Honours degree of Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics

Course Code: 3865 ~ Course Abbreviation: BNutrDiet(Hons) ~ Total credit points required: 48 ~ 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time ~ Managing faculty: Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Study mode and course location

On-campus (Clayton)

Course description

The honours program is an additional year of study which builds upon the knowledge and experience gained in the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics. It allows students to develop their research skills and competencies, learn specific techniques and gain a deeper understanding of a selected aspect of human nutrition. The program consists of an individual major research project and a compulsory coursework component. Students undertake a research project under the supervision of an approved member of the academic or research staff. The choice of project and supervisor will be organised by the student in consultation with potential supervisors and the honours year advisor. This allows a high level of flexibility in the type of research project that can be undertaken, while focusing on the general area of human nutrition and health. The research project will constitute the major portion of the student's work. In addition all students will complete two components of the course that are not directly related to their specific research projects. One of these components will be a seminar series ranging broadly across different areas of human nutrition and the other will consist of a lecture series that will focus on the development of key research skills including statistical analysis.

Course objectives

On completion of this course students will: be able to critically review the scientific literature in their discipline; understand the processes involved in the design, development and implementation of a research project; be able to develop a proposal for a research project and apply for ethics committee approval; be able to execute and analyse a research project, or a set of studies; be proficient in computer based data manipulation, analysis, presentation, and word processing; be able to write up scientific work in a report suitable to submit for publication; demonstrate communication skills in both oral and written presentation to a specialist scientific audience; have refined or acquired a range of technical skills appropriate to their project; have gained insight into the research process in an area relating to the health sciences.

Entry requirements

To be eligible for entry to the Honours Degree of the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics students are required to have:

completed the pass degree of Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Monash University, or a comparable graduate qualification in Dietetics from another tertiary institution
a combined average of 70% or higher for semesters 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics degree, or equivalent performance in the final 2 years of a Dietetic degree from another tertiary institution.

The head of the Nutrition and Dietetic Unit may make a case for a student who has demonstrated research potential but does not have a grade average that meets the requirements above, or elect to admit a student who demonstrates research potential and has completed a science based degree with substantial nutrition content.

Course structure

Course requirements

Students must satisfactorily complete the following units:

BND5011 Research skills for dietitians
BND5012 Issues in human nutrition
BND5021 Honours research project 1
BND5022 Honours research project 2

Contact details

Telephone: + 61 3 9594 5510, email: nutrition-dietetics@med.monash.edu.au or visit http://www.med.monash.edu.au/nutrition-dietetics/bnd-honours.html