Food and Nutrition

75 - 120.

Faculty of Pharmacy

30

The masters program seeks to provide a high-quality, qualification in a specialist field, with two clearly defined options. The first aims at training research specialists (basic or applied) in the field of nutrition, and leads to further studies and the eventual writing of a doctoral thesis. The other option opens up a range of possibilities in a number of fields, including clinical healthcare, and nutrigenomics, personalized nutrition and new food product design, by providing training for highly qualified professionals in the provision of nutritional support in the clinical setting.

Similarly, it seeks to train professionals specialized in the application of their nutritional knowledge to the world of functional food design.

This Masters is ideal for nutritionists employed in the food industry (to-date a sector with few options for further training), seeking to further their knowledge.

The Masters offers a broad range of opportunities for those seeking further training in nutritional research or within the professional field of nutrition and dietetics.

Candidates will be selected on the basis of their academic record, curriculum vitae and personal motivation statement. The weighting given to these three criteria is as follows: 80% - academic record, 10% - curriculum vitae and 10% - personal motivation statement.

Students currently registered on the first or second cycle of an official degree program (as governed by the legislation introduced before Royal Decree 55/21 January 2005) can gain admission to the new official second cycle programs - the Official Postgraduate Programs - provided they fulfil the following criteria:

1. That they have completed three years' of university studies, obtaining a minimum of 180 credits on the curriculum currently being taught.
2. That the credits awarded include all the core subjects taught on the current first cycle of the official undergraduate degree.
3. That the first cycle course studied is included among the subjects recognized as constituting one of the specific conditions of admission established by the university for the Official Postgraduate Program.

With the introduction of the new qualifications and training objectives of the new undergraduate and postgraduate courses, admission to this course has been opened up to a large number of undergraduates, as well as future graduates (first cycle) in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Food Science and Technology and those holding equivalent qualifications. In fact, admission on to the masters has also been agreed for current diploma holders in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as Nursing and other closely related subjects.

Holders of the following qualifications can be considered for admission on to the Masters program:
* Graduates in Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Food Science and Technology, Enology, Pharmacy, Medicine, Chemistry and Veterinary Science.
* Diploma holders in Nursing and Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
* Applications can also be made by those that have completed the first cycle of other university degree courses, though they will require the express authorization of the admissions committee and must meet the criteria laid down by this committee.

On completion of the masters, students should have acquired the following knowledge and skills

Specific skills

- A good metabolic understanding of the role and the use, modification and elimination of nutrients from the body.
- A good understanding of nutritional needs and recommendations and their foundations.
- A good understanding of the components of food and the modifications caused to food by handling.
- The ability to apply statistical and epidemiological analyses in nutritional studies.
- The ability to incorporate and assimilate rapidly scientific advances from within the profession.
- The ability to apply specific laboratory techniques.
- A good understanding of the functional bases of nutrient-genome interactions.
- A good understanding of active food components.
- The ability to integrate a knowledge of the main metabolic pathways and the role of nutrients in healthy and sick patients.
- A good understanding of the principal physiopathological mechanisms and the nutritional treatment of the most prevalent chronic diseases in Western society.
- A good understanding of the main pathologies related with food, their prevention and their nutritional treatment.
- The ability to evaluate ingestion and the nutritional state using the various indicators that are available (biochemical, anthropometric, etc.).
- The ability to make nutritional recommendations on the basis of the needs of the individual or community and to help promote the acquisition of healthy eating habits.
- The ability to design appropriate diets for a range of physiological and pathological situations.
- A good understanding of the bases, applications and formulae used in artificial nutrition.
- A good understanding of the bioactive food components.
- The ability to introduce analytical strategies for identifying deviations from adequate nutritional patterns in a community.

Cross-disciplinary skills

- The ability to organize and plan tasks in the field of study.
- The ability to think critically, logically and creatively in undertaking these tasks.
- The ability to work autonomously and to demonstrate initiative.
- The ability and flexibility to solve problems in the discipline effectively.
- The ability to analyse data and research findings and industrial applications within a changing environment.
- The ability to work in a range of disciplines.
- High ethical standards and respect for intellectual integrity.
- The ability to work effectively as a member of a team.
- The ability to respond to situations as and when they arise.
- An awareness of the fact that an advanced knowledge gives the student greater professional expertise and leadership skills in their specialist field.
- An appreciation of the value of their knowledge for the community (including business and industry).
- The ability to become involved, when required, in aspects of contemporary society.
- An appreciation of the diversity of the different fields of knowledge that contribute to nutrition and metabolism