Admission requirements

Master’s Degree in: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Medicine and / or equivalent.

Degree in: Nutritional Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Biotechnologies, Biological Sciences, Agricultural and Food Sciences and Technologies, Chemical Sciences and Technologies and / or equivalent.

Context

The Master’s Degree course in Nutritional Sciences originates from a rational change made to the degree currently offered by the University of Calabria. Its aim is to meet the demands of an innovative training programme as part of the policy for developing the internationalization process envisaged by the Project “Department of Excellence” (Law 232/2016).

On the one hand, the training pathway strives to maintain its continuity with the educational programme of the Bachelor Degree in Nutrition Sciences offered by the same university and to attract graduates from other fields (e.g., biologists, biotechnologists etc.); on the other, its English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) curriculum ensures that a wider spectrum of graduates willing to work in this specific field achieve an adequate tertiary- level preparation, which will allow them to pursue their careers at an international level.

Learning objectives and outcomes

The Master’s Degree course in Nutritional Sciencesis characterized by a strong interdisciplinary nature of its educational pathway, which is tailored to train professionally complex figures, such as Nutritionists, who are expected to operate in multiple occupational fields.

The overall learning objective is to train a professional figure as a non- medical nutritionist, with in-depth knowledge in the following fields: the influence of food and nutrients on health at molecular-level; their role in the prevention of diseases with high epidemiological impact (e.g., chronic degenerative diseases); the nutritional value of micro and macro nutrients of Mediterranean Diet food, as a model of health pedagogy, thus allowing the prevention of a wide spectrum of chronic-degenerative pathologies featuring the epidemiology of the Third Millennium.

The specific skills which will be acquired upon completion of the course include:

1. Evaluation of the chemical characteristics of nutrients, their bioavailability in food and food supplements, their modifications by technological and biotechnological processes and their biological effects.
2. Checking of proper food intake to reach the recommended levels of nutrients to maintain a healthy state.
3. Application of the main laboratory techniques for assessing nutrition state, in relation to macro and micronutrients and knowledge on how to interpret results according to the clinical-physio-pathological correlates.
4. Design of dietary techniques depending on the different endocrine-metabolic pathophysiology conditions.
5. Collaboration in food consumption surveys aimed at monitoring the nutritional trends of the population.
6. Application of methods to assess food quality and safety and its suitability for human consumption.
7. Collaboration in accreditation and surveillance procedures of clinical laboratories and health facilities for food preparation, storage and distribution.
8. Information and education of institutional operators and of the general population on food safety principles

Main topics

• Nutrigenomics, nutrients and cellular processes
• Food science and food supplements
• Biochemistry of applied nutrition
• Laboratory of Food Commodities
• Applied human nutrition
• Food toxicology
• Anatomy of the gastroenteric apparatus
• Clinical microbiology laboratory

Employability and careers

• Public and / or private health institutions: in the context of international, national and regional health programmes, participation in projects for the prevention of health conditions and design and management of nutritional assessment and surveillance programmes.
• Food, dietary and pharmaceutical companies: design, development and enhancement of food products with high nutritional impact (functional foods); management of labelling and information relating to nutrition and health claims; development of certification systems.
• Catering and hospital catering companies: implementation of integrated management systems to ensure quality of the services offered.
• Co-management of food control and analysis laboratories, as well as testing of new technologies for new foods.

Keywords

Mediterranean Diet. Nutritional Assessment. Food Quality.

Nutrition Claims. Health Claims. Dietary Supplements.

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