MSc Food, Nutrition and Health
Online Ireland
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 125 / per credit *
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
* EU/non-EU fee
Key Summary
Introduction
The MSc Food, Nutrition and Health is aimedย at graduates from a variety of disciplines andย the programme is suitable for both scienceย and non-science graduates. Students will beย educated on the fundamentals of food scienceย and nutrition after which the curriculumย enables students to choose topics for moreย detailed focus.
This programme is delivered and assessed entirely on- line. The minimum registration to the MSc is two years,ย however students have four years in which to complete the programme thereby affording flexibility. The flexible and online format of the programme enables the majority of students enrolling on the programme to combine studying while in employment.
Hosted by the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, the Food, Nutrition and Health programmeย brings together academic and research staff from across UCD in health-related aspects of food research, including food science, human and public health nutrition, food production, biosystems engineering, food law, consumer behaviour and food safety.
Students will gain an understanding of the nature of food, how it is produced, how it is affected by processing, why we eat, what happens to food when we eat it, and how food components can interact with the functioning of humans. Upon completion of the MSc graduates will be able to apply this knowledge to address nutrition-related problems in different groups, cultures and societies.
Graduates will be educated to a high level in the science of food as it pertains to human nutrition and health.
Gallery
Ideal Students
Who Should Apply?
Part-Time option suitable for:
- Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
- International (Non-EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region.ย Yes
The programme is suitable for graduates with no formal educational background in food science or nutrition, who wish to up-skill and become competent and employable in this increasingly important and rapidly evolving field.
It is aimed at graduates from various disciplines and the programme is suitable for both science and non-science graduates.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please contact our Admissions team!
Curriculum
Stage 1 Options - A) Minimum 1 of: Core Modules
- Chemistry of Nutrients
- Principles of Biochemistry
- Introduction to Nutrition
- Research Design and Statistics
- Project FNH O/L
Stage 1 Options - B) Minimum 0 of: Group 1 Option Modules
- Food Microbiology & Safety
- Plant Foods
- Pathways to Health (O/L)
- Food Regulatory Affairs (O/L)
- Nutritional Assessment
- Public Health Nutrition O/L
- Food Chemistry
- Food Process Technology
- Food Marketing (O/L)
- Principles of Sensory Science
- Animal Foods
- Nutrients in the Life Cycle
- Omic Strategies in Nutrition
- Food Quality and Safety (O/L)
- Professional Practice
- Clinical Nutrition O/L
- Nutritional Physiology
- Sport and Exercise Nutrition
- Promoting Consumer Nutrition
Stage 1 Options - C) Minimum 0 of Group 2 Option Modules
- Food Microbiology & Safety
- Pathways to Health (O/L)
- Food Regulatory Affairs (O/L)
- Nutritional Assessment
- Public Health Nutrition O/L
- Food Chemistry
- Principles of Sensory Science
- Nutrients in the Life Cycle
- Omic Strategies in Nutrition
- Food Quality and Safety (O/L)
- Professional Practice
- Clinical Nutrition O/L
- Nutritional Physiology
- Sport and Exercise Nutrition
- Promoting Consumer Nutrition
Program Outcome
What Will I Learn?
- Be skilled in proposing and developing solutions to nutrition-related problems as they relate to human health and disease and communicate these to stakeholders, at a professional and appropriate level, utilizing information technology and a range of approaches
- Demonstrate a critical awareness of principles relating to scientific integrity and ethical issues in Food, Nutrition and Health
- Demonstrate competence to acquire, organise, analyse, integrate and critically review information from a wide range of sources relating to issues in Food, Nutrition and Health and construct and defend reasoned conclusions
- Demonstrate effective time management and organization skills
- Have a working knowledge of the structures and theoretical tools that enable efficient team work, in order to generate innovative ideas and know-how to approach their subsequent selection for further development
- Integrate and apply knowledge of key principles underlying Food, Nutrition and Health
- Think independently, show initiative, evaluate and select appropriate and reasoned approaches to solve problems
- Use the principles of scientific inquiry, to research a particular Food, Nutrition and Health issue that merits a detailed research investigation
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
There are excellent job prospects for graduates in Food, Nutrition and Health with graduates working in a range of roles across the food industry, public health and regulatory agencies. Graduates have the distinct advantage of bringing a nutrition or health perspective to their roles.
Within the food industry graduates will work in areas such as product innovation, technical sales, product quality enhancement, nutrition and health promotion or food labelling regulation.
The range of roles and careers that our graduates have progressed to has been very broad. This is principally due to the range of backgrounds our students originate from โ including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, sports nutrition, teaching, law, etc.
Graduates have progressed to further study including PhD research and Clinical Dietetic Graduate Programmes.
Graduates have also progressed to Nutritionist roles securing personal accreditation with the AfN (Association for Nutrition).
Graduate Roles include
- Product Innovation
- Technical Sales
- Production Quality Enhancement
- Health Promotion
- Food Regulation
Student Testimonials
Program Admission Requirements
Demonstrate your commitment and readiness to succeed in business school by taking the GMAT exam โ the most widely used exam for admissions that measures your critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Download the GMAT mini quiz to get a flavour of the questions youโll find in the exam.