BSc (Hons) Sport Nutrition

Program Overview

LJMU's BSc (Hons) Sport Nutrition program, accredited by the Association for Nutrition, equips students with a comprehensive understanding of nutrition's role in athletic performance. Through a blend of classroom learning, practical assessments, and optional placements, students develop the skills and knowledge necessary for careers in sports nutrition, health promotion, and the food industry. The program emphasizes the latest research and industry trends, preparing graduates for success in the rapidly evolving field of sports nutrition.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the rapidly changing field of sports nutrition. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work as performance nutritionists, consultants, or in product development within the food industry. The program is accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN), ensuring high-quality education standards recognized by industry and the sport sector.

Objectives:

• Understand the relationship between diet and performance.
• Develop expertise in performance nutrition, nutrition through the life cycle, appetite and eating behavior, sport supplements, and the nutritional considerations of socio-cultural factors affecting food choice.
• Gain knowledge of food science, food chain, and sustainability.
• Nutritional Science
• Food Chain
• Social and Behavioural Science
• Health and Well-being
• Professional Conduct

Course Schedule:

The program is structured over four years (including a placement year) or three years (full-time). It is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, online activities, small-group tutorials, field trips, interactive practical sessions, guest speakers, and workshops.

Individual Modules:

Level 4:

• Biochemistry and Metabolism (20 credits): This module explores the biochemical and metabolic processes involved in energy generation, tissue synthesis, and waste management.
It also examines how dysregulation of these pathways can lead to disease states and how optimized nutrition can reduce disease risk and enhance exercise performance.
• Professional Practice 1 for Nutrition and Sport Nutrition (20 credits): This module provides practical training in skills required for a career in nutrition and sport nutrition, including assessment of client needs, development of solutions for behavioral change, and ethical and professional conduct.
• Performance Nutrition (20 credits): This module explores the key principles of sports nutrition, focusing on the effects of specific food groups and hydration status on athletic performance.
• Research Methods 1 (20 credits): This module introduces fundamental concepts of research methods, covering basic application and interpretation of data analysis techniques.
• Exercise Physiology 1 (20 credits): This module develops knowledge and understanding of the basic structure and function of key physiological systems, metabolic processes, and how these respond to feeding and acute exercise.

Level 5:

• Professional Practice 2 for Nutrition and Sport Nutrition (20 credits): This module builds upon Level 4 skills, focusing on practical skills and application of theoretical knowledge in a professional context.
It covers assessment of client needs, development of solutions for behavioral change, and enhancement of communication skills.
• Eating Behaviour for Sport and Health (20 credits): This module integrates physiological, metabolic, and nutritional knowledge with psychosocial aspects of eating behavior, exploring the interdisciplinary nature of eating and appetite behavior, dysfunctional eating, and health implications.
• Research Methods 2 (20 credits): This module enhances understanding of the research process and methodological approaches, developing skills for data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Food Chain and Sustainability (20 credits): This module provides knowledge and understanding of the global food supply chain and its impact on food choice, nutrition, health, and the environment.
It covers staple foods, the structure of the global food supply chain, political and ethical issues of food production, and food sustainability.
• Food Technology and Development (20 credits): This module explores the technology, techniques, and processes involved in turning raw materials into safe, nutritious foods.
It focuses on technological advancements in the industry to improve the nutritional quality of foods and covers production, processing, preservation, packaging, labeling, waste management, and quality management.
• Exercise Physiology 2 (20 credits): This module develops knowledge and understanding of the cardiovascular and metabolic responses of acute and chronic exercise, discussing these in relation to human health and performance.

Optional Modules:

• Sandwich Year - Sport Nutrition (120 credits): This placement provides students with an extended work experience at an approved partner to enhance their LJMU program.
• Study Year Abroad - Sport Nutrition (120 credits): This program provides students with an additional year of full-time study at an approved overseas partner institution.
It also discusses diet-related diseases and the evidence linking diet to disease and health.
• Molecular Nutrition and Genetics (20 credits): This module explores the expanding field of molecular nutrition, examining how dietary bioactive compounds can modulate biochemical systems and how this can be regulated at the gene level.
It also introduces concepts of precision and personalized nutrition.
• Applied Placement in Nutrition or Sport Nutrition (20 credits): This module provides students with the opportunity to gain insight and experience selected areas of the program from a work-related learning perspective.
It involves a 4-week work-related learning placement or applied project. It examines the efficacy of ergogenic aids and explores contemporary issues such as doping.
• Major Project (40 credits): This module extends understanding and deployment of research processes through the planning, production, analysis, and report of a piece of independent research.

Assessment:

Assessment methods vary depending on the modules but typically include a combination of exams and coursework. These may include:

• Exams (seen and unseen)
• Written work (essays, reports, learning logs, dissertation, lab reports, posters, review writing, blog writing)
• Presentations (group or individual)
• Practical assessments

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods: The program utilizes a blended learning approach, combining face-to-face and online learning.
This includes lectures, seminars, online activities, small-group tutorials, field trips, interactive practical sessions, guest speakers, and workshops.
• Faculty: The program is taught by research-active staff who are professionally registered with the Association for Nutrition (AfN) and/or Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr).
• Unique Approaches: The program takes advantage of LJMU's specialist facilities for nutritional assessment, as well as nutrition and food science laboratories.

Careers:

Successful completion of the program enables students to progress onto LJMU's MSc Sport Nutrition, which opens up career opportunities as sports/performance nutritionists working with national governing bodies, professional and/or amateur sports clubs, or individual athletes. Other career paths include:

• Health sector as a fully qualified, registered nutritionist
• Community health promotion and physical activity
• Clinical settings as an assistant dietetic practitioner
• Food industry, specifically the sports nutrition market in research and product development

Other:

• The program is designed to build both academic and practical skills.
• Students have access to LJMU's Careers Zone 24/7, a suite of online apps, resources, and jobs board.
• LJMU offers fully funded Discovery Internships.
• One-to-one careers and employability advice is available via campus-based Careers Zones.
• LJMU offers a year-round program of events, including themed careers and employability workshops, employer events, and recruitment fairs.
• The Start-Up Hub can help students grow their enterprise skills and research, plan, and start their own business or become a freelancer.
• The Go Citizen Scheme can help with costs towards volunteering, individual projects, or unpaid placements anywhere in the world.

Tuition fees

Home full-time per year £9,250 International full-time per year £18,250 Placement year £1,850 Placement year international £3,830 All figures are subject to yearly increases. Tuition fees are subject to parliamentary approval.