Global Public Health Nutrition MSc

Our Global Public Health Nutrition MSc will give you the specialist scientific knowledge and practical skills to take an active role in global public health nutrition in a range of different settings.

Nutrition has long been recognised as a vitally important determinant of health status within both industrialised and industrialising countries. Significant changes are occurring in the profile of nutritional problems. Many countries continue to face problems of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, but countries in economic transition also face the public health challenge of rising rates of diet-related chronic disease, such as obesity and coronary heart disease. Also, many industrialised countries now face problems of food insecurity among low-income groups. These challenges have led to growing political resources to address nutrition.

There is now an increased need for trained public health nutritionists, to work in a range of contexts, to control and prevent diet-related problems. The United Nations Secretary General has declared 2016–2025 the Decade of Nutrition. What better time to develop your skills in this crucial area?

As over 800 million people still go to bed hungry while one in three suffer from hidden hunger and one in nine are overweight or obese, there is still a long way to go to achieve these targets. The targets are also essential for achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals, and you'll explore the role of health and nutrition in addressing these global targets by 2030.

You'll be introduced to policy making, leadership and governance frameworks. You'll be encouraged to explore and debate the political and social influences underpinning policy implementation and impact, and to create innovative solutions to addressing global challenges in our food system, such as the impact of climate change and food waste.

Your modules will explore the relationship between diet and disease, the nutrition science underpinning these factors, public health nutrition epidemiology, research methods for health science, nutritional assessment tools and how to develop and manage nutrition programmes.

The course will introduce you to stakeholders and skills that can enhance your professional competency, employability and development as a public health reflective professional.

Course Structure:

Our assessments ensure that you graduate with the skills required by employers, which are transferable to a wide variety of fields and contexts. Assessments may include presentations, critical reviews, policy development and analysis, expressions of interest, programme proposals, data analysis using SPSS, interviews, podcasts, posters, policy briefings, TV newscasts, and health system analysis.

The course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition as part fulfilment of the requirements for registration as an associate Public Health Nutritionist. Students on this course can also apply for membership and certification with the World Public Health Nutrition Association.

Careers:

Employment opportunities for public health nutritionists are growing and there are numerous career paths our graduates follow, from working with Public Health England in writing policies, to acting as nutrition advisers to the Department of Health or other nutrition-focused organisations.

As well as developing the specialist skills to become an effective public health nutritionist, you'll be supported in developing key transferable skills for your career including communication, problem-solving, group-work and organisation.

A minimum of a lower second-class honours degree (2:2) in a relevant discipline including science or a social science subject. Students from a non-nutrition background are welcome to apply but they will be invited to complete our Essentials of Nutrition course, which has four short assessments. If you have previously studied at university level, or have equivalent work experience, academic credit may be awarded towards your course at Westminster.