Choose This Course
UCC has a long history of teaching and research in the Food and Nutritional Sciences and is amongst Europe's largest multidisciplinary education and research institutions with world-class academics working in all aspects of the food and nutrition areas.

Modules
Modules will be chosen with the approval of the Programme Board depending on the student's background. Students take 60 credits as follows:

Core Modules
Students take 35 credits as follows:
NT6009 Nutritional Status Assessment of Individuals and Populations (5 credits)
NT6103 Functional Foods: New Frontiers for Food and Health (5 credits)
NT6104 Library Project in Nutritional Sciences (10 credits)
NT6109 Minerals in Health and Disease (5 credits)
NT6110 Food Security and Implications for Human Nutrition (5 credits)
NT6111 Advances in Vitamins and Other Dietary Bioactives (5 credits)

Students submit their library and research projects in April.

Elective Modules
Students select 25 credits from the following:
(Note: no more than 15 credits of undergraduate-level modules can be selected)
FS3022 Sensory Evaluation for Food and Nutritional Sciences (5 credits)
NT3001 Clinical Nutrition (5 credits)
NT3002 Food Toxicology (5 credits)
NT3009 Determinants of Food Choice and Eating Behaviour (5 credits)
NT6102 Public Health Nutrition (5 credits)
NT6107 Integration and Regulation of Nutrient Metabolism (5 credits)
NT6112 Sports and Exercise Nutrition (5 credits)
NT6113 Nutritional Epidemiology (5 credits)

Modules
Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our book of modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar
You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

Requirements
Candidates must be holders of a minimum Second Class Honours, Grade I in a BSc (Hons) Degree (NFQ, Level 8, or equivalent) in a Human Biology-related discipline including a significant element of biochemistry and/ or physiology. Under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), graduates with a Second Class Honours Grade II degree will be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to the approval of the Director of the PG Dip in Nutritional Sciences.

Candidates with a BSc in Nutritional Sciences or closely related programmes are not eligible for admission.
English Language Requirements

Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available online.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country online.

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file online.

For more information please contact the International Office.

How Do I Apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
Any supplementary items requested for your course.
Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates online.

Questions on how to apply?
Please use our web enquiry form to contact us.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 15 June

1 Year Full-Time

Skills and Careers Information
Career Opportunities
This course is designed for individuals with a strong biology background wishing to gain a postgraduate qualification in nutrition. It will helps to 'up skill' students in the rapidly advancing field of nutritional science, while also providing a conversion pathway for science graduates who wish to enter the nutrition field. There is no preordained career path, and it is up to each graduate to fit the qualification in with their own educational background as they shape their individual careers.

Graduates of the PG Diploma and its' predecessor course (MSc Nutritional Science) have gone on to work in:
Research
The food industry

Or have used the qualification:
-To enhance their current qualifications (e.g. public health graduates (with an interest in public health nutrition; food science graduates ( to allow them to apply for jobs in food industry on the product development and regulatory side); and health care professionals such as nurses (who wish to further their nutrition knowledge and apply it to their practice)
-As a stepping stone to other careers (e.g. dietetics, science teaching (biology)

Graduates can apply for individual membership of the Nutrition Society.

Skills
On successful completion of this programme, students will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between nutrition and the development of disease and disorders; demonstrate the importance of nutrition to facilitate optimum physical and mental development and maintenance of health throughout life; apply critical thinking skills to solve problems in nutrition; communicate effectively on nutrition-related issues with different stakeholders; demonstrate the capacity to undertake lifelong learning.