Sports Nutrition and Health with Foundation Year

Sports nutrition and health is a multidisciplinary degree designed for the growing demand for qualified practitioners who can apply nutritional science to both athletic performance and broader population health. To meet the growing local and global demands for sports nutrition and health experts, this programme takes a multidisciplinary approach exploring the psychology, physiology, and biochemistry theories of nutrition. Whether you want to work with amateur or elite athletes or in health and community-based environments, it is vital that you have an understanding of human psychology, disease, training, physical activity, and health.

In the sport performance sector, understanding how nutrition plays a key role in how well an athlete performs, recovers, or adapts to their training is essential, and these principles are adaptable across settings from elite sport to public health promotion.

At the University of Derby, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year that provides a supported entry into the degree for students who would benefit from additional preparation before the main content begins. You will study the scientific foundations of nutrition, sport physiology, metabolism, dietary assessment, nutritional biochemistry, and the psychological and behavioural dimensions of food choice and athletic performance. The programme integrates theory with professional practice.

A sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placements are all part of the degree, giving you direct professional experience in sport, health, or nutrition settings and an international perspective on the field.

With a typical entry tariff of 104 UCAS points, this programme is accessible to students with strong science ability and a genuine interest in nutrition and performance. Graduates pursue careers as sports nutritionists, performance nutritionists, nutrition coaches, public health nutritionists, and health practitioners working with athletes, sports clubs, fitness organisations, NHS services, and community health programmes. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study or pursue professional accreditation through the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register or the Association for Nutrition.