Bachelor of Food and Nutrition

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 Dietetics. 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.

A nutritionist is not qualified to provide medical advice or medical nutrition therapy, as this is the role of a dietitian. Graduates of the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition may wish to pursue future study in dietetics, such as the Master of Dietetics at La Trobe University.

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.

Higher education via OUA

Successful completion of two of the following four Open Access Pathway subjects:

• HBS101 Introduction to Human Physiology
• DTN101 Introduction to Nutrition 
• CHM101 Essentials of Chemistry
• PHE102 Individual Determinants of Health

Students who successfully complete two from these four open enrolment subjects may apply under the Academic Eligibility category for admission to the restricted Bachelor of Food and Nutrition. You must be enrolled in the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition to be eligible to enrol in all other non-open access subjects offered in the degree.

Higher education

• Successful completion of Undergraduate Certificate of Food and Nutrition (HCFN) ; OR
• Successful completion of at least the equivalent of 1 semester of higher education full time study within the last 10 years

Secondary education

Demonstrate proficiency equivalent to Year 12 prerequisites.

VET studies

Demonstrated proficiency equivalent to Year 12 completion and English prerequisite. VET studies at Certificate IV level or above within the last five years.

Applicants who have not undertaken VET studies at Certificate IV level or above within the last five years must sit the STAT Multiple Choice.

Work and Life

Satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice if you:

·        are not currently studying an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent)

·        have no prior secondary school (Year 12), VET studies, HE studies or relevant work experience that can be considered for entry, or

·        do not meet the minimum academic requirements for the program.

Refer to the La Trobe University STAT page for further information.

English Proficiency Requirements

Demonstrated proficiency equivalent in Year 12 English.

Special requirements

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.

For intensive classes (HBS301, DTN310) students are required to purchase their own safety equipment. Students will also incur the cost of travel and any associated costs with attending the intensive block study period on campus.

On campus requirements

The subjects below are electives only and not compulsory to complete the degree:

• HBS301 Food and Nutrition Practical Skills requires attendance at an external provider in Melbourne in an intensive block study period
• DTN310 Advanced Food Skills requires attendance at an external provider in Melbourne in an intensive block study period.

La Trobe University will consider applications for advanced standing, or credit for prior study. Credit may be applied to a current degree if you have undertaken previous tertiary study and completed and passed subjects similar in content and standard to those offered at La Trobe, from either another recognised tertiary institution or a different La Trobe course.

Note: Applications for credit will not be considered until you have successfully been admitted to a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) in a La Trobe course offered through OUA.

Assessing whether you should apply for credit for subjects in your course:

Credit may be granted for relevant subjects. The following steps will help you to decide which subjects you wish to apply for:

1. Identify subjects within your course that you think align with subjects you have already studied and have completed within 8 years of your La Trobe University course commencement year.

2. Provide subject outlines with detailed information for each subject that you wish to submit for assessment for credit, identifying which subject within your course that you have identified as a match. Include subject learning

outcomes/objectives and subject content for each subject.

3. Provide your academic transcript for your previous studies.

*Note that a subject studied can only be used once for credit

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.

Additional Information: 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.

Recommended Study Pattern

This degree is an OUA Pathways degree, which means there is a recommended series of subjects that, once successfully completed, can be credited towards this degree. To commence the Pathway for this degree, simply select subjects from the Pathway stream. This degree is structured to allow students to complete 2 subjects per study period and this is the strongly recommended study load from La Trobe University. If you enrol in more than 2 subjects per study period, this may limit your options for enrolment in later study periods and thus careful planning and assessment of required prerequisites is needed. 

Please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook to review the full structure.

Students who are studying and want to take a break (minimum one study period) must submit a leave of absence covering the relevant dates.

Students who have been accepted in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) are required to complete the following 2 modules in their first study period as a CSP student:

LTU0AIM Academic Integrity Module

ABS0WOM Wominjeka La Trobe: Indigenous Cultural Literacy for Higher Education

Award Requirements

To qualify for the award of Bachelor of Food and Nutrition, students must complete 24 subjects (360 credit points) as follows:

• 21 core subjects
• 3 elective subjects

Students who have been accepted in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) are required to complete the following 2 modules in their first study period as a CSP student:

LTU0AIM Academic Integrity Module

ABS0WOM Wominjeka La Trobe: Indigenous Cultural Literacy for Higher Education

Exit Points

Upon completion of Level one 8 subjects (120 credit points), students have the option to exit with a Diploma in Food and Nutrition (HDFN).*

Upon completion of Level one and Level two 16 subjects (240 credit points), students have the option to exit with an Associate Degree in Food and Nutrition (HA005).*

*Please note that if you are a past La Trobe student who has discontinued study, or if you have been absent without leave, you are not eligible to apply for an alternative exit retrospectively.