Sport and Exercise Nutrition MSc

The aim of this module is to provide students with a comprehensive theoretical understanding of sport nutrition, as well as the practical skills required to work as a Sport and Exercise Nutritionist. Theoretical concepts will be explored in a laboratory environment, and students will be expected to appropriately interpret resultant data.

This module aims to develop your practical and theoretical skills essential to designing, delivering and monitoring athletic programmes and optimising sport performance and recovery with devising individualised nutritional support programmes. You will be taught to examine the influence of nutrition on sporting performance and to explore the role of nutritional strategies during the preparation for, participation in, and recovery from sport competition. The module, along with previously studied modules, will help prepare you through the certification requirements of relevant professional bodies such as the UK Sports & Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr).

This module aims to develop the student's ability to apply and see the application of knowledge gained from other modules in relation to a real work scenario. You will be required to adopt a reflective and critical approach to your working practice and to promote a problem-solving approach in a work environment.

The Research Methods module provides a critical overview of the main methods and approaches used for research into topics areas related to sport and exercise nutrition, and enables you to apply this knowledge when planning a research proposal. The module affords opportunities to appraise the strengths and weaknesses of published work in your specialist area. You will learn in groups and explore philosophical, ethical and methodological differences which underpin various approaches to knowledge generation, while interprofessional workshops allow you to develop a research proposal, consider its adequacy and limitations, and justify the approach taken.

Throughout the dissertation module you will be supported while undertaking research with a focus appropriate to your area of interest, potentially building upon the research proposal formulated in the Research Methods module. The module creates a peer learning community for students, enabling you to provide guidance and to critically support one another on matters of ethical application, research methods, data collection, analysis and writing-up in the research process – in addition to that provided by your supervisor.

You will gain knowledge, understanding and practical skills through lectures, participatory seminars, small group discussions, directed learning, laboratory and practical sessions.

You will be assessed by a variety of methods including presentations, written assignments, laboratory reports, and practical demonstrations.

You will study at our north London campus, often at the Hatchcroft building, one of the UK's best-equipped laboratories.

Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our state-of-the-art professional facilities and labs, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.

The table below gives you an idea of what learning looks like across a typical week. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on campus sessions.

This information is likely to change slightly for 2024 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.

Outside of these hours, you’ll be expected to do independent study where you read, listen and reflect on other learning activities. This can include preparation for future classes. In a year, you’ll typically be expected to commit 1200 hours to your course across all styles of learning. If you are taking a placement, you might have some additional hours.

Definitions of terms

Live in-person on campus learning – This will focus on active and experiential sessions that are both:

• Led by your tutors including seminars, lab sessions and demonstrations We'll schedule all of this for you
• Student-led by you and other students, like small group work and presentations.

Tutor set learning activities – This covers activities which will be set for you by your tutor, but which you will undertake in your own time. Examples of this include watching online materials, participating in an online discussion forum, completing a virtual laboratory or reading specific texts. You may be doing this by yourself of with your course mates depending on your course and assignments. Outside of these hours, you’ll also be expected to do further independent study where you’ll be expected to learn, prepare, revise and reflect in your own time.

You will have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, equipped with a wide variety of equipment and software that they could expect to work with in an applied setting.

You may have access to dietary analysis software, and a lab simulation application that allows you to revisit and scaffold theoretical knowledge, complete discipline specific scenarios, and practice lab techniques in a virtual setting.

Relevant software packages related to study, such as statistical analysis programmes, and applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, and note-taking etc., are available to use.