Course Catalogue

Provide an honours-level multidisciplinary study across sport, nutrition and social sciences that is in line with professional body requirements. Develop scientific thinking and practice in relation to using and undertaking empirical research in the context of nutrition and sport. Develop graduates with intellectual, transferable, scientific and practical skills to make improvements to professional practice through nutrition, exercise and sport. Provide the students with employability skills and work-related learning opportunities, which enable them to apply their skills in the context of the world of work. Ensure graduates are aware of issues related to professional conduct, ethics and performance in relation to nutrition and sport. Prepare students for a career and/or further academic study within the nutrition, sport, health or community sectors.

Teaching and assessment on the programme is underpinned by the use of a set of educational practices that have been shown to have most impact on student learning. This includes active learning strategies, use of formative feedback, collaborative learning, research-based teaching and use of authentic tasks. Such practices are weaved into the various teaching methods including lectures, workshops, seminars and online activities. Certain aspects are foregrounded at different points throughout the programme. For example, at Level 4 collaborative learning and formative feedback are a focus to help with transition into the programme. Research informed teaching on the programme is extremely strong. A range of staff research outputs and live projects/applied work have supported the development of the curriculum and teaching on the programme. There are clear links between staff research activity and specific modules, particularly the current and contemporary issues modules at Level 6 that draw on expert statements, systematic reviews and empirical papers that staff have published. Assessment on the programme is through a range of different methods including portfolios, reports/essays, examinations, presentations, laboratory reports, position statements and a dissertation. These have been mapped to ensure that there is progression in terms of both the subject content and also the form of assessment. Therefore, feedback on a particular assessment will help students to develop their skills in order to enhance their work for a similar type of assessment in a subsequent module. Within the assessment methods identified a range of novel and authentic strategies are used by including case studies, live briefs and empirical data collection.

There is a strong work-related/work-based learning strand on the programme to support the development of employability skills and understanding of professional conduct in the area of nutrition and sport nutrition. There are professional skills modules at Level 4 and 5, which culminate in an applied, work-based learning placement at Level 6. As the module is mandatory, every effort is made by the university to source opportunities. Self-sourcing is also considered, however, these placement must be quality assured. Placements are advertised to students on the VLE using Fact Files. During placement, students will have a named University Placement Tutor (UPT) to support learning and assessment on the module. In addition, there is the option of a sandwich year following Level 5 of the programme, which offers the opportunity to undertake a year-long placement as part of the programme. There is a significant level of support for these activities from the Faculty Placement Learning Support Unit (PLSU) and Careers Team throughout the programme. At Level 4 the PLSU host sessions to discuss the sandwich year option and outline the general support provided by the Unit. At Level 5, they re-engage students with the option of the sandwich year and introduce the work placement. At Level 6, they release the Fact Files of placement opportunities and support allocation through formal student submissions (CV and cover letter). The support from the Careers Team is based on the Future Focus training package that includes CVs, mock interviews and employability skill development.