MSc Dietetics (pre-registration) (February Start)
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Science
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- February 2024
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Course Overview
Dietitians are the only qualified and registered health professional that can assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems. Dietitians use the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on the impact of nutrition on health and disease, translating this into easy practical guidance for people to implement to reach their nutritional goals.
The dietetic profession is extremely varied, with opportunities working within the NHS, private clinics, public health, the food industry, sports nutrition and the media. You could find yourself working with people who are in hospital, in a clinic setting, nursing homes or at home. You could be helping young children to manage their newly diagnosed diabetes, or supporting an oncology patient through chemotherapy with taste changes and a poor appetite, or advising on tube feeding regimens for patients who are struggling to meet their dietary needs through food due to ill-health.
Our course prepares you through the small group inter-disciplinary teaching within your academic modules alongside practice placements within the NHS and dietetic roles.
You will join a community of enthusiastic lecturers and educators within the local hospitals, and be taught within a multi-professional health school, enabling you to graduate with confidence in your role and to provide person-centered holistic nutritional care in clinical practice.
Our MSc Dietetics was launched in February 2022 with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British Dietetic Association (BDA) approval, and is fully compliant with the revised BDA 2020 curriculum.
Gain a Master’s degree in Dietetics at UEA so you can practice as a registered dietitian. The dietetic profession is diverse, requiring you to interpret evidence-based practice and professional reasoning, and to provide nutritional advice to improve physical health and quality of life of people during ill-health and disease.
Dietetics is a career suited to good communicators as no two individuals are the same. When treating people, it is important to listen to people’s lifestyles and health behaviours prior to providing individualised nutritional advice.
Through our newly developed programme, you will build a sound knowledge of the nutritional and clinical sciences which underpin health and disease. You will grow your communication skills to provide holistic patient-centered care to people. You will have access to our dedicated learning facilities, including ward simulations and technology suite. You will have direct patient contact and gain experience of professional dietetic practice through more than 1000 placements hours included within the course.
Study and Modules
Structure
Our two-year full-time programme encompasses 45 weeks of teaching each year. Practice placements are integrated throughout the 45-week programme, enabling you to undertake supervised clinical work across the East Anglia Region. You will complete one seven-week placement within your first year and three placements in your second year (two seven-week placements and your final eight week placement).
Throughout the programme, there is a focus on enquiry-based learning (EBL), promoting student centered independent learning, problem solving and decision making.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Qualified dietitians need to apply knowledge to clinical practice (working with patients). This is mirrored through the enquiry based learning (EBL) process. You will undertake an EBL learning activity each week in small groups to cross-examine a case study. The group may be made up of just dietetic students or include occupational therapy and physiotherapy students to aid inter-disciplinary working and decision making. You will clarify what you need to learn as a group to resolve the issue and present your findings each week.
This is a full time accelerated masters degree. The taught elements of the full time programme will make up 3 – 4 days a week, with the rest of your working week dedicated to essential self-directed study. Master’s-level learning demands an active drive to research and embed theory effectively into your own practice, so that you’re able to provide strong evidence-based justifications for your proposed interventions and actions.
Independent study
Self-directed study and collaboration with peers are integral parts of our Master’s programme. Your lecturers will provide resources to facilitate the core activities via our Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), but a healthy desire to integrate knowledge from a wide range of sources will be actively encouraged.
Assessment
Assessment methods will be a combination of practical skill oral examinations, written essays, reflective accounts, posters and case-management presentations. We will be assessing your communication skills as well as your ability to synthesise and articulate knowledge at Master’s level. The accelerated nature of this programme means that you’ll also need to demonstrate effective time-management.
Your assignments will be marked against the Senate Scale for Master’s-level work, but your practice placements will be marked at undergraduate level as pass/fail, with feedback offered on performance.
Structure
Our two-year full-time programme encompasses 45 weeks of teaching each year. Practice placements are integrated throughout the 45-week programme, enabling you to undertake supervised clinical work across the East Anglia Region. You will complete one seven-week placement within your first year and three placements in your second year (two seven-week placements and your final eight week placement).
Throughout the programme, there is a focus on enquiry-based learning (EBL), promoting student centered independent learning, problem solving and decision making.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Qualified dietitians need to apply knowledge to clinical practice (working with patients). This is mirrored through the enquiry based learning (EBL) process. You will undertake an EBL learning activity each week in small groups to cross-examine a case study. The group may be made up of just dietetic students or include occupational therapy and physiotherapy students to aid inter-disciplinary working and decision making. You will clarify what you need to learn as a group to resolve the issue and present your findings each week.
This is a full time accelerated masters degree. The taught elements of the full time programme will make up 3 – 4 days a week, with the rest of your working week dedicated to essential self-directed study. Master’s-level learning demands an active drive to research and embed theory effectively into your own practice, so that you’re able to provide strong evidence-based justifications for your proposed interventions and actions.
Independent study
Self-directed study and collaboration with peers are integral parts of our Master’s programme. Your lecturers will provide resources to facilitate the core activities via our Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), but a healthy desire to integrate knowledge from a wide range of sources will be actively encouraged.
Assessment
Assessment methods will be a combination of practical skill oral examinations, written essays, reflective accounts, posters and case-management presentations. We will be assessing your communication skills as well as your ability to synthesise and articulate knowledge at Master’s level. The accelerated nature of this programme means that you’ll also need to demonstrate effective time-management.
Your assignments will be marked against the Senate Scale for Master’s-level work, but your practice placements will be marked at undergraduate level as pass/fail, with feedback offered on performance.
Entry Requirements
- Degree Classification
- Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.2 classification or equivalent
- Degree Subject
- should be in a subject with sufficient relevant physiology and biochemistry. Suitable degrees include but not limited to: biomedical sciences, human nutrition, nutritional science, biochemistry, human biology, physiology, health sciences; or from a nutrition background: food science, applied human nutrition, clinical pathology, pharmacology, therapeutic dietetics.
- English Foreign Language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English or those whose degree was not taught in English.
To ensure such students benefit fully from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English.
Our minimum entry requirements are as follows:- IELTS: 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components
- Pearson (PTE): 76 overall with a minimum of 67 in all components.
All test scores must be less than two years old.
Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests.
INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview. Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your application.
Note that we will not disclose interview questions in advance of the interviews, but in general terms the interviews will explore a range of issues, including your suitability for the profession and the NHS values (as reflected in the NHS constitution). We’ll look to consider your motivation to study this course, as well as whether you have an interest in people and a clear understanding of the profession (ideally with relevant voluntary or paid work in healthcare).
Applicants will be offered an online interview.
- Intakes
- This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake is in February each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
This is a pre-registration course.
You must have graduated from your degree within the last 10 years of the start date of the MSc Dietetics course. Applicants may also be considered outside this timeframe if they have highly relevant work experience. Highly relevant experience includes but is not limited to those who have previous or current employment as a dietetic assistant, registered nutritionist, Clinical Scientist, Biomedical Scientist or work in the NHS, private sector or industry in a post graduate level role in a relevant subject.
You must show a clear understanding of dietetics, the role of dietitians and the role of a health professional within various clinical settings alongside relevant work shadowing.
You must have a strong profile of secondary qualifications in sciences (A-level or equivalent). Applicants need to have minimum of a GCSE Biology (grade 4 / C) or GCSE Double Science (grade 4/4 or C/C) and GCSE English and Mathematics (grade 4 / C) or equivalent.
Students accessing this programme must be of good health and character which is sufficient to enable safe and effective practice. The assessment of this will include satisfactory occupational health and enhanced criminal record (DBS) checks before entrance to the programme. Students must also make an annual declaration of good health and good character. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they have complied with the University’s requirements with regard to their enhanced DBS. All offers of places are conditional on satisfactory DBS clearance.
Requests for accreditation of prior learning (APL) will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Accreditation of prior learning (APL) is defined as a system whereby academic credits can be awarded for previous learning that has taken place.
PLACEMENTS
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Fees and Funding
Fees for the academic year 2023/24 are:
-
UK Students: £18,500 (whole course) (Pre-Registration course full-time on a two-year basis. Course fee charged £9,250 per academic year)
-
International Students: £39,600 (whole course) (Course fee charged as £36,950 over two academic years, £19,800 per academic year. 2022-23 entrants are liable for £18,500 in 2023-24)
We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Course Related Costs
You can find information regarding additional course costs here.
How to Apply
Please note - this course is now closed for applications for the 2023-24 cycle.
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form. In completing the application, please note you must show a clear understanding of dietetics, the role of dieticians and the role of a health professional within various clinical settings alongside relevant work shadowing.
NHS Learning Support Fund
If you are eligible for tuition fee and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company, you can apply for additional financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund when studying this course.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.
The closing date for receipt of complete applications is 1 June 2023.
Employability
After the Course
Upon successful completion, you will be eligible to apply to the register of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to become a registered dietitian and be able to practice as a dietitian.
Your first typical job will consolidate your skills and offer opportunities to learn about different dietetic specialisms. For this reason, many first jobs are rotational dietetic positions within the NHS.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
You may decide to progress your career in any of the following;
- Private practice
- Education & research
- Media & journalism
- Sports nutrition
- Public Health
- Food industry