course page main image

Dietetics (pre-registration) - MSc

Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry. Switch to 2025/26 Entry

As the only qualified health professionals to assess, diagnose and deliver interventions for diet and nutrition-related problems, there has never been a greater demand for qualified, knowledgeable dietitians to contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and the wider public....

  • Level Postgraduate Taught
  • Study mode Full Time

This course is:

Open to International Students

Overview

Course is Full for 2024/25 Entry

Applications for this course are now closed. To start in January 2026, applications will open after January 2025.

As the only qualified health professionals to assess, diagnose and deliver interventions for diet and nutrition-related problems, there has never been a greater demand for qualified, knowledgeable dietitians to contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and the wider public. Our MSc in Dietetics will provide you with the knowledge, skills and professional approach needed for practice in a contemporary healthcare environment.

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

On this postgraduate degree in Dietetics, you will gain knowledge in food science, applied nutrition, clinical pathology and pharmacology, social science and therapeutic dietetics. Development of key skills, including communication, research and professionalism will enable you to become a compassionate and competent practitioner who can deliver effective, evidence-based and quality-driven care. You'll learn in specially built clinical skills rooms, with specialist space so you can get the best training possible.

Accredited By

This course is accredited by:

  • HCPC

Why Choose Us?

  • Funding - Allied health profession students will receive at least £5,000 a year in additional funding for maintenance and associated study costs. Download the funding FAQs
  • This course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
  • The alignment with our new undergraduate sports, nutrition and biomedical sciences courses offers you a unique opportunity to gain a sound knowledge of the underpinning scientific principles and contemporary research relevant to your practice
  • Successful completion of the MSc Dietetics confers eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC
  • You will build your knowledge through a combination of academic and practice based learning (PBL) opportunities. Blocks of PBL - covering both traditional and emerging environments - will enable you to be work ready for a diverse range of dietetic career opportunities 
  • You will be taught in a small cohort by specialist lecturers who work within the sector and can provide relevant, up-to-date information alongside real life case studies
  • We work in partnership with service users and carers to inform the design of the programme as well as involving them in aspects of delivery, enabling you to directly interact with, and learn from, service users and carers
  • You will develop effective team working and communication skills through inter-professional learning, projects and practice based learning enabling you to facilitate group education and to work within a multi-disciplinary team
  • You will learn about business and innovation alongside clinical and health promotion topics, helping you to become an effective practitioner within the ever-changing healthcare environment
  • You will study in our latest development, the £41 million home for the School of Health Sciences, where you’ll have access to state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge resources including mock clinical environments and online simulation learning
  • Student loan finance - have you already studied an undergraduate degree but would like to do a second one in Dietetics? You may be eligible for funding.

OPEN DAY

Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.

Next Event: 24 November 2024

Book now

Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

UK students
Essential

You must have an Honours degree with a 2:1 or above which includes the study of human physiology and biochemistry (including cell biology, concepts of cell theory, an understanding of the fundamentals of biological chemistry; key biochemical molecules and their role in cellular activities; physiological processes at the organ and systems level)

Suitable degrees include; biomedical science, human nutrition, nutritional science, biochemistry, human biology, physiology or health sciences. 

Please note, we may need to ask to see your undergraduate degree transcript and in some cases, will request further details about the content of individual modules. 

You must also have GCSEs (or equivalent) in mathematics and English at grade C or above.


Any offer of a place is subject to satisfactory performance at interview.

International students
Essential

If English is not your first language, you must have an IELTS score of 7.0, with no element below 6.5.

Other requirements
Essential

DBS Disclosure: satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) report

Occupational Health Clearance: satisfactory occupational health clearance

A strong interest in working as a registered dietitian, with a demonstrated understanding of the role and the skills required to be a registered practitioner. It may be advantageous to have work experience in a care environment

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MSc

Starting: Jan 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 2 years
  • £9,250 in 2024/25
  • Applications Closed

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MSc

Starting: Jan 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 2 years
  • £17,710 in 2024/25
  • Applications Closed

Access to computer equipment

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms.

Printing

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment.

Field trips

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees.

Access to Microsoft Office 365

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation.

Key software

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research.

Key subscriptions

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library.

DBS check

If you are required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for this course, the cost for your first DBS check is included in your fees.

Uniform

You will be provided with 3 sets of uniform, tunic and trousers.

Occupational health assessment

You will need to complete an occupational health assessment. The cost for this is included in your course fee.

Placement expenses (mandatory)

Placements are a compulsory element of this course. You'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst living or working away from home.

Excess printing (optional)

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet.

Books (optional)

All module key texts will be in the University library, but in limited numbers. You are strongly advised to purchase a copy of the BDA PENG Pocket Guide to Clinical Nutrition soon after starting the course (current cost £43)

Memberships (optional)

You may wish to join a union or professional body related to this course, such as the British Dietetic Association, 1st year is free, 2nd year is currently £41.

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

Applications for this course are now closed. To start in January 2026, applications will open after January 2025.

Your personal statement

Your personal statement is a highly important part of your application. It gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you and also provides evidence of a good command of written English. 

Here are the key areas you’ll need to address in order to be considered

Course choice

Why does this course appeal? What areas are of particular interest? Tell us about your commitment to studying dietetics

Career as a dietitian

Demonstrate an awareness of the dietetic role and the skills required of a registered practitioner. Show us that you have an interest in and the ability to work with people in a caring role.

Work experience, dietetic shadowing and employment history

Mention any paid or voluntary work that is relevant, highlighting and reflecting on the skills and experience gained and how this will be useful in your chosen career as a dietitian.

School/college or University experience

Highlight skills gained at school/college/university, eg summer schools, mentoring activities, society roles.

Non-accredited skills or achievement

eg Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise scheme.

You should also talk about any subjects you’re studying that don’t have a formal assessment and any sponsorships or placements you’ve applied for. And don't be scared to add in details about your social, sports or leisure interests.

Get more information on writing personal statements.

All students studying this dietetics course will be expected to demonstrate the core values of the NHS Constitution. This will be assessed as part of the interview process (see below). 

References

Your application will need to be supported by one reference.

Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) and Occupational health

We expect all health and social care students to act in an honest and trustworthy manner and that your conduct, behaviour and attitudes are compatible at all times with your professional Code of Conduct. The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) set criminal record checks as a requirement for entry to educational courses leading to an application for professional registration.

If you are offered a place on the programme, you will receive an email inviting you to complete an online DBS application form via our external provider closer to the start date of your course. No convictions or cautions are considered as ‘spent’ under the ‘exceptions’ allowed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974. There is no time limit to some parts of the record.

if you have lived outside of the UK for six months or more in the past five years, we will need to see a criminal record check from the country you were living in. For applicants living in the Republic of Ireland, we will need to see an Irish Garda clearance. 

Please be aware that you are responsible for covering the cost of the DBS application. This cost will vary by country. 

For more information on DBS including EU/overseas applications and the associated cost of an application, please read more here

Once you have fully enrolled on your course you must inform us about any involvement you have had with the Police or Social Services, including motoring offences.

Occupational Health 

The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) set ‘good health’ requirements for entry to educational courses leading to professional registration. Good health is necessary to undertake practice and means that students must be capable of safe and effective practice with supervision throughout their course of study.

Expert advice to confirm good health will be received from the Occupational Health Department at Birmingham City University. If necessary, you will be invited for a medical examination and specialist advice may be requested. When students are required to attend Occupational Health for immunisations and vaccinations they will be asked to sign an agreement which states they will attend all required appointments. Failure to attend one or more appointment will result in additional costs to the student.

The health requirement is not a bar to registering for people with disabilities.

Once you enrol on your course you are required to complete an annual declaration confirming that you continue to be in good health. 

The Interview process

Interviews are vital in ensuring your suitability for the programme in terms of your academic ability and understanding, evidence of oral communication skills, and motivation to pursue a career in Dietetics. It is also a way of finding out more about BCU and offers an opportunity to meet some of the programme team.

The recruitment process will consist of two stages:

Stage 1: Written task. You will be required to answer a few questions in a virtual timed written activity. The written tasks will be marked by a member of the academic team. You will have a choice of dates and times to participate in the activity, which will take place in early summer.

Stage 2: In person one to one interview and group activity. The best performing candidates on the written task will then be invited to attend an interview day on campus. This will involve a group activity and a one to one interview with a panel including members of  the Dietetics teaching team, an expert by experience and a practice partner. Answers will be marked by the interview team. These interviews will take place in the summer and are subject to change if this is deemed necessary by the university due to Covid 19.

Information about the interviews

The written task and the interview day will consist of a range of questions which may include:

  • Profession specific knowledge, skills, behaviours and values
  • Understanding and application of NHS core values
  • Reflection on your own knowledge and experience

Course in Depth

Level 7

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):

Practice Based Learning

Download course specification

Download now

This postgraduate dietetics degree course will be delivered full-time over a minimum of two years, with each year comprising 45 weeks of learning – this is required to incorporate your clinical practice based learning (PBL) opportunities.

There will be a minimum of 1,000 hours in PBL, ensuring that you have sufficient opportunity to achieve the required practice competencies.

Student Consent to act as a service user during the programme

Throughout the programme, there are opportunities to participate as service users in practical and clinical teaching sessions and role play. You will be asked for your consent to act as a service user prior to taking part in these sessions. A consent form will be completed during induction and will be kept in your personal record. You are under no obligation to act as a service user and your refusal would not negate your continued eligibility to participate in the practical learning exercises. We appreciate that there is a lot to take in during your initial induction, therefore all of the relevant materials will be available online throughout the year to allow you to view them later if required and information regarding the specific content will be provided in advance of each practical session.

Uniform and Equipment

You may be required to wear a uniform for PBL opportunities. You will be fitted for the required uniform on commencement of your course. Given that your programme involves PBL opportunities with the National Health Service (NHS), we wish to bring standard NHS advice to your attention with respect to dress code. For purposes of minimising the spread of infection and of cross contamination, this (dress) code includes the requirement that a short sleeved uniform is worn in many hospital and clinic contexts. Should you wish to discuss any concerns in connection to this prior to starting the course, please contact the programme lead in the first instance.

Additional costs that students may incur related to their studies are outlined below

Professional Body Membership

It is a requirement that you become a student member of The British Dietetic Association (BDA), the professional body for dietitians during your time as a dietetic student at BCU. It is free of charge during your first year of study and incurs an annual fee for the second year. Membership includes professional indemnity insurance. 

Books

Students are instructed to wait until they have started the course before purchasing any books, as individual module co-ordinators may make particular recommendations and students may also be able to borrow books as required from the University library.

You will be required to purchase the PENG Pocket Guide to Clinical Nutrition prior to your A2 PBL opportunity. You will get a better price for the PENG if you are a member of the BDA so we would encourage you to join the BDA after you enrol on the course. 

Printing and photocopying costs

In addition to any book purchases, the MSc Dietetics programme utilises a range of bespoke teaching including worksheets, support notes and quizzes. All of this material will be available in electronic format, through Moodle sites. You will also be expected to access additional literature sources (i.e. scientific journals, government publications), as part of your directed and self-directed learning. You may wish to print some of this teaching material and literature and take account of the additional cost of doing so.

HCPC
Health and Care Professions Council

This course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council, and will give you eligibility to apply for registration if you successfully complete the course.

Employability

Enhancing your employability skills

As the demand for qualified diet and nutrition professionals grows, there are ever expanding career opportunities for registered dietitians. This highly vocational course will equip you with the core knowledge and skills to enable you to apply for registration with the HCPC and to secure employment as a dietitian in a variety of roles, including acute and community healthcare, health promotion, health education, industry, the media, or in private practice.

Integrated practice learning will allow you to build relationships with local employers, both NHS and non-NHS and the inter-professional learning interspersed in the course will enable you to work effectively as part of a team, in whichever field you choose to pursue.

You might also choose to stay in education, progressing on to studying a PhD, which could enable you to pursue a career within research.

International

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

Facilities & Staff

We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.

Mock Wards

These are set up to look like typical hospital wards, with four-six bays. Depending on the topic in hand, different manikins can be used as patients and relevant equipment is provided to practise clinical skills. Some of the manikins are interactive and can simulate different scenarios e.g. some allow you to cannulate, check pulses, intubate etc, and some can talk to you. One ward is often used as an adult ward, and the other as a child ward.

These rooms also allow for scenarios to be set up for other professions such as dietetics, paramedic science and social work.

The Operating Theatre and Recovery Suites

The operating theatre and recovery suite gives you the sense of what it would be like in a real surgical environment.

These spaces emulate the full surgical journey from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery. ODP students can practice a range of skills including gowning, hand washing, preparing instrument trays, and working with a patient. Nurses and midwives may experience a surgical placement and need to go to theatre or be part of the midwifery team involved with caesarean sections. Many other Allied Health Professionals may also see patients in recovery if necessary.

Home Environment Room

This space is used to simulate non-clinical settings, as not everything health professionals deal with is hospital based. This is used for simulations of home visits and home births. It also houses soft matting and a bubble machine that are used by the Learning Disability Nursing team.

Assisted Living Space

This space replicates a flat and is used for scenarios such as home visits. The sitting room area provides a different space to practise skills and simulations and work with service users and other students.

Assisted Kitchen

This specially designed kitchen has different areas where you can practice cooking, cleaning, boiling the kettle etc., with someone who has actual or simulated visual impairments. There are adapted devices to help, and simulation glasses for you to wear to experience visual impairments.

Physiotherapy Room

This is a space for physiotherapy students to use, with various equipment to practise client meetings.

Radiotherapy Planning Computer Suite

Our computers allow you to plan hypothetical treatments, in terms of angles and directions, ensuring that radiotherapy reaches where it is needed on a patient’s body.

Radiography Image Interpretation and Reporting Stations Computer Suite

These facilities allow you to view and analyse x-rays.

VERT - Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training

This room contains 3D technology to view virtual patients and look at trajectories for treatment.

Radiotherapy

This room contains the same bed/couch used when patients are given radiotherapy treatment. While students of course do not administer radiotherapy in this room, it does allow them to practise adjusting the equipment to make sure both it and a patient would be in the correct position to receive treatment.

Telehealth Room

This room allows for small group teaching in a central area (large boardroom type table) with five small telehealth booths down either side. These are to allow all our health professions students to practise delivering healthcare and advice remotely, either over the phone or on a video call. This addition to our teaching reflects moves in the sector to offer more flexible access to healthcare services, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Imaging Academy

This new facility is a larger version of our existing image interpretation computer facilities and forms part of the Midlands Imaging Academy Hub, funded by Health Education England. These expanded facilities will mean we can further develop our courses and expertise in radiography and imaging.

Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room

Our Speech and Language Therapy Team have developed a collection of tools, books and resources to help you learn and understand the implications of a speech or swallowing limitation. You can practise one to one client meetings and clinics and use the video recording equipment to review role play scenarios.

Ultrasound simulation suite

You have access to a wide range of Ultrasound simulation equipment to develop your clinical skills and aid in training. The equipment includes two ultrasound machines with a range of phantoms, scan training stations and eve body works.


Our staff

Lynsey Richards

Senior Lecturer and Course Lead for MSc Dietetics

Lynsey qualified as a Registered Dietitian in 2010 at the University of Nottingham, and has over a decade of experience in the NHS in a range of clinical areas, including home enteral tube feeding, nutrition support, weight management, renal and diabetes.

More about Lynsey

Sean McIntosh

Lecturer in Dietetics

Sean has had an extensive and varied career as a clinical dietitian with a career spanning 10 years in multiple specialties ahead of starting a lecture position here at Birmingham City University.

More about Sean