Food Science and Nutrition
Course Overview
This course leads on from Level 2 Hospitality and Catering but it is not essential to have studied Food before as the course is designed to support learners with a variety of career pathways from beginner levels.
An understanding of food science and nutrition is relevant to many industries and job roles. Care providers and nutritionists in hospitals use this knowledge, as do sports coaches and fitness instructors. Hotels and restaurants, food manufacturers and government agencies also use this understanding to develop menus, food products and policies that support healthy eating initiatives. The course is designed to give students an opportunity to explore these areas looking at how they are evolving and adapting to meet current demands. Many employment opportunities within the field of food science and nutrition are available to graduates.
The course has been designed to offer exciting, interesting experiences that focus learning through application, i.e. through the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in purposeful, work-related contexts, linked to a variety of industries. The course teaches students about health needs and dietary planning for individuals alongside the scientific knowledge of each of the nutrients. They learn how to experiment with food, how to serve safe food to consumers and who needs what food and why it is important to them.
The practical element of the course gives students the opportunity to develop their time management and organisational skills whilst applying their learning to a vocational context. They will develop personal skills and attitudes essential for successful performance at university and in working life.
How is the Course Structured?
The WJEC Level 3 Diploma in Food Science and Nutrition is a two year course with content broken down into units. To successfully complete the course, you must complete a minimum of 360 Guided Learning Hours (GLH). Students must complete the two mandatory and one optional unit.
Units studied over the 2 years:
Unit 1: Meeting Nutritional Needs of Specific Groups (mandatory).
Unit 2: Ensuring Food is Safe to Eat (mandatory).
Unit 3: Experimenting to Solve Food Production Problems (optional).
Unit 4: Current Issues in Food Science and Nutrition (optional).
Examination Board:
WJEC
Entry Requirements:
Ideally you will have a grade 4 in English Language.
You must have 5 qualifications at level 2 at grade 4/pass or above.
Course Level:
Level 3 Technical Award
What skills will I develop?
| Working as part of a team | |
| Critical thinking | |
| Research skills | |
| Problem-solvings |
How will I be assessed?
50% internal assessment, 50% external assessment in Y12 and 75% internal assessment, 25% supervised assessment in Y13.
The WJEC Level 3 Diploma in Food Science and Nutrition is assessed through a combination of internal and external assessment.
Unit 1: Meeting Nutritional Needs of Specific Groups will be both internally and externally assessed and is worth 50% of the overall course. Students will sit a 90 minute exam at the end of Year 12, which is a combination of short, extended and case study related questions.
This unit is also internally assessed through a summative controlled assessment.
Unit 2: Ensuring Food is Safe to Eat is also externally assessed and is worth 25% of the course. This is an eight hour timed, supervised assessment completed in Year 13.
Unit 3: Experimenting to Solve Food Production Problems and Unit 4: Current issues in Food Science and Nutrition, both optional units, are also internally assessed through a summative controlled assessment completed in Year 13.
Internal and external assessments will be completed to PASS, MERIT, DISTINCTION or DISTINCTION* level. Each individual assignment must be completed to at least a pass level in order to pass the whole unit. On successful completion of a unit, points are awarded depending upon the level of completion. At the end of the course, the points will be added from all units to make a combined total points score.
Overall PASS – Equivalent to E grade.
Overall MERIT – Equivalent to C grade.
Overall DISTINCTION – Equivalent to A grade.
Overall DISTINCTION* – Equivalent to A* grade.
Is there anything else I should know?
The WJEC Level 3 Diploma in Food Science and Nutrition can be studied with a variety of other subjects to suit the needs of the student; popular course combinations include Business Studies, Chemistry, Health and Social Care and Physical Education; it is widely accepted by universities and during the UCAS application process.
Progression Routes
The food, health and sport industries are major employers in the UK – highly competitive and challenging sectors offering a wealth of employment opportunities. This course covers a wide range of units which allows students to follow pathways of interest to their future career. Progression routes into further training and higher education are wide ranging; many students who study Food Science and Nutrition continue their studies at university. The Level 3 course is excellent preparation for entering courses such as Events Management, Nutrition and Health Studies, Dietetics, Consumer Science and Health Promotion.