Nutrition courses

About Nutritional Sciences in University College Cork

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.

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.

Academic qualification equivalents

• Applicants should have an honours degree in a related subject.
• Indian applicants will normally be required to achieve a first class/first division mark in their undergraduate programme at a good institution of higher education in India. At the discretion of academic departments, students with degrees awarded by top universities such as the University of Mumbai, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, and the University of Pune, may be accepted with high second class/high second division marks. 

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS: 6.5  Minimum individual sections 5.5
• TOEFL: TOEFL 90  Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing 17
• PTE: 63 Minimum individual sections 51

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