Public Health Nutrition MSc

Study level: Postgraduate
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This course brings together the science of nutrition and the innovation of business to expand your horizons beyond the more traditional approaches to public health nutrition. It will enhance your public health and nutrition knowledge and skills.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

Course code

HLST225

Start date

January 2025


Course overview

The Public Health Nutrition MSc is designed to give you the opportunity to consider public health nutrition dilemmas by leading a culture that engages a shared responsibility for health.

This course aims to ensure graduates have the knowledge and skills to enable them to work in public health nutrition.

  • It aims to provide you with foundational skills and knowledge across the three pillars of public health: prevention, protection, and promotion, as well as underpinning knowledge of nutrition science and metabolism, disease prevention and the wider determinants of health.
  • The course brings together the science of nutrition, consultancy and creativity to expand your horizons beyond the more traditional approaches to public health nutrition.
  • It aims to equip you with the confidence and skills to become entrepreneurs within the highly competitive nutrition sector.
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Rated Gold Overall

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023

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5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

Why you should study this course

  • The Public Health Nutrition MSc aims to equip you to consider public health nutrition dilemmas by leading a culture that engages a shared responsibility for health, developing organised efforts to promote and maintain nutrition-related health / wellbeing and encouraging the informed choices of society.
  • The course journey focuses on methods to assess the health needs of populations, deliver disease prevention programmes, design health interventions, behaviour change techniques and disseminate evidence-based public health nutrition information through a variety of media, communications, creative thinking and leadership strategies.
  • You will have the opportunity to develop health promotion campaigns and projects as part of the course.
  • Develop organised efforts to promote and maintain nutrition-related health and wellbeing.
  • The changes within the public sector mean that it is important that students are made aware of and appreciate the opportunities available to them in the private sector and the value of their transferable skills. This is addressed through the development of their own business plan and through the CMI module. Upon successful completion of this module, you can also gain a postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice.

Accreditation and professional recognition

This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

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Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

As part of this course, you will undertake a professional development module which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) for the 2023-24 intake. Upon successful completion of the module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost.


I had a taste for further study

Public Health Nutrition MSc student Tasnim Zannat from Bangladesh shares her experience of studying her postgraduate course at Coventry University.

Tasnim's story
Headshot of Tasnim Zannat

What you'll study

Modules

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.


How you'll learn

The course attracts students from a number of different professional backgrounds from within the UK and internationally, therefore the teaching and learning across the course aims to reflect this. The course team aim to foster an environment whereby experiences of public health, nutrition, health and disease are shared within the classroom to create a community in which students can feel heard and can explore their different perspectives. We believe that this approach creates confident graduates who should have the ability to work nationally and internationally respecting cultural sensitivities upon successful completion of this course.

This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.


Teaching contact hours

Most modules run over 13 weeks involving 2-3 hours taught time per week. The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 28 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules. 

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.


Assessment

Assessment methods on this course will be varied and they will depend on the nature of the module. Assessment methods include:

  • Written case studies and/or reports
  • Group work
  • Presentations
  • Individual assignments.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.


International experience opportunities

The course aims to recruit students with different world views and experiences and allows them the opportunity to build their own identity as both a student and a future public health nutrition professional. Modules are aimed at exploring nutrition issues nationally and internationally drawing on the experiences of the multinational and multicultural cohorts the course usually attracts. The peer-to-peer opportunity of learning between students of differing nationalities is designed to strengthen the internationalisation of the course. Assessment case studies are designed to include intercultural aspects which should equip you to work at a national and international level.


Entry requirements

An honours degree in a Nutrition/Dietetic/Health Science/ Sports and Exercise Science undergraduate course – and students will normally have achieved a second class (2:2) classification or above, or equivalent qualification.

Applications from students who do not meet the above entry requirements may be considered, but their degree and experience will be assessed for appropriate content by the Course Director.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications; speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

Typical entry requirements

An honours degree in a Nutrition/Dietetic/Health Science/ Sports and Exercise Science undergraduate course – and students will normally have achieved a second class (2:2) classification or above, or equivalent qualification.

Applications from students who do not meet the above entry requirements may be considered, but their degree and experience will be assessed for appropriate content by the Course Director.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 6.0

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2024/25 tuition fees.

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man £11,200   Request fee information
EU £11,200 per year with EU Support Bursary**
£18,600 per year without EU Support Bursary**
Not available
International £18,600   Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.

The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:

  • Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
  • Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).

*Irish student fees

The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.

**EU Support Bursary

Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.


Facilities

Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities4.


Careers and opportunities

On successful completion of the course a student will be able to:

  • Critically understand the underpinning science of nutrition and its application to promote health behaviour change in populations and groups.
  • Use knowledge of food and nutrition, epidemiology and disease risk to critically analyse and interpret community or population nutrition needs and to evaluate how this relates to public health nutrition policy and practice.
  • Comprehend public health research and policy in order to critically appraise and evaluate the research or policy considering rigour, generalisability, theoretical concerns, and practical issues.
  • Self-reflect regarding professional development and be aware of legal and ethical obligations involved in practising as a public health nutritionist.
  • Critically consider global health issues and evaluate the importance of cultural sensitivity and sustainability within public health settings and other professional contexts.
  • Critically evaluate the principles for leading and developing people and a culture of organisational health and wellbeing.
  • Integrate knowledge and understanding from the disciplines of public health, nutrition, and psychology of behaviour change to identify or propose solutions through research, creative media, public health and commercial outputs.
  • Justify choice of research design and methods to investigate (under supervision) a research question or hypothesis of relevance to public health nutrition and present this in a way that would stand up to critical review and scrutiny in academic and professional settings.

Public health nutrition graduates may work in a variety of settings to improve or enhance public health through the prevention and secondary prevention of nutrition and diet-related diseases.

Government and local government, health authorities and hospitals, charities and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) all employ public health nutritionists. The food industry, including manufacturers and retailers, utilises public health nutritionists to facilitate social responsibility or to gain a competitive advantage through using nutrition as a unique selling point. Successful completion of this Public Health Nutrition course could also act as a launchpad for further academic study including PhD.


How to apply

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