Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Promotion

MSc Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Promotion
Mode: full-time

This course offers a unique combination of topics which are relevant to the effective promotion of healthy lifestyles to prevent and treat diseases and conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer and mental ill-health.

Particular emphasis is placed on the role of physical activity, nutrition, health psychology, and professional communication skills in promoting health within a variety of population and patient groups, and within both community and clinical settings.

Skills of critical evaluation, application of scientific knowledge to public health settings, development of appropriate professional skills and consideration of accreditation opportunities are also embedded within the course.

The course is designed to be integrated with current public health policy and to provide a highly supportive and innovative learning environment.

There are invaluable opportunities to further career prospects as part of the placement and research project units and to develop links with local primary care trusts, researchers and clinicians.

Projects may be based in community, clinical, or laboratory settings and be relevant to local strategic commissioning and/or health care provision in relation to physical activity and nutrition, innovative research relating to physical activity, nutrition and health, and community-based schemes e.g. GP exercise referral schemes, according to individual requirements and aspirations.

Staff expertise from the Faculty of Education and Sport (with expertise in exercise and health-related physiology, nutrition, research design and statistics) and the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (with expertise in health psychology and health promotion) is combined to maximise opportunities for postgraduate students in the field of physical activity, nutrition and health promotion.

The acquisition of vocationally-relevant skills and enhancing awareness of their potential importance for various career opportunities in public health, the health and fitness industry, and postgraduate research is a particular feature of the course.

Why choose this course?

It is highly student-centred and can be tailored to support individuals’ particular combination of academic, research, professional and vocational aspirations.

The placement (optional) and dissertation units provide exceptional opportunities for students to gain relevant experience in a particular area of interest.

The course team are highly supportive and proactive in supporting students to effectively manage and develop a portfolio of academic progress, research experience, relevant vocational experience and progress towards meeting any relevant accreditation aspirations e.g. Professional Physical Activity/Exercise Specialists, Nutrition Society Accreditation, acquiring many competencies of the Faculty of Public Health (Department of Health) to facilitate UK Public Health Registration (UKPHR) , British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES) Accreditation.

This is achieved through the provision of units of study which are responsive to change e.g. in government health policy, and which address the needs of those who may be or desire to be involved in scientific research, health service commissioning/provision, or health promotion/education, in the context of a robust tutor support system.

Career Opportunities

Opportunities for career development within the health sector and health and fitness sector have expanded in recent years. In the light of an increasing recognition of the importance of physical activity and nutrition in the prevention and treatment of disease within government health reports there are significant opportunities for graduates with an MSc in Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Promotion.

Examples include:

• Public Health Management / Health commissioning and health provision
• Health Improvement Specialists / Posts with a particular focus on the promotion of physical activity and/or healthy nutrition, obesity, healthy lifestyles, smoking cessation
• Exercise referral specialists, ‘Healthy Schools Specialists, Health Psychology Specialists
• Research opportunities e.g. project officer, PhD study
• Opportunities within education e.g. university lecturing

Also, for those health professionals / graduates already in post or accredited, the MSc in Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Promotion offers opportunities to specialise in the fields of physical activity and nutrition and develop expertise with the health promotion context. Such professionals may include:

• Dieticians
• Nutritionists
• Psychologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Nurses
• Graduates in related areas e.g. Sport and Exercise Science, Sport and Physical Education, Health Psychology, Exercise and Health, Biological Sciences, and professions named above (e.g. Nutrition, Physiotherapy and Nursing)

Completion of this course also prepares students to undertake further postgraduate research qualifications e.g. MPhil/PhD. Important research skills are developed during the units ‘Research Design’ and ‘Research Methods’ and reinforced and developed during the ‘Dissertation’ unit in particular.

Consultancy – there is also potential for graduates to be involved in consultancy-related activities relating to the course fields and in relation to their individual specialist focus. Such activity may be in relation to the health sector, business sector and/or the health, fitness and leisure industry.

Teaching/learning methods and strategies

Since the course is primarily designed for graduate entry or equivalent, you will be expected to have already developed ability for independent study.

In the taught part of the course, lectures would not normally exceed 50% of class contact time. In line with the expectation of greater independent learning at masters level the remainder of the time will consist of seminars, practical sessions, laboratory sessions, oral presentations, discussion of case studies, poster presentations, and web-based communication.

Laboratory based sessions are formally timetabled to ensure appropriate supervision. These sessions are specifically designed to create a learning environment where both group and individual learning will take place, involving observation, demonstration, participation, problem-solving and reporting.

The structure and assessment strategies of the research design and research methods units ensure a very solid grounding in the approaches, techniques and methods that would be required for a successful completion of the dissertation.

You will be encouraged to attend relevant conferences e.g. relevant to exercise and health, health psychology, public health policy and physical activity / nutrition or specific patient groups of interest, and nutrition. In addition visiting lecturers will provide clinical expertise/vocational input to various units.

You will also be encouraged to share relevant professional, academic or vocational/employment experiences during case study / group discussions.

A Virtual Learning Environment (BREO) framework will additionally support delivery of all units and their various activities supplemental to formal classroom-based work.

Assessment

Assessment forms an integral part of the learning and teaching strategy and will allow your progress to be monitored and your achievements to be graded in accordance with the intended learning outcomes for each unit of study undertaken.

The assessments for Masters level will be carried out using several methods including oral presentations, course work essays/reviews, case study reports, and a portfolio (including journal of reflective practice) – on the Placement unit.

The course team believes that there should be a clear relationship between the course objectives and the assessment of a student’s performance. Assessment not only provides you and staff with information regarding performance of teaching and learning in the units but, through feedback, you will be guided towards improvements.

Particular emphasis will be placed on critical evaluation of case studies relevant to the field of Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Promotion.

There will be opportunities for formative feedback during seminar sessions for which you will be asked to prepare evidence based critiques of scientific literature / public health documentation, and to participate in group discussion.

You may also receive formative feedback on essay / case study plans as appropriate. You will be expected to demonstrate good research skills in sourcing evidence of such projects and be able to translate their evaluations into various formats e.g. oral presentation, case study reports, essays.

Dissertation/project and research

The dissertation unit is designed for provide an opportunity for you to undertake a substantial research project in an area of interest related to your course.

The research project enables you to further develop issues, theories, models and skills addressed in the taught units.

It is by far the largest single piece of work undertaken during your MSc programme and is seen as the clearest expression of your ability to study at Master’s level. It is primarily an independent project but you will receive support and guidance from a member of the course team.

There is also the potential for you to build on your placement experience (unit usually taken in the second term) and to develop this into an idea for your dissertation that could have high vocational or research relevance.

Entry requirements

Standard Entry
Graduates with a first degree normally 2:1 (at least 2:2 classification) in a relevant science based subject, such as biological science, sport and exercise science, psychology/health psychology, exercise or health science based subject (e.g. nursing, physiotherapy, Medicine, Osteopathy).

Non-Standard Entry
All non-standard entry candidates will be required to attend an interview with the Award Manager.

(a) Graduates with a first degree in a closely allied subject, where the gaps in subject specific knowledge could be closed using a negotiated programme that could include additional units from within the undergraduate modular degree scheme (e.g. research methods, exercise physiology etc). Any such gaps would be further identified (if not identified before recruitment) by a skills audit in week one of the course.

(b) Sport, Exercise, Psychology and Health professionals with demonstrable experience and expertise within the field who also possess an HNC/HND or GNVQ/NVQ at level 4 in an appropriate subject. These candidates will be required to provide a full portfolio of supporting evidence outlining appropriate academic, educational training and relevant experience and attend an interview.

Special entry requirements

• Evidence of a reasonable standard of written and spoken English (at least IELTS 6.5 or equivalent).
• This level of English is paramount to attempt this course, due to the technical and scientific language common to science-based courses.