Hons BSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics

Vampireskiss

I am considering applying for this course at DIT for next year as a mature student because its something I am really interested in however I have been a bit weary about it because I am currently in a full-time job and paying back a 13k loan I also will be 32 when I start and 36 when I finish.

On a positive note I am single and don't have any dependents no mortgage etc and 36 is not that old really is it especially if its something your interested in and I should be able to pay off the loan by September 2010 if I put my mind to it

I would like to ask does anyone know anything about this course? whats the pass rate like?and what are the career prospects like?I would also like to know how difficult is it for a student to find part-time work in Dublin these days as I would have to do this.

The thing is even if I do apply for it I may not get it as I don't have the points for it but I do have an ordinary degree in chemistry and I am quite knowledgeable on nutrition

PinkChick

Hi, I was looking into this and I was told that at the minute, there are a lot of dieticians and not a lot of jobs. I am not sure if this is the case but it seems it was very popular over last few years. Definitely worth looking into that side. The other thing I found was that if you went to UK, I think you can do it in a much shorter time especially if you already have a degree. That option isn't in Ireland yet but might also be worth investigating if you are not tied down here. I think its in 1 or 2 years but again I am not 100% sure. It's something I would love to do too, timing just wouldn't be right right now. Let me know what you find out! I'd be really interested.

Saucey-Susie

that sounds like a great course. really like nutrition and reading all about it. definitely something i would be interested in too. how much is it?

ciagr297

Vampireskiss wrote: »

I am considering applying for this course at DIT for next year as a mature student because its something I am really interested in however I have been a bit weary about it because I am currently in a full-time job and paying back a 13k loan I also will be 32 when I start and 36 when I finish.

On a positive note I am single and don't have any dependents no mortgage etc and 36 is not that old really is it especially if its something your interested in and I should be able to pay off the loan by September 2010 if I put my mind to it

I would like to ask does anyone know anything about this course? whats the pass rate like?and what are the career prospects like?I would also like to know how difficult is it for a student to find part-time work in Dublin these days as I would have to do this.

The thing is even if I do apply for it I may not get it as I don't have the points for it but I do have an ordinary degree in chemistry and I am quite knowledgeable on nutrition

i've actually always wanted to do this and was on the verge of doing so last year but stuff happened.

fully agree with PinkChick - check out the UK courses as well. Or even father afield. that way you get a real change and a chance to experience someplace brand new. i know if i went back to being a sufferingly broke student in dublin it would do my head in.

also, the courses in ireland are very limited - that goes for the education system as well.
in my case, i was not a run of the mill application and i totally got a "computer says noooooo".

personally its something i have always always wanted to do. i speak a few languages now so i'm looking at doing it abroad instead

and let me know what you decide to do, i'm so excited for you

Sapsorrow

I'm going into fourth year nutritional science in UCC and everyone in my course is going for dietetics after. Dunno why though, I know a few dieticians who did it and it is VERY hard to get into basically if you don't have a very good first class honours in our degree we won't have a hope as our lecturers told us. Also there's no work in this area at all (our lecturing staff make a point of reminding us of this), I work with a dietician in the college at the moment who's working there becuase she can't get work, another dietician in CUH I know told me they have a full time dietician working for free becuase she can't get anything either. Both of these people were in this situation long before the recession hit too.
We do dietetics in college as part of my course and it's not nearly as interesting as you'd imagine. it involves learning off lots of little numbers and sequences of nutrients such as a person with end stage renal failure will require x.xxx mg sodium per day in their drip versus x.xxx mg for a person with acute stage failure and so on. It's very formulated and there's not really any room for personal input or opinions. You'd need a very good head for learning of reels of information (largely numerical) with no possibility of learning it off by association etc..
You'd also need a good grasp of chemistry, biology and physiology at a third level, if you are going for a regular degree rather than a masters you may not as you're a mature student but believe me you'll find it so hard going in with a load of very smart 18 year olds fresh out of the secondary system with a good grasp of these subjects even if it's just to the leaving cert level and still in study/exam mode from the previous year.
I started my degree when I was 21 and I only had agricultural science to get me into the course and despite always being very good in school I was a mess by the end of first year because I was so out of the studying mentaility even after only three years, not having any of the other science subjects or maths was a major problem and disadvantage for me also. I had to fork out a load of mula on grinds despite my best efforts to never miss class and studying for 10+ hrs a day.
I know my course is different but it's in the same vein and we cover most of the same material just to varying degrees and we don't do clinics so my experience is still relevant.

rodstewy

khrystyna100 wrote: »

I'm going into fourth year nutritional science in UCC and everyone in my course is going for dietetics after. Dunno why though, I know a few dieticians who did it and it is VERY hard to get into basically if you don't have a very good first class honours in our degree we won't have a hope as our lecturers told us. Also there's no work in this area at all (our lecturing staff make a point of reminding us of this), I work with a dietician in the college at the moment who's working there becuase she can't get work, another dietician in CUH I know told me they have a full time dietician working for free becuase she can't get anything either. Both of these people were in this situation long before the recession hit too.
We do dietetics in college as part of my course and it's not nearly as interesting as you'd imagine. it involves learning off lots of little numbers and sequences of nutrients such as a person with end stage renal failure will require x.xxx mg sodium per day in their drip versus x.xxx mg for a person with acute stage failure and so on. It's very formulated and there's not really any room for personal input or opinions. You'd need a very good head for learning of reels of information (largely numerical) with no possibility of learning it off by association etc..
You'd also need a good grasp of chemistry, biology and physiology at a third level, if you are going for a regular degree rather than a masters you may not as you're a mature student but believe me you'll find it so hard going in with a load of very smart 18 year olds fresh out of the secondary system with a good grasp of these subjects even if it's just to the leaving cert level and still in study/exam mode from the previous year.
I started my degree when I was 21 and I only had agricultural science to get me into the course and despite always being very good in school I was a mess by the end of first year because I was so out of the studying mentaility even after only three years, not having any of the other science subjects or maths was a major problem and disadvantage for me also. I had to fork out a load of mula on grinds despite my best efforts to never miss class and studying for 10+ hrs a day.
I know my course is different but it's in the same vein and we cover most of the same material just to varying degrees and we don't do clinics so my experience is still relevant.

Hey, so you say theres no jobs in dietetics these days? I'm currently in 4th year biochem and was hoping to go on for dietetics after. Whats exactly is the job situation at the moment? Like is it only in certain areas and what is the outlook for the future. Cheers for your help in advance!

Sapsorrow

As far as I know which is solely based on what I'm being told by my lecturers and the nutrition dept work placement officer is that there is very little work for dietetics grads, I think they feel a little helpless watching everyone battling it out for places in fourth year knowing how little opportunities there are in it at the end.
I don't mean to worry you but I'd be very suprised if a biochem grad got in considering all the food and nutritional science students who are desperate to get it. The standard in my class is really high and we were told in a good year 4 people got into it (after applying to the english and scottish colleges as well as UL!) and theres about 44 odd of us. Theres going to be a hell of a lot of competition from students who have a much more relevant degree than you would, I would reccomend applying for a masters in nutrition at the same time and then if the dietetics didn't work out you can do the nutrition masters (very nearly the same thing anyway) and then try applying again with a relevant background.
we did a day o ut in CUH with a dietician to give us an idea of what the work actuallly entails and a lot of people were very disillusioned by the experience, you may get 15 or 20 minutes per patient which isn't exactly much time to inspire someone to change their lives or get into much detail about their diets and lifestyle. It also involves sorting out hospital meals for patients which I wouldn't imagine is very inspiring for the patient or exciting for the dietician considering the standard of hospital food. I generally think there is much more interesting angles to take when persuing a career in nutrition esp if you are really interested in the subject, I think being a dietician would get very boring very quickly personally. And pretty much all windows of opportunity bar actually workin in a hospital would be open to a properly qualified nutritionist anyway!

Trilogy

Hi Vampire,
I did the DIT/TCD dietetics course and graduated 2 yrs ago. I suppose I wanted to give you some info to help you make your decision:

The course:
I think the course has a lot to offer but be warned it is not an easy course! I went straight in from second level and it is still a big learing curve from about 2nd year on. It is very medical and I have to agree with the above poster that when you get into the nitty gritty of dietetics (which is really the study of how nutrition is applied in medical conditions) it can be very specific and numerical.

It is also fair to say that the expectations from lecturers and the class itself was quite high. I feel it was quite compeditive and everyone strived to do well. That is to say, I felt it wasn't the usual college "head out on the piss" on a Tues night sort of arena. The grades are very high and most do well because of this.
When I did the course it was 4 1/2 years long with 3 years course work, 6 months hospital internship and additional college hours and then a 3 month thesis (the additional 1/2 academic yr at the end).

I know they were planning to change it to 4 yrs, so this may have already happened. Indeed, the whole course was heading for a complete make-over and I think this process is nearly done, so there are likely to be many improvements as when were students there was lots of consultations etc.

There only tends to be one mature applicant spot and this is said to be hotly contended for! Lots of nutrition grads are keen on places and there are only about 1 - 2 in total each year, due to the limited hospital places for training in the 4th yr. (the full class is about 24)

Again, I agree with the above poster re: looking at NI / UK options to do a PgD (post grad diploma) but I'm not sure if you'd need a nutrition BSc as your undergrad to do this.

The Work:
Well, when I left, there was very little. I was keen to do hospital work, but ended up in research for about 8 months until I secured a clinical position. That said, I really enjoyed research and found the skills I had from the degree as very useful and in demand in this area. The payscale wasn't great though. (about 25% less than hospital)

While working in hospitals, I have been continously on temp contracts - every time a permanent job comes up there are more experienced ppl in their droves going for it (sometimes even ppl in senior temp positions who would take the pay cut to be permanent these days). Lots of new grads found they didn't even get shortlisted for interviews as the applications were so large - I was just lucky that ppl were interested in my research experience, so it's important to be flexible!

Apart from that, the degree can take you lots of places - in particular the DIT/TCD degree is the only one in UK and Ireland to be recognised in the USA and most degrees are recognised in Oz / NZ.

There are also opps in private industry, private practice and further education etc.

I love my job and wouldn't change it for the world. The interatcions with pts and teamwork with the medics is amazing and gives great job satisfaction, while still being a very 9 - 5 job.

Hope that helps somewhat - feel free to pm me for any further info

T

Sapsorrow

Trilogy wrote: »

Hi Vampire,
I did the DIT/TCD dietetics course and graduated 2 yrs ago. I suppose I wanted to give you some info to help you make your decision:

The course:
I think the course has a lot to offer but be warned it is not an easy course! I went straight in from second level and it is still a big learing curve from about 2nd year on. It is very medical and I have to agree with the above poster that when you get into the nitty gritty of dietetics (which is really the study of how nutrition is applied in medical conditions) it can be very specific and numerical.

It is also fair to say that the expectations from lecturers and the class itself was quite high. I feel it was quite compeditive and everyone strived to do well. That is to say, I felt it wasn't the usual college "head out on the piss" on a Tues night sort of arena. The grades are very high and most do well because of this.
When I did the course it was 4 1/2 years long with 3 years course work, 6 months hospital internship and additional college hours and then a 3 month thesis (the additional 1/2 academic yr at the end).

I know they were planning to change it to 4 yrs, so this may have already happened. Indeed, the whole course was heading for a complete make-over and I think this process is nearly done, so there are likely to be many improvements as when were students there was lots of consultations etc.

There only tends to be one mature applicant spot and this is said to be hotly contended for! Lots of nutrition grads are keen on places and there are only about 1 - 2 in total each year, due to the limited hospital places for training in the 4th yr. (the full class is about 24)

Again, I agree with the above poster re: looking at NI / UK options to do a PgD (post grad diploma) but I'm not sure if you'd need a nutrition BSc as your undergrad to do this.

The Work:
Well, when I left, there was very little. I was keen to do hospital work, but ended up in research for about 8 months until I secured a clinical position. That said, I really enjoyed research and found the skills I had from the degree as very useful and in demand in this area. The payscale wasn't great though. (about 25% less than hospital)

While working in hospitals, I have been continously on temp contracts - every time a permanent job comes up there are more experienced ppl in their droves going for it (sometimes even ppl in senior temp positions who would take the pay cut to be permanent these days). Lots of new grads found they didn't even get shortlisted for interviews as the applications were so large - I was just lucky that ppl were interested in my research experience, so it's important to be flexible!

Apart from that, the degree can take you lots of places - in particular the DIT/TCD degree is the only one in UK and Ireland to be recognised in the USA and most degrees are recognised in Oz / NZ.

There are also opps in private industry, private practice and further education etc.

I love my job and wouldn't change it for the world. The interatcions with pts and teamwork with the medics is amazing and gives great job satisfaction, while still being a very 9 - 5 job.

Hope that helps somewhat - feel free to pm me for any further info

T

Great post thanks for the insight!

MaggieRow747

Hey

just came across this thread in google and i was just wondering could anyone tell me would it be better to have a degree in chemistry or biology to get into dietetic/nutrition?..At the moment im in first year science in DIT and there now starting to talk about second year and i really want to get into the nutrition/dietetics so it would be a great help if someone could let me no! and just to say all ur comments have been very imformative for me:D

Thanks

Sapsorrow

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Hey

just came across this thread in google and i was just wondering could anyone tell me would it be better to have a degree in chemistry or biology to get into dietetic/nutrition?..At the moment im in first year science in DIT and there now starting to talk about second year and i really want to get into the nutrition/dietetics so it would be a great help if someone could let me no! and just to say all ur comments have been very imformative for me:D

Thanks

Chemistry for nutrition anyway, my course is about 60-70% biochem.

MaggieRow747

i see thanks . So if i did biology there wouldnt be that much relevent information to the coarse?...Did u go straight into the dietiton/nutrition coarse or did u have a degree before going on to do that?..

Thanks

Sapsorrow

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

i see thanks . So if i did biology there wouldnt be that much relevent information to the coarse?...Did u go straight into the dietiton/nutrition coarse or did u have a degree before going on to do that?..

Thanks

TBH I don't think it'll matter in terms of what you require to be eligable, I don't knnow what the requirements are for applicants, but the course would be a hell of a lot easier if you had a good background in chemistry, we only really did biology in first year when we were doing all our general science modules (physics, chemsitry, maths all that horrible sh*t )
I'm doing mine as an undergrad so I had to have one science subject in my leaving cert (Luckily I did agricultural science :pac:) but my maths was only a pass in ordinary level and I got in. The points are getting higher and higher though and if you're thinking of doing it as a postgrad competition's gotten really tight since the recession, people are all going back to college seeing as there's no work now.
What exactly are you applying for nutrition or dietetics and as an undergard or postgrad and in Cork, Dublin or Cohlraine? Dietetics is notoriously hard to get into either way, our course has a really high stantard and only 3 or 4 out of 40-50 get in (most of the year applies) on a good year and they work their butts off for four years to get it so be ready for that level of competition if you'r interested in it as a postgrad.

MaggieRow747

Oh right i see, well im doing all that now the physics, chemistry, biology maths etc....What course are you doing right now??
Really i didnt think that many people would be going for those types of coarses ive never heard anyone myself saying they wanted to do nutrition or dietetics so i never thought it would be that hard to get into!!!
I wanna do dietics as a post grad and it will most likely be in dublin, god i never thought it would be that competitive kinda getting slight scared now lol. Well im only in first year now so hopefully by the time i finish my coarse the recession will be over or just hopefully il be one of the lucky ones to get in!!

Thanks:)

Sapsorrow

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Oh right i see, well im doing all that now the physics, chemistry, biology maths etc....What course are you doing right now??
Really i didnt think that many people would be going for those types of coarses ive never heard anyone myself saying they wanted to do nutrition or dietetics so i never thought it would be that hard to get into!!!
I wanna do dietics as a post grad and it will most likely be in dublin, god i never thought it would be that competitive kinda getting slight scared now lol. Well im only in first year now so hopefully by the time i finish my coarse the recession will be over or just hopefully il be one of the lucky ones to get in!!

Thanks:)

I'm just finishing up a nutritional sciece degree in UCC.

I'm not gonna sugar coat it for ya, but the competition for dietetics potsgrads in any college in the UK has always been extremely competative, nearly every nutrition grad goes for them so the odds of getting in are very very slim for someone with a basic science degree.

As an example every year loads of girls in my course end up doing Ma's in UCC or Dublin to give them an edge to get into the dietetics postgrad if they didn't get in first time round. So youre competeing with people with a Bsc in nutritional science and then an Ma in nutrition on top of that too (from all over the whole UK) with an undergrad in biology.

My advice would be to transfer to a nutrition undergrad now while you're in first year asap if you can, you should be able to sort something out if you want it badly enough, but even with the nutrition degree you're still lucky to get into dietetics with a great result in your degree.

Being a dietician is so so over rated, we had a day out in the uni hospital with them a few weeks back and man you'd have to pay me a hell of a lot of money to do that job, it's not nearly as interesting as people would think it is, being a nutritionist would allow you to do 90% of the same jobs and you wouldnt be missing out on anything by not working in a hospital believe me.

You get maybe 15-20 mins per patient to give them dietary advice and then you will prob never see them again (and most of these people only care because they're after having osmething horribly wrong go wrong with them after years of abuse and have been told they have no choice but to cop on), you end up writing menus for patients using incredibly unhealthy foods (white bread toasted with jam and butter for breakfast for patient x that sort of thing) and organizing drips/IV's for kidney transplant patients all that boring stuff.

It's not like you spend quality time with people helping them to change their lives for the better particularly, you can do that as a nutritional cosultant and set up your own practice once you're qualified.

Like I said in another post, our lecturers and people in the dept (including our nutrition dept career guidance guy) are all telling us theres no work in it and won't be for a long long time, it's so bad that qualified dieticians are working on a voluntary basis just so as to not be sitting around doing nothing with their degrees. A firend of mine is a fully qualified dietician and is working for peauts in the Uni (a job she got becuase one of the lecturers happened to remember her and be fond of her in the first place) as she can't find any work in it and she's nearly 30.

Orry_from_cork

is

Sapsorrow

Orry_from_cork wrote: »

is

Is....

Bottle_of_Smoke

Hey

I'm studying a BSc in Human Nutrition at University of Ulster in Coleraine.

For first two years we do all the same modules as dieticians. Then in third year we go on work placement and they do final year. When we go back to do final year they do a hospital placement which will give them their medical licence for dietetics.

Now I got into the Human Nutrition BSc with 425 points in the LC. Whereas the same degree in UCD is 500+ points. Basically in the NI it isn't as rigid about points - because I did well in Science/Maths they gave me a place.

If you're considering the DIT degree you should also look into dietetics in Coleraine. Its much cheaper to live here than Dublin(nice double room in a big house for 35pounds a week in the nearby seaside town portstewart)

Also if you get into dietetics it is one of the few courses in the UK where the state pays your fees.

The programme is of four years duration, with two semesters each year and three or four modules studied in each semester. Elements of nutrition, biochemistry and statistics are taught in all years.

In Year 1, you take science foundation modules, including physiology and anatomy, cell biology, chemistry and biochemistry, psychology, biostatistics and study skills. In Year 2 modules in food science, nutrition through the life cycle, clinical biochemistry, management including NHS and professional issues, epidemiology and statistics are undertaken. The final taught year (Year 3) provides an in-depth study of nutrition and dietetics together with the planning and carrying out of an individual research project. In addition, over the course of the degree students are required to undertake 2 clinical placements as outlined below.

Placement
Dietetics students undertake 2 x 14 weeks placements which, can be either at the end of year 3 and beginning of year 4 or during year 4. The majority of clinical practice placements are in healthcare settings throughout Northern Ireland although a small number of placements may be in healthcare settings in England, Scotland or Wales approved for the training of Dietetics students.

http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk/course/?id=7874

Bottle_of_Smoke

Lol just see now OP is 18months old!

Sapsorrow

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

I'm studying a BSc in Human Nutrition at University of Ulster in Coleraine.

No way, did you just start this year? If so, congrats that's fantastic! I hope you enjoy it (I'm sure you will, it's supposed to be a great course)

Sapsorrow

He BOS, I was just wondering have you heard mention of a public health nutrition Msc up there? I was looking in the prospectus but couldn't find anything other than this general health promotion post-grad:

http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk//course/?id=7666

I'm sure on of my lecturers specialised in public health nutrition up there back in the day. I'd love to branch into nutritional epidemiology but those post-grads are usually run by the medical depts and are more focused on infectious diseases than anything else.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Sapsorrow wrote: »

No way, did you just start this year? If so, congrats that's fantastic! I hope you enjoy it (I'm sure you will, it's supposed to be a great course)

Sapsorrow wrote: »

He BOS, I was just wondering have you heard mention of a public health nutrition Msc up there? I was looking in the prospectus but couldn't find anything other than this general health promotion post-grad:

http://prospectus.ulster.ac.uk//course/?id=7666

I'm sure on of my lecturers specialised in public health nutrition up there back in the day. I'd love to branch into nutritional epidemiology but those post-grads are usually run by the medical depts and are more focused on infectious diseases than anything else.

Hey,

Actually in third(work placement) year. Enjoyed the course and new home a lot so far.


As for the masters I'm not sure. One of our modules last year was food science and there were some masters students in that class. One of the girls is on my facebook next time she's online I'll ask her what the course was.

Completely agree with your sentiments about dietetics. When I started I had applying for the dietetics masters in Coleraine after I graduated strongly in mind and a LOT of the girls on my course are planning that too. However I've completely ruled it out now. I think I was just taken in by wanting to be a medical professional but knowing more about it now I don't think its for me.

Sapsorrow

Oh god your well into it so! Ya it was the exact same here, everyone in my class was desperate for dietetics post-grads, only 4 got in to the various ones around the UK (which is supposed to be a good number) in the end. I changed my mind after doing my dietetics modules when I realised I would be essentially forced into complying with a protocol and preaching outdated dogmas to sick people. If I work with people I want to be able to apply to most up to date research, not tell diabetics and heart disease patients to stop eating butter. :rolleyes: Sometimes I wonder though from a health promotion of public health angle how I would be able to compete professionally (with a dietician) with a nutritional science degree.

Orry_from_cork

Sorry about the post is dono what happened was just interested in nutrition human part and sport part as well looked into dietetics seems that people are staying away and sticking with just degrees in nutrition good or bad thing .?who knows did you find that your course was all you expected it to be and more our less:( thanks for the comments love getting other peoples experiences will help mine I'm sure

thereisacar

I understand this is extremely late, I'm just wondering what were lecture hours like for the DIT course? And no before I get scolded, I'm not picking a course based on lecture hours, I'm just curious.

braceface

thereisacar wrote: »

I understand this is extremely late, I'm just wondering what were lecture hours like for the DIT course? And no before I get scolded, I'm not picking a course based on lecture hours, I'm just curious.

Hi, the hours are pretty much 9-5 Mon-Fri and vary widely as the course progresses. Some modules are for the full year, whereas some finish at Christmas and new ones picked up in the new year with different hours. Flexibility is required as it changes alot (I'm going into 2nd year)