Dietetics with Integrated Foundation Year
Dietetics is the health profession concerned with using food and nutrition to promote health, prevent disease and treat illness. Dietitians assess the nutritional needs of individuals and groups, develop evidence-based dietary plans and provide expert advice on diet-related conditions ranging from diabetes and cardiovascular disease to eating disorders, renal failure and cancer. It is a regulated profession that requires both a rigorous scientific grounding in nutrition and physiology and the communication and counselling skills to help people make sustainable changes to the way they eat.
At the University of Plymouth, this four-year full-time programme integrates a foundation year, providing a supported entry route that builds your scientific foundations before you progress into the main degree. The foundation year includes an introduction to microbiology and the human immune system, providing biological context for the nutrition and health science that follows. As you progress through the programme, you will develop a thorough grounding in human physiology, biochemistry, nutritional science and the pathology of diet-related conditions, alongside the clinical skills needed to assess, advise and support patients in healthcare settings.
Clinical placements are central to the degree, giving you real-world experience under professional supervision.
Successful completion of a dietetics degree leads to eligibility for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a dietitian, the professional qualification required to practise in the UK. Dietitians work in NHS hospitals, community health services, care homes, public health programmes, sports organisations and private practice. Many develop specialist expertise in areas such as gastroenterology, oncology, paediatrics, renal dietetics or mental health.
Leadership, research, education and policy are established career pathways for experienced dietitians, and postgraduate study in dietetics, nutrition or public health is available for those who want to develop specialist knowledge or pursue academic careers.