Entry into the Master of Dietetics

Two Deakin credit points* (or equivalent) of chemistry (typically in first year)

• Chemistry in Our World SLE133^
• Chemistry for the Professional Sciences SLE155

Two Deakin credit points* (or equivalent) of biochemistry (typically in second year)

• Biochemistry SLE212
• Biochemical Metabolism SLE222

Two Deakin credit points* (or equivalent) of human biology (typically in first year)

• Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology HBS109
• Physiology of Human Growth and Development HSN107
• Functional Human Anatomy HSE102
• Cells and Genes SLE111

Two Deakin credit points* (or equivalent) of human physiology (typically in second year)

• Nutritional Physiology HSN211
• Integrated Human Physiology HSE208

If an exercise physiology unit has been completed at level 2 (a second-year unit e.g. HSE201 Exercise Physiology), it must be combined with one of the units above or one of the below options:

• Principles of Physiology SLE211
• Systems Physiology SLE221.

You are also required to have completed at least 4 credit points* (or equivalent) of human nutrition/food science study covering content relating to:

• nutrition principles
• food science
• lifespan nutrition
• diet and disease.

Our undergraduate units at Deakin that cover nutrition/food science content are:

• Foundations of Food, Nutrition and Health HSN101
• The Science of Food HSN104
• Lifespan Nutrition HSN202
• Diet and Disease HSN301.

If you've completed a postgraduate course from a relevant area, for example Deakin's Master of Human Nutrition or Graduate Certificate of Human Nutrition, and have not also completed a relevant undergraduate degree, you need to do so in order to be eligible for our Master of Dietetics. Deakin’s postgraduate courses in human nutrition don’t automatically qualify you for entry into our Master of Dietetics as stand-alone courses.

However, if you’ve completed an undergraduate degree in certain study areas (e.g. science, sport and exercise science or health sciences), the units from your undergraduate degree (covering biochemistry and human physiology) combined with those in your postgraduate human nutrition degree (nutrition/food science), may satisfy all prerequisite units.

Our postgraduate units at Deakin that cover nutrition/food science content are:

• Principles of Nutrition HSN701
• Lifespan Nutrition HSN702
• Diet and Disease HSN703
• Essentials of Food Science HSN735.

If you have graduated from an undergraduate degree in a non-cognate (i.e. non-related) study area such as arts, business or engineering, you must also complete a three-year bachelor degree (or combined degree) from a relevant/cognate area, such as the Bachelor of Nutrition Science.

In order for our Master of Dietetics to be offered over the 18 month timeframe and still be eligible for accreditation by Dietitians Australia, significant nutrition knowledge must be demonstrated before commencing the course. You’ll need to ensure that you have completed all the prerequisites for our Master of Dietetics (exact prerequisite units will vary depending on your study pathway).

In the first semester, campus contact hours will be around 20 hours per week, including the need to attend 11 full teaching days at metropolitan hospitals. For the final two semesters, you should assume that your time commitment will be a full-time workload from Monday to Friday. This time commitment is due to the 22 weeks of professional practice, as well as additional teaching workshops that occur as intensive full-time teaching blocks on campus in between placements.

The typical part-time study mode isn’t possible with our Master of Dietetics, as each of the professional practice units have full-time placement components of varying lengths together with intensive teaching blocks on campus.

It’s possible to reduce your load in each semester (e.g. by taking only one unit in the second semester of the course), but the units you do take need to be completed in full-time mode, e.g. HSN747 Clinical Dietetic Practice requires 10 weeks of full-time clinical placement, HSN745 Community Nutrition requires seven weeks of full-time placement and HSN742 Food Service Management requires four weeks of full-time placement.

All of these units have at least one week of full-time teaching in the week prior to placement commencement. Due to the prerequisite requirements of each unit within the course, you’ll need to carefully consider how you’ll undertake the course part time.

Applicants are assessed based on the following:

• meeting entry requirements
• academic performance
• current resume.

When applying online you will be required to upload all supporting documents at the last step of the application process. These are:

• academic transcripts^**
• the Prerequisite Units Checklist
• details of relevant professional work and voluntary experience in a health or nutrition-related area – this is usually best done with a brief CV.

Written professional references are not required for the Master of Dietetics, as these are not part of the application selection process, even though the online system may ask for these.

^{**Deakin students are not required to submit transcripts as we can access your results via our database. If you are waiting on final official results from your university at the time of the closing date for applications, you should still submit your application and provide all of your results from your degree that you have on hand at the time.}