Why Study Nutrition?
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food” Hippocrates
We are now enroling students on our BSc (Hons) Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine programme. Enrolment closes on 20th September. We look forward to receiving your applications ASAP.
Our BSc programme is designed to offer you a career in nutrition and lifestyle medicine that will enable you to change many lives and become a changemaker.
The BSc will provide you with a strong foundation in the application of evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine, incorporating comprehensive clinical training based on a functional medicine model.
Our excellent lecturers will make your learning interesting and enjoyable. Here are a few comments from our students:
- “Dr Carol Grainger’s lecture on cancer on Saturday 22nd May was one of the best I’ve had. She has taken a complicated disease and explained it clearly. Slides are full of information and very interesting. I’ll refer to this for years, I’m sure”
- “Shania’s genetics lecture was one of the most enjoyable and informative I’ve had. She was very engaging and the content was incredibly interesting. I will definitely reach out to her when I qualify”
- “BCNH lectures were excellent; very good choice of lecturers for their expertise. Thank you!”
- “I thought the whole module was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the lectures on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibramyalgia. The slides were very thorough and comprehensive and the delivery by Claire Sehinson from OHC was fantastic. She went into some really good detail on lab testing and supplements which I found useful”.
- “Lorraine was excellent as usual. Very good content and always happy to be Interactive and answer questions. I really enjoy her lectures and look forward to her new book”
Completion of our BSc programme will also ensure you have the confidence and skills to become a safe and effective nutrition practitioner, able to communicate appropriately with the medical profession.
If you wish to study degree in nutrition at BCNH, you can download our Application Form here.
Why Choose this Course?
- 4.5 years part-time course - qualifies for student finance
- Delivered online via active blended learning (ABL)
- Validated by the University of Northampton – awarded Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
- Nutritional Therapy Education Commission (NTEC) accredited
- Contemporary and cutting-edge curriculum, delivered by a range of expert guest lecturers.
- Comprehensive clinical training, with approximately 112 clinical contact hours and the opportunity to complete 35 case studies.
- A ‘super supportive’ student experience
- Students and graduates are eligible for membership of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT).
Our Curriculum
The course has been carefully designed to enable students from a variety of different backgrounds to succeed, including individuals from a non-scientific background and those who may not possess traditional academic qualifications.
Level 4 (first year) consists of core modules which are designed to give you a core grounding in topics fundamental to nutrition science and academic skills on which to build your future studies.
In a typical week you will require around 20 hours study time. This includes watching pre-recorded and live lectures, seminars, tutorials, webinars and independent study, consolidating information from lectures and tutorials.
Level 5 modules are designed to give you the necessary skills to analyse nutrition research and to interpret statistical research data to inform evidence-based practice. You will also cover core nutrition topics such as environmental pollution and the aetiology, pathophysiology and nutritional management (based on Functional Medicine) of health conditions commonly encountered in clinical practice (e.g. various digestive diseases, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, hormonal, reproductive, nervous, musculoskeletal, skin, eye and ear diseases, immune, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, and various cancers.
In a typical week you will have around 20 hours study time. This includes watching pre-recorded and live lectures, clinical seminars, tutorials, webinars and independent study.
Level 6 modules are designed to give you the necessary skills for clinical practice. We will prepare you for your future career by providing you with the opportunity to develop consultation skills in a safe, supportive environment. You will gain experience from consulting with FOUR real clients, each of whom must have TWO health concerns which you have not addressed before. You will see each client four times (over a period of few months) to monitor their progress and to help you hone various clinical skills. You will also learn about setting up, building and running your own successful business, in addition to a research project, which will provide you with an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the evidence relating to a specific aspect of nutrition and lifestyle medicine that you may find particularly interesting, or you may specilise in.
In a typical week you will require around 20 hours study time. This includes watching pre-recorded and live lectures, clinical seminars, client reports preparation, interpretation of functional and biochemical tests, live case study consultations, tutorials, webinars and independent study.
Details of each module in the course can be found here.
In order to ensure that employability underpins the curriculum, there is a significant emphasis throughout the course on preparing you for the delivery of one-to-one nutrition consultations. You can read more about our Clinical Training here
A video sample of a BCNH lecture (Autism)
Take Control of Your Learning
- As most of our students are mature students, with a variety of professional and family commitments, ABL offers a degree of flexibility that is not provided by traditional face-to-face provision.
- Our approach to learning is to offer a blended approach, with all teaching and materials available online only, including real-time teaching and support sessions.
- All teaching sessions are recorded for students unable to join live, with recordings available throughout the programme of study.
- Online teaching sessions are scheduled for weekend days or weekday evenings, designed to fit outside of traditional working hours.
Live, real-time teaching sessions are also combined with other online activities that students can undertake where they like and at the time they choose – allowing you to take control of your learning, wherever you are based.
Your Commitment to Learning
- The course is designed to fit around work / family commitments, nevertheless you will be completing 80 credits per academic year (compared to 120 credits on a full-time degree course).
- In order to succeed on the course, you will therefore need to dedicate approximately 20 hours a week to your studies.
- We expect you to engage regularly with course materials, actively participate in live teaching sessions where possible and behave responsibly and professionally when interacting with fellow students and BCNH staff members.
- You will be expected to produce assignments to a good standard and to the deadlines provided. We recognise, however, that there may be times when unexpected circumstances may impact on your ability to meet deadlines; in these situations you may apply for a short deadline extension, or for issues that have more of a long-term effect, for Mitigating Circumstances, or an extended study period / study break.
- Whilst you do not need to give up your job to study with BCNH, we do recommend a 4-day-a-week work schedule, where possible, to accommodate the 20 hours a week required. Although this may seem like a significant time investment, the topics we teach on the course are fascinating and if you are passionate about nutrition, it will not feel like a ‘sacrifice’.
Assessment Strategy
A broad range of assessment methods are used throughout the course to support learning.
Formative exercises include clinical seminar exercises (based around the discussion of fictional case studies), quizzes, peer presentations, role-play and supervised consultations.
Summative assessments include time constrained assignments, essays, written assignments, presentations and case studies (both fictional and with live clients – see BCNH Clinical Training). You will also complete a dissertation at level 6, conducting a literature review on a chosen topic of interest.
You will also be expected to develop and maintain a Personal & Professional Development Portfolio (PPDP) throughout the course. This is essential in order to demonstrate that you have met the clinical requirements of the course (clinical competencies, clinical hours, minimum number of case studies) and to show evidence of becoming a reflective, independent learner and practitioner.
The Student Voice
We care very much about the student experience on the course and continuously seek and respond to informal feedback from students – this feedback has been the driver of many improvements to our training over the years. We will also provide you with formal opportunities for feedback, including evaluation of individual modules and the appointment of a Student Representative for each cohort.
Student Representatives are invited to attend bi-annual Student-Staff-Committee meetings and Academic Board meetings, where they have the opportunity to raise any issues of concern for discussion and to contribute to college and course development.
Future Career Opportunities
Aside from one-to-one clinical practice, you will also be able to apply your skills to a variety of business and teaching opportunities, such as:
- corporate wellbeing
- health retreats
- product and recipe development
- technical support for testing or supplement companies
- media opportunities / writing articles or books
- educating various population groups, including lecturing in higher education
The academic content of the course, including a significant focus on evidence-based practice and the production of a dissertation at level 6, will also provide you with a strong foundation for further studies, should you wish to pursue postgraduate studies in this or a related field.
To read more about how our graduates are using their qualification, please see Graduate Success Stories.
We Look Forward To Hearing From You!
Alternatively, you can call our friendly admin team for further information or an informal chat.