Sport & Exercise Nutrition BSc (Hons)
UCAS Code: SPEN|Duration: 3|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
*Subject to validation
Nutrition and exercise are the most fundamental components of a healthy lifestyle, with inappropriate nutrition and/or insufficient exercise being the most common causes of a wide range of diseases. Correct nutrition is also essential for supporting and maximising sports performance and training adaptations. Our degree in Sport & Exercise Nutrition is therefore ideal for those interested in a future career where exercise and nutrition interact to promote health and sports performance.
An increasing understanding of the role of exercise and nutrition interventions to promote health and sports performance has led to the growth of industry for expert practitioners supporting athletes’ performance needs, and the manufacturing of specialist supplements and food products. Whilst providing a rounded learning and teaching experience in the field of sport & exercise nutrition, our degree also offers the opportunity to focus on one of these specialist areas.
In the first year of study, you will develop foundational knowledge and understanding of exercise physiology & training adaptations, human nutrition & biochemistry and the relationship between exercise, nutrition and health. This year of study is supported by a wealth of experiences in the exercise and nutrition laboratories where you will acquire key skills to enable the measurement of human function and nutritional status. Your second year of study will involve the specialist study of sports nutrition, nutritional status and health, and the physiological assessment of human performance. In the final year of study, you will consider more advanced and current issues in sports nutrition, ergogenic aids and nutrition, as well as physical activity and behaviour modification for the benefit of health. The final year also offers you the opportunity to undertake original research in the field and opt for your specialised route, either studying the role of a sport nutrition practitioner, or focused on the food/supplement industry and product development.
You will study within our multi-million pound Health & Sport Sciences complex, incorporating specialised exercise and nutrition teaching laboratories. Within these you will learn to conduct complete physiological and anthropometric assessments of human function, in addition to understanding clinical nutrition, nutritional biochemistry, food sensory analysis and food product development. You will be taught by tutors who are active researchers in the field and who regularly publish their work in the scientific literature that you will read as you progress through your degree.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of smaller groups of around 15-20 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students. Seminars are very often of a practical nature, taking place in the exercise science or nutrition laboratories. You will also have the opportunity to speak one-to-one with your tutor each week.
In your first year of study there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 10 teaching hours in your second and third years. On top of teaching hours, you are also expected to spend approximately 30 hours studying independently for each week of your course, including studying in groups to prepare for any group assessments that you may have.
Assessment and feedback
Assessment of your progress is made primarily via coursework, but with two exams in the summer term being taken each year. These exams are worth 33% of the first year and 25% of the second and third years.
A wide variety of assessments are used to enable all types of learners to excel and to prepare you for your future career. We therefore utilise individual and group presentations, laboratory reports, portfolios, case studies, essays and practical tests.
In your final year, you will complete a research dissertation focused on a research topic that you will discuss with one of the teaching team. Though guided by your tutor and normally related to your other areas of study, you will have a significant degree of independence in choosing the topic for your dissertation. In some cases, these dissertations have been presented at scientific conferences and recognised internationally as important pieces of research in the field.
We support our students by ensuring the marking criteria is available in advance, with specific taught sessions dedicated to understanding the requirements for all assessments. Following submission, we provide a comprehensive, online package of feedback and future support for every piece of coursework. This can be downloaded wherever you are and saved for future reference.
Year One
Example topics include (subject to course validation):
Principles of human nutrition
During this part of the course students will learn about optimum macro and micronutrient intakes, as well as the implications of excesses and deficiencies. How digestion occurs in the human body will also be considered, as well as fluid and energy balance and the impact of alcohol and non-nutritive substances.
Exercise physiology
Understanding the foundations of the physiological basis for exercise, with particular reference to the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory, cardiovascular, muscular and metabolic systems. Introduction to the regulation and integration of these physiological systems alongside an overview of neural, digestive and urinary systems. A highly applied section of the program supported by an intensive programme of laboratory work where you will learn the fundamentals of human exercise testing and physiological evaluation.
Nutritional biochemistry and metabolism
Students will have an opportunity to develop their understanding of key principles regarding biochemistry, with a focus on the biochemical assemblage of macronutrients and their metabolism.
Food systems
This part of the course will equip students with a clear understanding of the food supply chain and how this is liked to sustainability and health. Furthermore, students will also learn about key principles regarding food safety and allergen awareness, as well as having the opportunity to become certified in these areas by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Physical activity and health
Physical activity is central to the maintenance of health and the prevention of non-communicable disease. You will consider the “Landmark” studies that for the first time provided evidence for the prevention of disease through physical activity and exercise. You will also examine recommendations for how much physical activity should be undertaken and how this contrasts with typical physical activity undertaken by UK adults and children.
Nutritional modification
Dietary modification is of core importance for a variety of career pathways in nutrition and sports nutrition. Students will learn how to assess and modify the diet of an individual using dietary analysis software and will have the opportunity to try out their own reformulated diet plans in our state-of-the-art food laboratories during several practical sessions.
Principles of muscular strength and conditioning
An introduction to muscular anatomy and physiology, assessment of muscular function and the adaptations to muscle anatomy and physiology due to the training process
Year Two
Example topics include (subject to course validation):
Nutritional assessment
Nutritional assessment is used to determine the nutritional status of individuals via the collection and interpretation of measures and information. Students will explore the ABCD of nutritional assessment. A is for Anthropometry, the measurement of the body. B for the Biochemical analysis of nutritional status. C for the Clinical signs of malnutrition and D for assessment of Dietary intake.
Physiology of exercise training
With a focus on the physiology of aerobic function, you will understand adaptations to exercise training and the measurement of key aerobic parameters such as the lactate threshold and maximal oxygen uptake. This forms a basis for understanding functional decline in disease and training intensity distribution for aerobic performance. Accompanied by a series of laboratory-based workshops where you will make direct measures of aerobic function.
Nutrition throughout the lifecycle
Energy and nutrient requirements differ depending on sex and stage of life. During this block, students will acquire knowledge and understanding of specific nutritional requirements needed for development, growth and optimal health. They will explore how dietary intakes and nutritional status during the early stages of the lifecycle, i.e. fetal, childhood and adolescence, influence health, by increasing or decreasing the risk for dietary related disease at later life stages.
Sport Nutrition
You will study foundational principles of the role of muscle glycogen and carbohydrate ingestion on exercise performance and consider the volume, frequency and type of carbohydrate feedings that maximise sport performance. The controversial field of a high fat diet for sports performance will be addressed in addition to learning practical techniques to quantify fat and carbohydrate oxidation.
Training programme design
Effective training programme design and evaluation is central to maximising the effects of training. You will learn about the fundamental principles of strength, speed and agility training and how to program them within an overall training programme. Lectures are supplemented with practical sessions in the field to understand best practice in the measurement of these parameters.
Influencing factors that affect health and nutritional status
Students will have the opportunity to explore how factors such as ethnicity, culture, religion and socioeconomic status influence food choice, dietary behaviours and health. Students will learn how nutrients interact with the human genome influencing long term health, with a focus on the contribution genes make to obesity.
Nutritional status and intakes can be enhanced at population level via the fortification and enrichment of commonly consumed foods. In addition, the possible interactions between nutrients and/or drugs and how these can potentially impede optimal nutritional status will be explored.
Physical activity, health & health promotion
Building on your first year of study, you will develop your understanding of the relationship between physical activity and health to examine the effectiveness of different health promotion campaigns to promote physical activity across a range of different communities and environments, such as disability, minority groups and the workplace.
Nutritional epidemiology and public health nutrition principles
Nutritional epidemiology is the study of the relationship between dietary exposure and the causes and pattern of diseases in populations. Students will critically appraise nutritional assessment, in addition to different research methods and study designs. Students will also explore the principles of Public Health Nutrition in promoting good health through healthy eating and preventing dietary related diseases in the population.
Research methods
During this section of the course, you will learn about how research data can be collected and analysed. This will involve developing your knowledge in areas such as statistics, questionnaire design and qualitative research and will prepare you well for your final year where you will have the opportunity to conduct your own independent research study and put your research methods skills into practice.
Year Three
Example topics include (subject to course validation):
Nutrition, physical activity, and sport
Students have an opportunity to learn about several key perspectives in the interrelationship between nutrition, physical activity, exercise, and health within this area. The role of body composition within health and disease and methods of assessment of body composition will be discussed. The difference between physical activity, physical fitness, sport, and exercise will be established with the critical appraisal regarding the impact of the complex association between these constructs with nutrition and health.
Clinical nutrition
Within this area, the interrelationship between nutrition, obesity, and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer together with cognitive function and impairment will be discussed. The role of nutrition and weight management in the prevention of the above clinical conditions will be critically appraised as part of broader discussions of the association between lifestyle, holistic health, and wellbeing.
Sports Nutrition
You will study the evidence and practical applications underpinning the role of diet and dietary supplementation of carbohydrate and protein to promote sports performance and training adaptations. You will learn to critically evaluate the evidence in this space, particularly in respect of the typical diet and training status of the individual.
Ergogenic aids
You will consider key ergogenic aids such as creatine, bicarbonate, beetroot juice and caffeine, and evaluate whether not they can enhance exercise performance. You will learn how to form judgements about the potential efficacy of ergogenic aids based on their potential mechanisms of action.
Public health nutrition
The topic area explores the key principles of public health nutrition, reflecting on the international, national, and local perspectives in the development of food and nutrition policies, to incorporate public health nutrition models into practice and explore practical considerations in devising and evaluating local food and nutrition policies.
Food choice, behaviour modification and nutrition education
The theoretical models underlying food choice, and the ones explaining nutritional health behaviour will be explored while students critically appraise the traditional and modern strategies used for nutrition education and behaviour modification for enhancing nutritional status.
Physical activity, exercise & health
With ever increasing rates of non-communicable disease, you will study best practice in prescribing exercise for the promotion of health in a range of different diseased and healthy populations, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, pregnancy and children.
Food product development
This section of the course will focus on the development of sports nutrition products and will also consider wider global health issues and the enhancement of sustainable food systems. You will also develop skills regarding the assessment of a product’s organoleptic properties using sensory analysis. Time will also be spent developing an in-depth knowledge of the processes and laws that guide global food and drink packaging systems, all of which are crucial when producing sports nutrition products.
Food safety, authenticity, and food quality management
Acknowledgement of food allergens and sensitivities and maintaining food safety standards are legal requirements for food manufactures. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of underlying legislation and obligations concerning these aspects and will learn about the specific steps and processes needed to achieve effective food safety and quality management.
Sport nutrition practice
Translating scientific evidence to best practice in the field requires the consideration of athlete lifestyle, overall training program, age, periodisation and training goals. Practitioners also need to acquire “soft skills” in order to transfer knowledge to the athlete and persuade them to change habits. In this focused area of study, you will learn these skills that can set you on a path to becoming a sport nutrition practitioner.
Research dissertation
An independent research project with the purpose of discovering new findings in the field of Sport and Exercise Nutrition.
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BCC |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 104 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DMM |
| Access to HE | 104 Tariff Points |
| IB | 24 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 104 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| T-Levels | Merit |
| Subject Requirements | No specific subject requirements |
International entry requirements
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
Careers
Graduates of Sport & Exercise Nutrition are particularly well placed for a future career working as an applied sport nutrition practitioner in elite sport, or within the food and sport supplement industries.
Alternatively, graduates of this program would be highly suitable in supporting patients in their rehabilitation and treatment for disease or undertaking health assessments and advising on exercise and nutrition interventions. These careers can be found in the public and private sector.
Many of our graduates use our degree as a basis for further study at postgraduate level, such as a Masters or PhD.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2024/25 academic year are £9,250 for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,250.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
Additional costs
On top of your tuition fees, you need approximately £250 to purchase key textbooks during the course of your degree.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2024/25 are £12,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.