BSc Hons Sport Nutrition with foundation and placement year

If you’re fascinated by how food fuels performance and health — and you want to turn that passion into a career — the BSc (Hons) Sport Nutrition with Foundation and Placement Year at Liverpool John Moores University is an amazing place to start. It’s perfect for students who want to understand the science behind sport and wellbeing, gain hands-on experience, and graduate ready to make an impact in the health, fitness, or sports industries.

Curriculum Structure

Foundation Year
The foundation year is all about building your confidence and knowledge before you step into the main degree. You’ll cover the essential science behind the human body, chemistry, and nutrition, while developing key study and research skills. Whether you’re returning to education or taking a new direction, this year gives you the perfect grounding to succeed in the years ahead.

Year 1
Once you move into the degree, you’ll start exploring what really happens inside the body during exercise and how nutrition plays a vital role. Modules like Principles of Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology 1, Biochemistry and Metabolism, and Performance Nutrition introduce how nutrients support energy, recovery, and athletic performance. You’ll begin connecting science to real-life sport and health outcomes.

Year 2
In your second year, the focus shifts to applied learning. You’ll look at the bigger picture — how behaviour, sustainability, and lifestyle choices influence health and sport. Modules such as Food Chain and Sustainability, Eating Behaviour for Sport and Health, and Exercise Physiology 2 help you link theory with practice. You’ll also take Research Methods 2, which sharpens your analytical and research skills for future projects and your placement.

Placement Year
Your placement year is where everything comes to life. You’ll spend up to a year gaining experience in the field — perhaps with a professional sports team, nutrition consultancy, or fitness organisation. It’s your chance to apply what you’ve learned, build a professional network, and get a real taste of your future career. Many students find their placements open doors to graduate jobs later on.

Final Year
By your final year, you’ll be ready to specialise and take the lead. You’ll explore advanced topics like Molecular Nutrition and Genetics, Nutrition Through the Lifecycle (Special Populations), and Sport Supplements and Contemporary Issues. You’ll also complete an Applied Placement in Nutrition or Sport Nutrition and carry out your own Major Project — researching a topic you care deeply about, with full support from expert lecturers.

Focus areas: Nutritional Science, Exercise Physiology, Eating Behaviour, Food Sustainability, Molecular Nutrition, Lifecycle Health

Learning outcomes: Develop scientific and practical expertise in sport nutrition, analyse performance and health data, communicate evidence-based nutrition advice, understand sustainable food systems, and design independent research projects.

Professional alignment (accreditation): This course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition (AfN), so when you graduate, you can register as a Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr) — a key professional status recognised across the UK.

Reputation (employability rankings): LJMU’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences is ranked #1 in the North West and among the top 20 universities worldwide for Sports Science (QS World University Rankings 2025).