Why Study Nutrition?
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food” Hippocrates
Applications for September 2022 are now open. See Application and Enrolment for how to apply.
Our BSc programme is designed to offer you a career in nutrition and lifestyle medicine that will enable you to change lives.
Our lectures make the learning process dynamic and engaging. Our students say:
- “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”.
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
- Cutting-edge curriculum delivered by a range of expert guest lecturers
- Approximately 112 clinical training hours and the opportunity to complete 35 case studies
- A super supportive student experience
- Eligibility for membership of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT)
Our Curriculum
Level 4 (first year) consists of core modules designed to give you a solid grounding in nutrition science topics and key academic skills development.
Level 5 modules give you the necessary skills to analyse and interpret research data to inform your evidence-based practice. You will cover nutrition topics such as environmental pollution and the aetiology, pathophysiology and nutritional management of common health conditions.
Level 6 modules prepare you for your future career by developing your consultation skills in a safe, supportive environment. You will conduct consultations with four real clients, each of whom have two health concerns. You will learn how to run your own successful business, and complete a research project relating to a specialised nutrition and lifestyle topic.
Click here for full details of modules.
Across all Levels, a typical week will consist of 20 to 30 hours of study time (semesters run October to mid-January and February to mid-May). This includes watching pre-recorded and live lectures, and undertaking seminars, tutorials, and webinars.
A video sample of a BCNH lecture (Autism)
Take Control of Your Learning
- We offer a flexible approach to learning, with all teaching and materials available online, including real-time teaching and support sessions.
- All teaching material is recorded and made available to access throughout the programme of study.
- Online teaching sessions are scheduled for weekends and weekday evenings, designed to fit outside traditional working hours.
Live, real-time teaching sessions are combined with online activities which can be undertaken at any time and place – allowing you to take control of your learning, wherever you are based.
Your Commitment to Learning
- Over the duration of the 4.5-year part-time programme, you will be completing 80 credits per academic year (compared to 120 credits on a full-time degree course).
- Students are expected to dedicate 20 to 30 hours a week to the programme. While students can and often do work alongside their studies, we do recommend a 4-day work schedule to accomodate the required hours of study.
- We expect students 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.
- Students are expected to produce high-quality work to the deadlines provided. In the case of unexpected circumstances that may impact your studies, students can apply for deadline extensions, Mitigating Circumstances, or an extended Study Break.
Assessment Strategy
We use a broad range of assessment methods to support students’ 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 written assignments and essays, presentations, and case studies (both fictional and with live clients – see Clinical Training). Students at Level 6 will also complete a dissertation.
Students are 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 and to show evidence of becoming a reflective, independent practitioner.
The Student Voice
We continuously seek and respond to student feedback, which has been the driver of many improvements to our training over the years. We gather feedback via Module Evaluation forms and the appointment of a Student Representative for each cohort, as well as encouraging the provision of informal feedback.
Student Representatives are invited to attend bi-annual Student-Staff-Committee meetings and Academic Board meetings, where they have the opportunity to raise any student concerns and queries and contribute to the development of the college.
Future Career Opportunities
The majority of our graduates practise as self-employed CNHC-registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioners, delivering one-to-one nutrition consultations to clients, often from within a complementary therapy clinic.
In addition to clinical practice, our graduates apply their skills to a variety of other roles, including:
- 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 will provide you with a strong foundation should you wish to pursue postgraduate studies in nutritional health 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.