The BSc (Hons) Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine is a 4.5 year part-time undergraduate degree programme, validated by the University of Northampton.
The course will provide you with a strong foundation in the application of evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine to the promotion of health, incorporating comprehensive clinical training based on a functional medicine model. Completion of the course will ensure you have the confidence and skills to become a safe and effective nutrition practitioner, able to communicate appropriately with the medical profession.
Key Features BSc (Hons) in Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine
- 4.5 years part-time course
- Delivered online via active blended learning (ABL)
- Validated by the University of Northampton –awarded Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
- Submitted for Nutritional Therapy Education Commission (NTEC) accreditation
- 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).
- Qualifies for student finance.
Why Choose this Course?
This course has been designed to provide you with a complex body of knowledge, informed by the latest scientific evidence in the field of nutrition.
You will develop the ability to apply that knowledge to cases in the clinical setting, critically evaluating nutrition research and data to identify an appropriate strategy for individual clients.
Communication skills are also core to your training; you will learn how to communicate complex, scientific information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, educating and empowering others to take control of their health.
We believe that the comprehensive nature of this training will provide you with the best possible foundation for future career success.
Combined with the ability to study alongside other commitments from anywhere in the world, our ‘super supportive’ student experience and our partnership with a university committed to transforming lives and inspiring change, this course is something we are very proud to be able to offer to students.
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 modules provide a core grounding in academic skills and in topics fundamental to nutrition science.
At level 5, the modules take a systems approach, covering the aetiology, pathophysiology and nutritional management of health conditions commonly encountered in clinical practice.
At level 6, you will complete your theoretical training and focus on preparation for your future career. You will gain experience from consulting with real clients and explore the foundations of building a successful business, in addition to completing a research project
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 ‘Super Supportive’ Student Experience
We care about each one of our students and ensure that you are supported in every way possible to meet your goals. As a BSc student, you will receive programme level support from BCNH, in addition to general student support services from the University of Northampton.
- Should you need to discuss issues affecting your studies, BCNH Level Leaders have weekly ‘office hours’ and are available via video call.
- Regular informal group webinars are also held, allowing you to interact with your peers and ask any general questions relating to the course.
- You will also be assigned a Personal Tutor, available for pastoral support and assessment specific guidance on an ad-hoc basis via video call. Regular progress meetings will be held with your Personal Tutor throughout the programme, ensuring contact is maintained.
- Module specific support is also provided via online forums, with queries monitored and responded to by tutors.
- Providing detailed and constructive assignment feedback to students is a priority and tutors are available to discuss the feedback with you once grades are released.
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.