Sport & Exercise Nutrition - Online

Diet and nutrition significantly affect sport and exercise performance. The food and fluid which an athlete consumes before, during, and after exercise affects health and body composition, as well as performance and recovery. Sound knowledge of sport and exercise nutrition can ensure a healthy balance between exercise and diet for a range of athletes, from amateur to elite levels within different sports.

This online programme provides a postgraduate pathway for those interested in pursuing a career in the area of sport and exercise nutrition. As an accredited course, graduates are eligible to register with the British Dietetic Association (BDA) Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENR) as a graduate registrant, allowing them to work autonomously post-graduation.

Career options are expanding and previous graduates have gained employment with leading organisations and professional sports teams within the UK, Ireland and internationally.

About
The programme is delivered by distance learning. Students enrolled for the PgDip Sport and Exercise Nutrition course need to undertake modules to a total of 120 credit points and for the MSc undertake an additional research project of 60 credit points. Modules studied will include: nutrition and exercise metabolism, nutritional assessment, recommendations and requirements, sport-specific nutrition issues, research methods and and biostatistics for food and nutrition, nutrition for health and disease prevention, evidence-based practice in healthcare sciences, practical sports nutrition and the sport and exercise nutrition research project.

For further course details please see "Course Web Page" .

Year one
Evidence-Based Practice in Sports and Exercise Nutrition
Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
Nutritional Assessment

Year two
Sport-Specific Nutrition Issues
Research Methods and Biostatistics for Food and Nutrition
Nutrition for Health and Disease Prevention
Practical Sports Nutrition

Year three
Sport and Exercise Nutrition Research Project

Standard entry conditions
We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

Applicants must hold a degree (2.2 or above) or equivalent in a related discipline (for example – BSc Honours in Biochemistry, Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, Human Nutrition, Physiology, Sport and Exercise Science, Sports Science or other relevant degree discipline) or demonstrate their ability to undertake the course through the accreditation of prior experiential learning. Applicants must also demonstrate evidence of competence in written and spoken English (e.g. GCSE grade C or equivalent). Students holding an IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition are eligible to apply for direct entry to the MSc programme following completion of a short research proposal module (10 credits) prior to completing the sport and exercise nutrition research project (60 credits) following approval of a suitable research project in consultation with the project module co-ordinator.

Your Application
Application is through the University's online application system (see "Application Weblink").

Attendance
The part-time programme (over 3 calendar years; i.e. six academic semesters) is comprised of taught modules in year one and two, and a research project module in year 3. All modules are delivered by distance-learning.

Start Date: September 2024

Career options
Career options within sport and exercise nutrition are expanding and include becoming a freelance sports nutritionist/performance nutritionist or working with sporting/government organisations. Previous graduates have gained employment with leading organisations within the UK and Ireland including IRFU, Ulster Rugby, Dairy Council for Northern Ireland and United Kingdom, Rowing Ireland and Apple. We also have a number of graduates who following mentored experience have set up independent sports nutrition clinics within Ireland and on an international basis.