FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS/SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOR

POSTGRADUATE NUTRITION AND DIETETICS APPLICATIONS 2017

Entry onto this programme is competitive, so to maximise your chances of success you must read carefully through all of this information before completing your application for 2017 entry online via AIMS as early as possible.We wish you well with your application and look forward to hearing from you.

What are the entry requirements?

  • Normally, an upper second (2.1) class honours degree in a relevant science subject with a substantial amount of Biochemistry (minimum 30 credits at Level 4 or above) and Physiology (minimum 15 credits at level 4 or above) is required, plus an additional 15 credits in relevant subjects such as Immunology, Microbiology and Genetics is desirable.
  • Students with a 2:2 but with a substantial amount of Biochemistry and Physiology, and good grades in these subjects, will be considered if they have a relevant postgraduate qualification.
  • Normally we require your academic study to have taken place within the last five years. If your degree was completed more than five years ago you will need to show evidence of academic study within the last five years. The form of this academic study is broadly interpreted. Suitable examples may be Career and Professional Development activity within your current job, or another form of skill development.
  • All students need to have an undergraduate dissertation/ research project.
  • You must have evidence of a good command of written and spoken English to the standard equivalent to level 7 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with no element below 6.5. This is a requirement of the Health & Care Professions Council and the British Dietetics Association.
  • While we accept applicants from the EU, unfortunately we cannot accept students from non- European countries. If an applicant has lived in the UK for more than 3 years and has been ordinarily resident in the UK then he/she would normally be classed as a home student. However, if an applicant has been in the UK solely for the purposes of study, he/she would still be classed as an overseas student. If you are unsure of your status, please contact us before you apply and well in advance of the deadline as you may need to wait for your fees status to be confirmed before we can process your application.
  • The provision of bursaries and fees by the NHS for postgraduate pre-registration programmes is still being clarified. The previous standard advise on eligibility has been: to be eligible to apply for NHS Bursary support (means tested) ALL students regardless of nationality must be able to satisfy the following requirements on the first day of the first academic year of the course (the ‘prescribed date’). On that day, all applicants must:
  • be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years preceding the prescribed date, apart from occasional or temporary absences;

AND

  • be ordinarily resident in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland on the prescribed date;

AND

  • have ‘settled status’ in the UK - within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971. This means that there must be no restrictions on your length of stay in the UK.

Applicants must check their eligibility via the NHS Student Grants website on

Current information from the Department of Health on the payment of a bursary for tuition for postgraduate students starting 2017/18 is available on following website:

How do I demonstrate that I meet the entry criteria?

  • Personal statement (part of the online application)

When completing this section of the application, we ask that you submit100 words for each of the following questions only:

Q1 Why do you want to work as a dietitian? (outline your motivation and interest) (100 words)

Q2 Evaluate your communication skills with specific reference to becoming an effective dietitian (100 words)

Q3 What do you understand by the phrase’Patient-Centred Care’? (100 words)

Q4 What does the term ‘professional’ mean to you in relation to being a registered dietitian? (100 words)

Total 400 words

You MUST submit the following with your application

  • Referee Details

Please note we require the details of two referees, one of which should be academic if you have studied in the last five years.They should comment on your academic background, your ability to cope with the academic demands of the course and the qualities you have, which would make you suitable to become a Registered Dietitian. Please note that the programme leader for the programme you are applying for may not be added as a referee.

If it is more than five years since you have studied, an employer reference will suffice. Please ensure that you enter accurate details for your referee so that a reference is received by us by the deadline (see timetable). We will not accept applications supported by references from family and friends (as is standard when applying for NHS posts). Referees’ email addresses must be official university/professional email addresses. Private email addresses i.e. @yahoo, @hotmail, will not be accepted.

This reference must be dated within the 12 months prior to the application deadline. We advise you to contact your referee before you apply as, when you apply online, the online system will automatically send them a reference request. If at least one suitable reference is not received by the deadline, we cannot process your application and therefore your application would be rejected. If you have previously provided a reference which is less than 12 months old by the 16th December 2016, we may be able to use this reference. Please enter Postgraduate Admissions and in the referees’ details and we will check this reference is acceptable. Please contact us if you have any queries regarding references.

  • Module Details

As part of the application process, you will need to provide details of your completed and/or pending modules in the specified subjects (please see entry requirements), which tutors will use to clarify and speed up the process of identifying the academic background of applicants. We require you to provide this information on your application as well as providing your degree transcript and module outlines for key subject areas. Your physiology background should include major organ systems - the most relevant include the gastrointestinal, kidney, endocrine and cardiovascular systems. Biochemistry modules should include the major metabolic pathways. You will also need to provide the same details for any pending modules.

  • Module Outlines

All applicants, including University of Chester students must submit relevant module outlines/syllabus/module descriptors/module specifications when you apply. They are descriptions of your modules and are available in your course handbook, from your University website or University department. This includes all relevant modules, at all levels, in all years, including those which are pending results. EU applicants must provide certified English Language translations if they are written in your native language.

Please combine all module outlines into one document or as few attachments as possibleto upload on AIMS.

  • Degree/relevant qualificationTranscript

All applicants, including University of Chester students mustsubmityour official degree/relevant qualification transcript/profile/mark sheet/Diploma Supplement outlining all previously studied modules, their credit value and marks awarded. EU applicants must provide a certified English Language translation if necessary.

You should be provided with a transcript at the end of each year of yourdegree/relevant qualification, and a final full transcript upon completion. If you no longer have this it can be obtained from the Registry Services at your College/University for a small fee. If you are unable to obtain the above information please contact your tutor or College/University Registry and ask for their verification of your previous studies prior to the deadline. If you have completed your degree/relevant qualification, please upload a copy of your certificate and any other relevant qualifications. Please do not not upload any certificates that are not relevant to our entry criteria, e.g. A level or GCSE certificates, or send original certificates in the post, we will request themif necessary.If you have changed your name since you received your results, please state your previous name when you apply. We may require you to send us evidence of this.

  • Hospital Visit form (Visit to dietetic department)

You must make sure you experience the work of a dietitian by visiting a dietetic department prior to the deadline. Please provide evidence of this by submitting thecompleted hospitalvisit form or a certificate of attendance of a dietetic department open day either of which should be signed and dated by the dietitian. You will also be asked to provide their contact details (email and telephone number) in AIMS.Please note that this document is in addition to the academic reference as outlined above. This visit must be within the three years prior to the application deadline.Please note that if you have worked in a Dietetic Department as a Dietetic Assistant, Therapy Assistant (including dietetics) Technical Assistant (Dietetics), no hospital visit form will be required, but you should have a reference from the department as your employer.

Please upload all supporting documents online via AIMS. Please check the documents you have uploaded as your application will not be processed unless it is complete. Unfortunately, failure to provide any of the above documents when you apply online will mean that we cannot process your application.

How else can I enhance my application?

Competition for places is high. All complete applications may not be considered for interview as we can only select limited numbers. We advise you to make your application as strong as possible. Voluntary work, project work or paid employment as a dietetic assistant are all useful ways of spending a ‘year out’. Please refer to these when answering the questions which make up your personal statement. You have the opportunity to tell us more about your experience if invited to interview.

What if I do not meet the entry criteria?

If you do not meet the admission criteria for this programme as outlined above there are a number of modules offered at the University of Chester which will improve, but in no way guarantee, your chances of getting accepted onto this programme. If you are not local to Chester you can of course look into accessing similar modules which may be offered at a college or university nearer your home or at the Open University via distance learning. An appropriate physiology module must include the function of the major organ systems, while biochemistry modules must include the major metabolic pathways.You can access University of Chester modules by contacting undergraduate admissions on:, 01244 512658/01244 512175 and requesting a free-standing module form. Your suitability for access to these modules will be assessed by the Clinical Sciences admissions team. These modules start any time from September 2016.

The University of Chester offers a module in physiology which students can study by attendance (Essential Physiology - BI4110). It also offers distance learning modules in biochemistry(BI4927 Cells and Tissues) and in physiology(Anatomy and Physiology - BI4928).These are all equivalent to 20 credits each. You will pay a fee for these. Alternatively, you may find it useful to complete a postgraduate certificate (PGCert) in Human Nutrition, consisting of three 20 credit modules delivered in 3 day blocks which may satisfy the biochemistry/physiology requirements, dependent on prior learning. However, admission to this course is subject to specific entry requirements and a fee, as well as some prior study of biological sciences components. Please visit for further information and how to apply.

Please ensure you record any key modules currently being undertaken or planned when you apply for Nutrition and Dietetics. Any offer would be conditional on these modules being successfully completed - you must notify us of this as soon as possible. If you are undertaking modules at the University of Chester you are still required to complete these details on application.

How are applications assessed?

All applicants will be scored against a standardised person specification. We must stress that you should ensure all the information requested is submittedand there is a checklist at the end of the application to enable you to do this. If you are unsure of anything, please contact us before the deadline as incorrectly complete or incomplete applications are not considered.If anything is missing and there is time to inform you of this, we will do so. We cannot accept any documentation after the deadline. If you would like feedback following your interview please request this by the end of April 2017.