La Trobe University
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Bachelor of Food and Nutrition
Bachelor
Key details
About this course
Good nutrition is foundational for healthy living. With rising rates of preventable diseases and Australia's aging population bolstering demand for health services, there is an increasing demand for nutrition professionals who can help educate populations using nutrition science.
If you'd like to pursue a career that makes a meaningful difference, La Trobe's Bachelor of Food and Nutrition gives you everything you need to pursue your dream career in health and nutrition.
Australia's only fully online, undergraduate nutrition degree that meets the Nutrition Society of Australia guidelines. It has been designed by leading nutrition experts to give you a comprehensive understanding of food and nutrition science.
You will have the opportunity to choose from electives in an area you're passionate about, such as sports nutrition, food science, nutrition research, entrepreneurship, gastronomy, nutrigenomics and more. Electives are a mixture of online and on campus.
The Bachelor of Food and Nutrition is a pathway into La Trobe's Master of Dietetic Practice. Upon completion of your Master's degree, you may be eligible for accreditation with Dietitians Australia as a Provisional Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD).
You'll learn:
- Health and nutrition
- Understand the major food sources and the functions of macronutrients and micronutrients in health and disease.
- Chemistry fundamentals and food chemistry
- Understand the chemistry of the human body. Explore the structure and function of food. Learn key methods for analysing the nutritional composition of foods.
- Physiology and biochemistry
- Learn about systems physiology, including the nervous system, muscle tissue and the cardiovascular system. Understand nutrient metabolism and the function of biological systems at the molecular level.
- Nutritional epidemiology
- Understand the fundamentals of nutrition research epidemiology. Learn how food and nutrition are linked to disease in communities.
Note: In this course you will be required to complete cooking and food science practicals/assessment tasks in your own kitchen or one you arrange to access. You will need to purchase ingredients and have access to standard kitchen equipment including a digital thermometer and digital scales. Cooking or handling foods from across all food groups (including red meat, eggs and milk) is part of the required coursework. Sensory analysis requiring the tasting of food is at your discretion to accommodate special dietary requirements. Students should direct any questions to the Course Coordinators prior to enrolment.
The qualification awarded on graduation is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) as Level 7 - Bachelor Degree.
Please note, the following course structure is indicative and subject to change depending on your course location, offer year or how you tailor your course with specialisations, majors, minors and electives. Structures for the following year are not normally finalised until October, so the sample provided is based on the most recently approved structure. For more information, please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook.
To qualify for the award of Bachelor of Food and Nutrition, students must complete a total of 360 credit points across 3 years.
Year 1 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
- 120 credit points from chosen Core
Year 2 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
- 120 credit points from chosen Core
Year 3 requires the completion of 120 credit points including:
- 45 credit points from chosen Capstone
- 30 credit points from chosen Core
- 30 credit points from chosen Electives
- 15 credit points from chosen Electives
Core subjects are required subjects in your course. You need to complete these subjects to attain your degree.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points ACADEMIC INTEGRITY MODULE LTU0AIM 1 0 WOMINJEKA LA TROBE: INDIGENOUS CULTURAL LITERACY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ABS0WOM 1 0 APPLIED FOOD CHEMISTRY CHM102 1 15 ESSENTIALS OF CHEMISTRY CHM101 1 15 INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PHE102 1 15 INTRODUCTION TO ANATOMY HBS102 1 15 INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY HBS101 1 15 INTRODUCTION TO NUTRITION DTN101 1 15 RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE IN PRACTICE HEA102 1 15 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PHE101 1 15 ADVANCED SYSTEMS PHYSIOLOGY A HBS202 2 15 ADVANCED SYSTEMS PHYSIOLOGY B HBS204 2 15 DIET DISEASE RELATIONSHIPS DTN301 2 15 INTEGRATING EVIDENCE INTO PRACTICE HEA201 2 15 INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY BCM201 2 15 METABOLIC BIOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY BCM202 2 15 NUTRITION FUNDAMENTALS DTN201 2 15 SOCIETY, FOOD HABITS AND CONSUMPTION DTN302 2 15 NUTRITION EDUCATION FOR ADULTS DTN303 3 15 NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND RESEARCH SKILLS DTN304 3 15
A range of standalone elective subjects is available in this course. Some electives are recommended for your course, but you may also be able to choose from a range of University-wide electives or electives from other interest areas or disciplines. Note these electives may have their own prerequisites and other requirements. Please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook for the subjects available. The following electives are recommended for Bachelor of Food and Nutrition.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points ADVANCED FOOD SKILLS DTN310 3 15 ADVANCES IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE AND NUTRIGENOMICS DTN309 3 15 BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUS301 3 15 EMPLOYABILITY IN NUTRITION DTN3EMP 3 15 FOOD AND NUTRITION PRACTICAL SKILLS HBS301 3 15 NUTRITION FOR SPORTS PERFORMANCE DTN308 3 15
Capstone subjects are required subjects in your course or major that help you integrate and apply the knowledge and skills you gain to solve real world problems. Capstone subjects are often taken towards the end of your course.
Subject name Subject code Year Credit points APPLIED FOOD SCIENCE DTN305 3 15 NUTRITION RESEARCH MINOR PROJECT DTN306 3 15 NUTRITION THROUGHOUT LIFE DTN307 3 15The Handbook contains detailed course information designed for enrolled students, including course structures, electives and options. The delivery of this course can vary between campuses.
- Online
To view other campus handbook course details, please select relevant campus in the drop down.
Study locations
Online
Career pathways
After graduation, you could work across a wide variety of sectors including population or public health, government bodies, community health, food industry (including food development, technology and analysis), research and media.
Possible roles include:
- Nutritionist
- Provide nutritional counselling and promote nutrition through community-level education.
- Food scientist
- Apply scientific expertise and technological principles to the development of food products and processes within manufacturing and nutrition research settings.
- Health promoter
- Work with community groups, government or policy to plan and develop ways to help people improve and manage their health.
- Nutrition policy officer or health marketing officer
- Advise government on nutrition policy. Support the marketing and media of health and wellbeing organisations or hospitals.
- Nutrition community educator
- Teach the public how to improve their nutrition and develop healthy eating habits by working with communities and government.
The Bachelor of Food and Nutrition is a pathway into La Trobe's Master of Dietetic Practice. Upon completion of your Master's degree, you'll be eligible to apply for registration as a practicing dietitian or sports or community dietitian.
The Bachelor of Food and Nutrition is also a pathway into La Trobe's Honours program, which enables you to pursue a career in research.
Professional recognition
Graduates of the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition may apply for membership with the Nutrition Society of Australia. Membership may be subject to additional or ongoing requirements beyond completion of the degree. Please contact the relevant professional body for details.
Graduate outcomes
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