Food Science and Nutrition
Entry requirements
A level
Overall: BBB We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers. Required subjects: Biology grade B and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of: Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology, Home Economics or Nutrition and Food Science. Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.
Access to HE Diploma
Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall including 27 at Distinction and 18 at Merit. Required subjects: 15 credits each in two sciences to include Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Mathematics (Chemistry or Biology preferred). Other subjects such as Food Technology, Home Economics, Applied Science or Environmental Studies will also be considered in combination with a core science subject.
Extended Project
Applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) will receive our standard A level offer, plus an alternate offer of one A level grade lower, subject to achieving an A grade in the EPQ. The one grade reduction will not apply to any required subjects.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English and Mathematics grade C (4) (or equivalent).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Overall: 32 Required subjects: HL5/SL6 in Biology and Chemistry, or HL5/SL6 in Biology/Chemistry and one of: Physics, Mathematics, Psychology, or Sports, Exercise and Health Science GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Overall: DDM in Applied Science (please contact us if you are taking a different BTEC).2
Scottish Advanced Higher
Overall: BBB Required subjects: Biology grade B and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology. GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C
Scottish Higher
Overall: ABBBB Required subjects: Biology and Chemistry, or Biology/Chemistry and one of Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology. GCSE or Equivalent: Scottish National 5: English Language - C Scottish National 5: Maths - C
Overall: Pass overall with BBB from the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Required subjects: A level Biology grade B and Chemistry, or A level Biology/Chemistry grade B and one of: Physics, Sport Studies, Physical Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Psychology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Food Technology Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
**Why choose this course**
-Study on an Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) accredited course ranked 2nd in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2023 and 2nd in the UK by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. We have an over 90% satisfaction score for Food Science and Nutrition in the National Student Survey 2022
-Access our £12.5 million Innovation for Health Learning Laboratory to acquire practical experience that is essential for a research career and valued by a wide range of employers
-Gain industry experience through our Professional Training placements, where you can work for a range of employers, including the Government, specialised bakery, confectionary, cereal and dairy food companies, as well as nutrition businesses
-Learn from lecturers who’ve been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize 2017-18 for Further and Higher Education, in recognition of their research excellence in the field of food and nutrition
-Join the 97 per cent of our biosciences and medicine graduates who go on to employment or further study.*
*Graduate Outcomes survey 2022, HESA.
**What you will study**
Food science is a multidisciplinary subject that applies biology and chemistry to the study of food.
In your first year, you’ll study a broad range of topics, including food science and nutrition, to give you a solid foundation upon which to build the rest of your degree.
In your second year, you’ll develop your understanding of what happens to the components of food during processing and storage. You'll gain an understanding of the role of food microbiology and how safe, nutritious food can be produced. You’ll acquire an appreciation for the functionality of ingredients used in foods, while exploring the basis of nutrition and the role this has on aetiology and prevention of key disorders, such as cancer.
In your third year, you’ll have the choice to specialise further, studying topics like food chemistry to continue to evaluate the role of natural and added components in the foods we eat. You will also gain a more in-depth understanding of the technologies used to produce safe and nutritious foods as well as the importance of food security. You’ll also advance your knowledge of the role of nutrition in illnesses like cardiovascular disease.
Modules
To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.
Extra funding
The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.
The Uni
Stag Hill
FHMS - School of Biosciences and Medicine
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Nutrition and dietetics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Food sciences
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Nutrition and dietetics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is the subject you need to study if you want to become a dietician — an important job in the country’s healthcare sector, and the single most common job for nutrition graduates. We don’t have many graduates in nutrition every year and with the population becoming more aware of health and well-being and with many medical needs being addressed by the application of specific diets, this is likely to be an area of increasing demand in the future.
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Nutrition and dietetics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£26k
£31k
£32k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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