BSc (Hons) Nutrition with Wellness

  Institution: UCSI University

The World Health Organisation defines ‘health’ as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

To achieve this, nutrition plays a key role. Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses these nutrients, and the relationship between diet, health and diseases. In simple terms, it examines how the body responds to food. Nutrition also plays a preventive role as it focuses on how health-related conditions and problems can be prevented or lessened with a healthy diet and lifestyle modifications. Nutrition also involves identifying how certain health conditions or problems may be caused by dietary factors, such as poor diet (malnutrition), food allergies, metabolic diseases, and so on.

To capture both the scientific aspects of nutrition and the holistic aspects of wellness, the Bachelor of Science (Hons) Nutrition with Wellness programme encompasses a core nutrition component as well as wellness, entrepreneurship and marketing-related components to enable our graduates to be versatile in the market place. This will also enable graduates to work in the private practice as health and nutrition consultants/entrepreneurs in addition to the vast employment opportunities in the nutrition and wellness industries.

Entry Requirements

Academic Requirement

• Pass STPM/Matriculation/A-Level/Pre-University programme or its equivalent with a minimum CGPA of 2.50 in the following subjects: Biology/Physics, Chemistry;
• Five (5) credits or equivalent at the SPM level, three (3) of which are for the following subjects: Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, English;
• Related Diploma from recognised institutions with minimum CGPA of 2.75; or Related diploma from recognised institutions with CGPA below 2.75 and a minimum of three (3) years (36 months) working experience in the same field.

English Requirements

• A distinction (A+, A or A-) in English Language subject at SPM/UEC level; or MUET Band 5; or a score of 213 (computer-based) / 550 (written-based) / 80 (internet-based) in TOEFL; or Band 5.5 in IELTS.
• In the event that the English Language Requirements are not met, student may be required to undertake additional English module(s) prior or concurrently with undergraduate programme, based on the University’s decision.

*International students holding equivalent academic qualifications but of non-English curriculum, are required to sit for the English Placement Test, which may result in the taking of the Certificate in English programme (1 to 10 months). Students who intend to pursue the above undergraduate programme directly, are advised to fulfill the above English requirements prior commencing their studies at the university.

Career Opportunities

Graduates will be employed in the following areas:

• Health and Nutrition Advisor – responsible for providing health and nutrition education to clients who have completed a health risk assessment.
• Nutrition Educator/Counsellor – help develop programmes to educate a certain population group about nutrition, general health and holistic wellness practices.
• Consultancy/Private Practice – counsel consumers on specific issues such as lifestyle modification, healthy eating and food choices, weight management, fitness, nutrition, and prevention of health-related conditions.
• Public Health Nutritionist – coordinate and implement nutrition policies and may be involved with special programmes that promote healthy lifestyles, physical fitness and nutritional well-being of the targeted population groups.
• Nutrition Executive (Sales and Marketing) – responsible for the execution of marketing plans to assist with promotions and to educate the public on nutritional products, new customer identification, as well as the development and implementation of sales plans for new accounts with the focus on building a customer database for sales of the nutritional products.

Source: UCSI University.