Level 6 Diplomas in Nutrition

BCNH Level 6 Diploma courses are designed for candidates who desire a high-quality education but do not necessarily have the time or financial resources to commit to a full BSc (Hons) programme.

At BCNH, Diploma and BSc (Hons) students work together and complete the same nutrition-related modules. Therefore all of the BCNH modules which are studied on the Diploma courses are credit-rated by the University of Greenwich at levels 4, 5 or 6.

The University oversees all aspects of BCNH modules from content to assessment methods, marking and quality control.

This means is that you can be confident that, even as a Diploma student, you are receiving an education delivered at degree-level. The only difference is that the BSc (Hons) students are also registered with the University and complete additional University modules alongside the BCNH modules.

At the end of Year 3, all Diploma students who have successfully completed their studies will have accumulated 195 credits. BSc (Hons) students earn an additional 165 credits at the end of the BSc programme with a full honours degree.

Work and study

As with all our courses, Diploma courses are designed with flexibility in mind and can be completed alongside other commitments.

As the teaching is at degree-level, the coursework can be challenging, however, our team will support you every step of the way to make your experience and studies at BCNH enjoyable.

Whilst you do not need to give up your job to study with BCNH, we do recommend a 4-day-a-week work schedule, where possible (although 5-day a week work schedule is acceptable if you are willing to ‘sacrifice’ some of the weekends for study time), to accommodate the 15 hours a week of self-directed study time estimated to be required for successful completion.

At BCNH we offer TWO Level-6 Diploma programmes:

1. Level 6 Diploma in Nutrition & Health

The BCNH Diploma in Nutrition & Health is a 3-year part-time course WITHOUT clinical practice.

Students studying for the Diploma in Nutrition & Health complete the same BCNH modules in Years 1-3 as those studying for the Diploma in Nutritional Therapy and accumulate 195 credits. The only difference is that Nutrition & Health students do not go on to complete the fourth year, dedicated to clinical practice.

As a result, this Diploma is currently not accredited by NTEC and is not suitable for anyone who wishes to practice as a Registered Nutritional Therapist. Instead, this Diploma is more suitable for anyone who wishes to complement their work in a related professional field (e.g. other health professionals, journalists, health writers, fitness coaches, etc.).

Candidates will be awarded the Level 6 Diploma in Nutrition and Health Certificate by BCNH, subject to successful completion of 13 core BCNH modules.

2. Level 6 Diploma in Nutritional Therapy

The BCNH Diploma in Nutritional Therapy is a 4-year part-time course, which includes compulsory Year 4 clinical practice.

This course is accredited by the Nutritional Therapy Education Commission (NTEC), allowing graduates to apply for direct entry to the professional register held by the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), which is supported by the Department of Health.

If you wish to practice as a Registered Nutritional Therapist, this is the right course for you and will provide you with a thorough foundation in both technical knowledge and clinical skills, allowing you to practice with confidence.

If you do not wish to practice Nutritional Therapy and you are looking to study for personal interest only, our Diploma in Nutrition and Health may be a more suitable option for you.

Candidates will be awarded the Level 6 Diploma in Nutritional Therapy Certificate by BCNH, subject to successful completion of 13 core BCNH modules and Year 4 clinical practice.

Level 6 Diploma enrolment (18-19)

Students can enrol on BCNH Diploma modules TWICE a year:

• 15th August 2018 – September intake*
• 15th November 2018 – December intake

• Even if you have missed the August enrolment date, please do get in touch in case we may be able to offer you a place for the September intake .

  We also offer a December start date for BCNH modules. The deadline for December enrolment is 15th November 2018. Students enrolling by this date will start the course with BCNH Module No 2 and will complete BCNH Module No 1 in the summer of 2019.

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

If you’ve recently studied some of our syllabi as part of your previous qualification or study, and if we believe that the subjects have been covered in the same breadth and depth as at BCNH, this may exempt you from particular modules taught on BCNH Diploma programmes (not BSc).

You can apply for APL following an interview with a member of the BCNH academic board. We will only be able to consider your application for APL once we’ve received the necessary documentary evidence.

We cannot guarantee that your APL application will be successful. However, if we are not able to offer you APL, we will inform you why your request was unsuccessful.

BCNH criteria for a successful APL:

For each module for which you are applying for APL, you will be required to submit evidence to demonstrate that the syllabus, exams or assignments covered in your previous study match the level, content and standard of the BCNH syllabus, exams and assignments To ensure that your knowledge is current, your previous study needs to have been successfully completed within the last five years. If the above evidence is not sufficient we may ask you to sit BCNH examinations for each module (examination fee for each assignment is £60)

Study time

As our modules are highly academic, you will require approximately 15 hours per week to study modules, read research papers, complete on-line quiz exercises, summative assignments, etc.

Although this may seem like a significant time investment, the topics we teach on the course are fascinating and if you are passionate about nutrition it will not feel like a ‘sacrifice’.

Our team will also support you every step of the way to make your experience and studies at BCNH enjoyable.

Student support

We treat students as individuals, not as numbers. We care about each one of you and ensure that you are supported in every way possible to meet your goals.

Each student has a Personal Tutor, available via Skype, and can post questions to Tutors via a student forum on our virtual learning environment.

Students can post questions to tutors via Student Forum on our interactive website, which provides an invaluable online community for student interaction and tutorial support during the academic year.

Clinical Training

To put theory into practice, and to prepare you for Year 4 clinical practice, you will start your clinical training in Year 1, from the first very module.

Each module has a clinical component where students, facilitated by a clinical tutor, discuss various case studies with conditions related to the module.

You will learn from the start how to apply the principles of Functional Medicine, with a strong emphasis on a holistic, albeit evidence-based approach.

Year 4 of the Diploma in Nutritional Therapy is a dedicated Clinical Practice year. During Year 4 clinical practice, as well as delivering supervised nutrition consultations, you will also be introduced to marketing, basic book-keeping and how to create a Business Plan, all of which will ensure that you receive the best possible foundation for career success.

Established over 17 years ago, BCNH is known for its academic and clinical excellence, with an evidence-based curriculum delivered by highly respected lecturers, experts in their field.

Flexible Learning

All BCNH courses are designed with flexibility in mind. Most of our students complete their studies alongside work or family commitments, therefore we use the latest technology to help ensure our students can study at a time convenient to them. Students can choose to attend classes in person, join live online or watch recordings in their own time.

Brooke Cagle / Unsplash

Accreditations

As both the Diploma in Nutritional Therapy and BSc (Hons) in Nutritional Therapy are accredited by NTEC, our graduates can apply for fast-track entry to the professional register held by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) which is supported by the Department of Health.

Academic Excellence

At BCNH we are passionate about providing our students with the most thorough training to become excellent Nutrition Practitioners.

We teach evidence-based Functional Medicine, so our graduates are better equipped to evaluate published research papers. We will build your research skills from Year 1, starting with how to find and read research and culminating in later years with the ability to critically evaluate studies.

Our lecturers are experts in their field and you will be taught about the latest research and developments in nutritional therapy.

“Mechanisms” – all of our students and graduates associate BCNH with mechanisms!

Essentially, this is about understanding ‘why’ or ‘how’ a food or nutrient, for example, may be beneficial or harmful for your client by understanding the physiological processes it can influence in the body. Knowing your mechanisms is really important in order to be taken seriously by both your clients and fellow health professionals.

Comprehensive training – our courses provide comprehensive coverage of current nutritional therapy research and the curriculum is updated every year (for example, recent additions include a thorough exploration of the gut microflora and its influence on health and the benefits/limitations of genetic testing for Nutritional Therapy)