As individuals we are involved in human nutrition everyday just in the fact we eat to keep alive. During your undergraduate study you will learn about how the nutrients in food influence your health via a combination of lectures, hands on laboratory classes and small group case study type tutorials. The skills and knowledge you obtain during your degree can lead into a variety of career pathways.
Human Nutrition offers a variety of papers to undergraduate students who are not enrolled in Nutrition these include HUNT141 Understanding Human Nutrition, HUNT232 Sport and Exercise Nutrition, HUNT221 Fundamentals of Nutritients and Health, HUNT222 Nutritional Assessment and HUNT223 International Nutrition and Health.
Students intending to study any of the degrees in Human Nutrition are strongly recommended to take:
Year 12 (NCEA Level 2) Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics with Statistics, and English, and
Year 13 (NCEA Level 3) Mathematics with Statistics and particularly Chemistry.
For the BAppSc (Sport & Exercise Nutrition), Physical Education is recommended in Year 12 and Year 13 (NCEA Levels 2 & 3).
For the Bachelor of Biomedical Science, you should also study Physics in Year 13 (NCEA Level 3).
Undergraduate Degrees you can enrol in include:
- Bachelor of Science (BSc) - Majoring in Human Nutrition
- Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc(Hons))
- Bachelor of Applied Science - Sport and Exercise Nutrition (BAppSci)
- Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours - Sport and Exercise Nutrition (BAppSci(Hons))
- Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (BBiomedSc) Nutrition and Metabolism in Human Health
An undergraduate degree consists of 360 point of which 180 points must be above 100-level and of that 72 points must be above 200-level.
Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Human Nutrition
A BSc majoring in Human Nutrition would typically include the following papers:
*Major subject requirement. +Highly recommended.
The remaining points (87) can be made up of optional papers (HUNT 232 Sport and Exercise Nutrition and HUNT 355 Perspectives in Sports Nutrition are optional papers you may wish to consider). However, students intending to apply for admission into the Master of Dietetics programme must include all of the papers listed above as well as:
| HUNT 231 Foodservice Operation | 18 |
| HUNT 331 Foodservice Management | 36 |
| Total 54 |
To progress to postgraduate study in Human Nutrition, for example, a Postgraduate Diploma in Science, BSc(Hons) or a two-year Master of Science degree it is important students also included in their undergraduate degree the highly recommended papers listed above.
Download the BSc (Human Nutrition) study plan for including the pre-requisites for Dietetics.
Read the complete list of Human Nutrition Papers available.
Bachelor of Applied Science (BAppSc) in Sport and Exercise Nutrition
This is a three-year or 3.5 year (if wanting to go on to study the Master of Dietetics) undergraduate degree that looks at how sport, exercise and food influence health and human performance.
Students who wish to go on to study the Master of Dietetics must include two minors in their BAppSc degree - Foodservice Management (FOSM) and Supplementary Nutritional Science (SUNS) as well as the paper PHSL251. It takes a minimum of 3.5 years to complete these requirements.
Depending on what you want to do, this degree offers two options:
1. BAppSc (Sport and Exercise Nutrition) with one minor
2. BAppSc (Sport and Exercise Nutrition) with 2 minors and PHSL251 for those who are interested in studying the Master of Dietetics. It takes a minimum of 3.5 years to complete these requirements.
A BAppSc majoring in sport and exercise nutrition would typically include the following papers:
| 100-level papers | pts | |
|---|---|---|
| *CELS 191 Cellular Biology | 18 | |
| *CHEM 191 The Chemical Basis of Biology and Chemical Health | 18 | |
| *BIOC 192 Foundations of Biochemistry | 18 | |
| *HUBS 191 Human Body Systems 1 | 18 | |
| *HUBS 192 Human Body Systems 2 | 18 | |
| HUNT 141 Understanding Human Nutrition or STAT115 or STAT110 | 18 | 108 |
| 200-level papers | ||
| *HUNT 221 Fundamentals of Nutrients and Health | 18 | |
| *HUNT 222 Nutritional Assessment or *HUNT223 International Nutrition and Health | 18 | |
| *HUNT 232 Sport and Exercise Nutrition | 18 | |
| *PHSE 202 Movement and Analysis Control | 18 | |
| *PHSE 203 Exercise Physiology | 18 | 90 |
| 300-level papers | ||
| *Two of HUNT 311 - HUNT 313 | 36 | |
| HUNT 355 Perspectives in Sports Nutrition | 18 | |
PHSE 312 Prescription of Physical Activity and Exercise | 18 | |
| One of PHSE 301, 311, 314, 315 | 18 | 90 |
| Total 288 |
*Major subject requirement. +Highly recommended.
The BAppSc (Sport and Exercise Nutrition) degree requires a total of 360 points. The remaining 90 points are made up of the papers for the minor and other approved papers. We recommend that students take the minor in Supplementary Nutritional Science (SUNS). However, there are other minors that you may choose to take. Refer to the Guide to Enrolment for the list of minors offered.
The following 2 Minors below are for BAppSc students majoring in Sports and Exercise Nutrition and wanting to do the Master of Dietetics.
Supplementary Nutritional Science
100-Level STAT115 or STAT110
200-Level BIOC 223 or 230
HUNT 222 or HUNT223
300-Level HUNT 314,
one of HUNT 311, 312, 313
Total 90 points
Food Service Management
100-Level FOSC 111 or HUNT141
200-Level HUNT 231 or HUNT244*;
one further paper: HUNT 223, FOSC 201, FOSC 202, MANT 101, or BSNS 105
300-Level HUNT 331
Total 90 points
*From 2019 HUNT 244 will replace HUNT 231
Pre-requisites for HUNT 221, 222, 223 include BIOC 192, CELS 191, CHEM 191, HUBS 191, 192. Prerequisites for HUNT 232 include one of CELS 191, HUBS 191, 192. Prerequisites for FOSC 202 include FOSC 201.
Students who wish to keep their options open to apply for entry into the Master of Dietetics programme require both the Supplementary Nutritional Science (SUNS) and the Foodservice Management (FOSM) minors as well as an additional paper: PHSL251 Physiology. It takes a minimum of 3.5 years to complete these requirements.
View our list of frequently asked questions
How will I study as an undergraduate of Human Nutrition?
Your study will consist of:
- lectures
- tutorials
- seminars
- self-directed learning
- practical laboratories
- group work
- journal discourse
One of the great things about studying human nutrition is that you learn about your own food choices and how you eat.
In both the second and third year you will be a human guinea pig participating in dietary interventions to find out how your body responds to different foods and meals. You will also learn about how nutrients affect human health and how deficiency or excess might lead to disease. If you take the food service papers, you will design a meal plan then oversee the cooking and serving of this plan to over 100 residential college students.
Assessment is a combination of tests, assignments, reports, scientific articles and presentations done individually and in groups. The team at the department are renowned for being helpful and friendly. They ensure you get plenty of feedback during your study and seek feedback from you also.
