Global Nutrition and Health

Closing of the education

In 30 October 2018, the Board of Directors of University College Copenhagen came to the decision of gradually discontinuing the study programme Global Nutrition and Health.

Therefore, no more students will enroll, however, students already in the programme will finish their studies.

In this process, KP stands behind Global Nutrition and Health as a quality programme, including the students, the many graduates, the enthusiastic staff and teachers, who devote their professional life to making positive changes.

For further information, you may read the management letter

On this page you can find information on the academic content and curriculum, career opportunities and internship of the education Global Health and Nutrition, in short GNH. Focus is on global challenges within nutrition and health and the programme is aimed at the Danish as well as the international labour market.

Purpose and content of the education

The Bachelor’s Degree in Global Nutrition and Health is an international 3½ year higher education programme taught in English and leads to a professional bachelor’s degree. The education corresponds to 210 ECTS credits.

The purpose of the Bachelor Degree Programme in Global Nutrition and Health is to qualify the graduate to use an interdisciplinary and inter-professional perspective, to independently develop, implement and evaluate sustainable health-promotion and disease-prevention interventions as well as local food and health policies within global nutrition, food security and health, with a view to employment at national or international level.
The graduate adopts a rights-based approach to their profession and solves challenges in global nutrition and health at individual, group, and national level. The graduate possesses the competencies to participate in research and development work and in academic and vocational further and/or higher education.

The education consists of 7 semesters and the full curriculum may be found here [link to curriculum].

The Bachelor’s Degree in Global Nutrition and Health provides students with a wide range of competencies, which give many opportunities in future careers. The program qualifies to promote public health nutrition, sustainability and food security through the implementation of comprehensive food and nutrition policies using communication, educational, and management strategies.

Furthermore, the programme prepares for independent work and teamwork in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts and in a variety of settings, both in the private and public sectors to solve complex health challenges with citizens, communities, and society at local, regional, and global levels.

The purpose of the profession is, in collaboration with citizens and other professionals, to contribute to reduce inequalities in health on local, national, and global levels, by facilitating life-long healthy living for individuals, groups and social communities. The profession conducts its practice in alignment with societal, scientific, and technological development.

Semester 1 introduces key concepts from health, natural and social sciences and humanities relevant for understanding the field of Global Nutrition and Health. Main subjects are concepts of health and well-being, global burden of disease and health inequalities, nutrition and dietary guidelines, physiology, biochemistry, sociology of food and intercultural communication.

Semester 2 focuses on health promotion, educational theory, and practice. Main subjects are health communication, health education, theories of motivation, didactics and learning theories, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Semester 3 focuses on local and global sustainability to promote health and health equality for individuals, groups, and communities. Main subjects are sustainability theory, food systems, food security, consumer and market mechanisms, complex interventions, Logical Framework Approach, and community development.

Semester 4 focuses on nutrition and interventions targeting all across the lifespan in real life settings. The main subjects are lifespan nutrition, physical activity, planning and intervention theories and tools as Intervention Mapping, and internship.

Semester 5 expands on theories and methodology from previous semesters with specific focus on global health promotion and public health, nutrition and wellbeing, as well as research and research methods carried out in culturally and socially diverse contexts.

Furthermore, students train their ability to work in inter-professional and inter-sectoral collaborations including collaboration in research and development. The underpinning topics are public health, nutrition and health inequality, wellbeing, epidemiology, complex interventions, research methods, ethics, and knowledge dissemination.

Semester 6 connects all the knowledge from previous themes to be applied in real life projects to improve nutrition and promote health in local, community, national, and international settings. The underpinning topics are project management, culturally sensitive interventions, entrepreneurship & innovation, planning and mapping tools and design- and systems thinking.

Semester 7 focuses on preparing the students for their future professional life through internship and the bachelor project. During their internships the students are expected to apply knowledge, skills and competencies gained throughout the education. The bachelor project is closely linked to praxis, with a focus on contributing to solving health challenges related to health and nutrition across the globe.

The need for Global Nutrition and health

Around the world, there is an increasing demand for professional graduates of Global Nutrition and Health who can work independently on a well-documented basis.

Diet, tobacco, and lack of physical activity as well as environmental factors like climate change, biodiversity loss, polluted water, poor sanitation and air pollution are the main risk factors for the chronic diseases which account for more than 60% of global mortality in 2020. The global challenge is to reduce the prevalence of these diseases and the high number of related deaths.

A graduate of Global Nutrition and Health will address such issues and many more and have contemporary knowledge on practice and research within the profession and can translate this knowledge into concrete action. A graduate will be able to work inter-professionally, identify local solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and targets, act and think innovatively and participate in development of the profession.

At Global Nutrition and Health, we integrate theory, research, and practice through the transfer of theoretical content and findings from the latest research into practical exercises and skills in academic and work-placement environments. The goal is to educate effective professionals who work as change agents in practical ‘real world’ settings nationally and internationally with an overarching view to improving nutrition and public health.

We provide an interdisciplinary education in an international study environment with students and faculty from many countries. We expect students to contribute to our intercultural learning environment, to act as GNH ambassadors, as well as to be responsible for own learning processes and be committed to studies on a full-time basis.

A Bachelor’s Degree in Global Nutrition and Health provides the graduate with the following core competencies:

• Independently develop, plan, organise, implement, and evaluate nutrition and health inter-ventions from an ethical, rights-based, holistic, and inter-professional approach, respecting cultural and social diversity
• Independently initiate and use innovative and creative solutions in global nutrition and health to promote sustainable living
• To develop, implement and evaluate food-, nutrition- and meal policies as well as local health policies
• To secure, document and evaluate food safety and food security
• To communicate effectively and appropriately in all situations and impart health promoting initiatives in global nutrition and health
• To collaborate across organisational and structural frameworks in global nutrition and health
• To participate in research and development activities

The internships

GNH students undergo two internship periods of a total of 10 + 6 weeks (25 ECTS) + 5 ECTS of practical portfolio assignments during 6^th semester (corresponding to a total of 30 ECTS). The first internship is placed in the first 10 weeks of 4^th semester (15 ECTS). The second internship (10 ECTS) is placed in 7th semester and may be connected to the bachelor project. Both internships can be taken in Denmark or abroad

Students are engaged fulltime in their internship, which corresponds to an average workload of 40 hours per week, hereof at least 30 hours where students are present at the host placement Attendance must be verified by the internship host, who also provides an internship evaluation

Going on Internships helps the student to:

• Develop professionalism and the ability to act in relation to the GNH education.
• Practice the conversion of theory into practice.
• Learn to handle relevant communicative, educational, development, management and policy tasks related to the GNH education.
• Become a part of and practice the daily activities and working relationships at an institution or a private enterprise.
• Gain experience in the profession’s main fields of competency
• Gain experience related to the bachelor project.
• Establish networks with potential employers and experts.

The programme is based on research and development in the field of global nutrition and health, as well as on knowledge of professional practice through thorough internships, equipping students for positions in institutions, agencies, NGOs, government and the state.

Contact

International coordinator: Runa Midtvåge RUMI@kp.dk