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Summary:
Course Code: D611
Course Code: D612
Course Code: D610
Where Are You Applying From?
How Would You Like To Study?
When Do You Want To Start Your Studies?
Which Campus Would You Like To Study At?
Which Options Would You Like With Your Course?
Why choose the School of Life Sciences
85% of our full-time UK biosciences graduates are in highly skilled employment or graduate further study, 15 months after graduating (source: HESA Graduate Outcomes 2020/21, pub 2023).
Our graduates have gone on to work at industry-leading companies and institutions such as Unilever and Arla Foods.
Take a fee-free placement year in industry, gaining real-world experience and building contacts for the future.
About the course
With the world facing a host of food-safety issues and diet-related health problems food and nutrition have never been more relevant. This course gets you to the heart of this fast-developing field opening up a wide range of exciting career paths.
Nowadays food travels as fast as people and the need to supply adequate quantities of safe healthy and diversified food from production to consumption calls for skilled knowledgeable and practice-ready food scientists.
This degree gives you the skills and knowledge you need starting with the core fields of food and nutrition: human anatomy; physiology; microbiology; biochemistry; and the principles of food and nutrition. You then go on to explore specialised areas such as clinical nutrition immunology food microbiology and biotechnology. Throughout you develop your ability to relate results to theory with practical laboratory training in the latest biochemical and molecular experiments.
Why choose this course?
- It has a high overall student satisfaction rating of 90% (NSS 2022) with food sciences scoring higher area ratings for teaching (98%) and learning opportunities (100%)
- Develop your understanding of practical aspects of food production such as food spoilage safety and quality control and public health nutrition
- Using our modern laboratories become skilled in analysis including the microbial and chemical contamination of food nutrition content and the effect of nutritional supplements
- Think globally about problems such as the effect on health of over-consumption in developed nations or poor nutrition in economically under-developed countries
- Learn from our expert Life Sciences team all of whom are actively involved in research
- Gain a range of transferable skills including independent thinking; planning and problem solving; observation and analysis; and communication
- If you need a step-up into higher education take the course over four years and include a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the degree course
- As a graduate benefit from career opportunities in food and nutrition research and development across a variety of sectors including government health academia pharmaceuticals and the biotechnology industry
Nursing and midwifery students will be eligible for additional support of at least £5,000 to help with living costs with funding from the NHS. The funding will be given to new and continuing degree-level students.
The funding comes as part of the government’s pledge to increase nurse numbers by 50,000 over the next five years.
You will receive at least £5,000 a year, with further funding available for eligible students:
- £1,000 for specialist disciplines
- £2,000 for childcare costs
- Exceptional Hardship Fund of up to £3,000.
The funding will not have to be repaid by recipients. You will also be able to continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
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with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
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What will you study?
Studying our Food and Nutrition Science BSc (Hons) course will equip you with the skills and expertise around food production and consumption, nutrition, health and disease, and the food industry. In areas of theory, you will be introduced to the study of microorganisms in our Microbiology and Biochemistry unit that will give you an understanding of biochemical principles using practical techniques such as light microscopes while establishing good laboratory practice. This closely links to our Cell Biology unit where you will discover various cell structures and types and relate this to how it is fundamental to human life. Moreover, you will be given a broad understanding of Human Anatomy and Physiology to analyse the relationship between body parts and their functions. You will explore the basics of Molecular Genetics unit with topics including chromosome function, genetic inheritance and cell division as well as develop your knowledge on basic concepts in Chemistry. To equip you with the research and practical skills for this course, our Skills in Food and Nutrition Science unit will teach you to record, analyse and report data from experiments.Ìý
In your second year, you will build on this in our Skills in Science unit will equip you with a range of skills you need for your research and for a career in science. You will explore Human Metabolism on a cellular level and do the same inÌýour Immunology unit where you will closely study the human immune system and how it protects us against a range of pathogens and diseases. Biotechnology will allow you to discover genetic processes in the field of biotechnology that involves the genetic manipulation of cells and tissues for research purposes. In our Food Microbiology unit, you will be introduced to the importance of microbiology and its role in the food and nutrition industry, such as within food production or regarding spoilage or expiry. By exploring this further, you will learn to characterise and measure chemical and nutritional properties of food in our Food Analytical Techniques unit while also exposing you to the chemical, biochemical and biophysical measurement techniques for food and nutritional research. Ìý
Similarly, you will examine the role of nutrition for maintaining health and function in our Human Nutrition unit where you will look closely at the biochemistry of nutrients, evaluate the role of metabolic rates and energy balance for weight control, and consider the role of diet and nutrition in human development. In the field of medicine, you will develop your understanding of how the human body functions in our Medical Physiology unit that will provide you with in-depth knowledge in human physiology, how it is affected by disease and its impact on drug development strategies.ÌýIn your final year, our Public Health Nutrition unit will allow you to explore the importance of nutrition for the health and wellbeing of people through analysing public health initiatives and strategies to alleviate the risk of disease. This will be particularly useful in our Clinical Nutrition unit where you will explore the role of nutrition in health and disease prevention.ÌýWith a societal approach, you will also develop an understanding of how humans produce and consume food while evaluating how we can feed the world in our Food Security and Management unit.Ìý
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In practical areas of study, you will be introduced to methods for Food Processing and how this preserves and enhances the nutritional values of food using distribution and packaging to ensure the delivery of nutritious products that meet dietary requirements and consumer trends. You will also consider different types of food and food products in our Nutraceuticals and Health unit to develop your skills in discovering, designing and developing functional food. With plants in particular, you will gain an understanding of the importance of Applied Plant Science and the interaction between plants and people in the forms of medicine, food and even structural materials. Finally, you will undertake a Food and Nutrition Science Research Project in your final year that will give you the opportunity to plan, design and execute a piece of research into a topic of your interest that is relevant to your field of study. You will work to answer a research question based on research and laboratory work using the skills you gained throughout the course. To prepare you for your career, you will also have the opportunity to undertake a Professional Practice Year (Life Sciences) where you can gain career-related experience while building on your professional skills.Ìý
How will you be assessed?
The course is designed to introduce students to fundamental principles of anatomy chemistry genetics cell biology and microbiology at Level 4. These subjects underpin the biosciences. Students will also be introduced to fundamental principles of food and nutrition.
Assessments at Level 4 therefore focus on knowledge retention and understanding through a combination of end of unit examinations and the ability to produce a range of assignments to present data from laboratory practical sessions to variety data sources. The practical reports use a structure that is the professional standard for publishing scientific research and encourage students to employ an effective scientific method in considering the background and aim of an experiment the appropriateness of the method employed the reliability of the results obtained and the meaning of the data in a broader scientific context.
As students progress through Level 5 they are expected to apply their basic understanding to novel situations and the analysis of more complex biological phenomena. Although practical reports are still a key assessment method the assessment criteria weighting changes from an emphasis on subject understanding and written structure at Level 4 to an emphasis on accurate analysis of the results critical evaluation of the method and data and effective use of literature at Level 5.
Similarly end of unit exams involve short essay answers allowing students to demonstrate broader understanding of the subject material and an ability to apply their knowledge in different contexts. Additionally Level 5 students will prepare and orally present a proposal to address a need identified in scientific literature. The presentation will include the design of an experiment to test the scientific need you have identified. This requires students to develop and practice the scientific method to generate hypotheses and to consider the commercialisation and broader applicability of the science.
Careers
On completing this course you are likely to progress into one of the following areas:
- Research and development in the food and nutrition pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries.
- Research and development in government or academic laboratories.
- Scientific writing publishing or sales.
- Further training e.g. dietetics medicine dentistry pharmacy.
- Teaching of science.
- Skills developed in information sourcing data analysis and presentation also allow graduates to seek employment within a broad range of non-scientific careers from managerial posts to politics.
- Further study: MSc by research - a practical research based Master’s degree. MSc - a taught master’s degree in a related area. Within the Department of Life Sciences we run MSc courses in Biotechnology Pharmacology Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Management.PhD research in the biosciences.
- Within the Department of Life Sciences we have recent PhD students working in nutrition food safety cancer research autoimmune disease protein biochemistry neurobiology and environmental bioscience and biotechnology.
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
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International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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