I’m a 25 y/o currently living in the US. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in environmental science & policy and have been working in state government since I was hired here during my last semester of school. I’ve unfortunately realized that this field may not be my lifelong career goal.
Since COVID I’ve gotten really into fitness and nutrition, something I never paid much attention to. As time goes on I keep fantasizing about going back to get my masters in dietetics/nutritional sciences.
I could keep my current job and do an online program within the US, but I am ready for a bigger change. I’ve always wanted to work/live abroad but it just feels so unobtainable because I don’t know anyone who has.
My question is- my undergraduate degree is not related to what I want to pursue as a career. I want to go back to school to become a dietitian, specifically in the UK.
How does college education transfer from US to UK? I know some masters programs in the US would let me take program prerequisites, some require the GRE and some don’t, etc. Is it a mixed bag in the UK as well? Do they recognize bachelors degrees from the US? Is it harder for international applicants?
Really, any information helps.
Thanks a ton!
12 comments
r/IWantOut
Best bet is to contact some universities
Bachelor in the UK is the same as the US.
You’re very likely to be accepted to any UK school you apply to. Foreigners pay a higher fee and schools are a business at the end of the day.
Master applications are different per university (it’s a lot less regulated compared to undergraduate bachelors through UCAS), but generally you can apply and mention professional experience, etc. Will they recognise a BA? Yes. There’s an equivalency framework IIRC.
Also Masters typically make universities more money, especially since they tend to be 1 years in the UK, compared to longer in the USA and some European countries. Most universities will see you as a moneybank to pilfer. Your main hurdle is fees for university and a visa (I assume), and then writing a good application.
Your BSc is equivalent to a UK BSc. Many Masters programmes have entry requirements and it would be impossible to sum them all up. Your best bet would be to visit UK university websites, look for programmes you’re interested in, and note the entry requirements. More often than not, you will be expected to have an undergraduate degree (perhaps with Honours) in a relevant or related subject.
Taught Masters for overseas students are quite profitable for universities, though, and they do try to find a solution. You might find you need to take a Masters Foundation Programme, or even an Extended version of that, which will extend the length of your Masters studies from two years, up to three or even four years.
Your best bet is university websites, though. They’re marketing expensive programmes so are generally good at publishing information and dealing with direct queries you have.
A BSc from an accredited uni, in a science, is likely sufficient to get you into a UK MSc.
You’d want a course that could lead to you becoming a Registered Dietician – and avoid anything that mentions ‘nutritionist’ – the former is a legally protected title, the latter can be conferred upon anyone, famously Ben Goldacre’s cat.
Contact the departments at unis you are interested in. The main shocks to you are likely to be essay writing and dissertation writing – the Brits will have had 3 years doing just science and exams which involve extended writing. Some US degrees involve very little of those.
I’ve studied in both UK and US and the term “pre-requisites” is not as important in the UK at a module level rather a total course level. For example bachelors courses here have much fewer elective modules and you can’t just gather credits in subjects until you have a degree. The UK doesn’t tend to have many minor/major subjects (Although some degrees offer combined courses like CS/Robotics).
A masters programme will likely have a pre-requisite in the form of a bachelors of a related subject or industry experience paired with a bachelors. For certain degrees there are conversion courses that allow you to take a handful of pre-determined modules thought to get anyone up to speed. This will be on a uni by uni basis so best bet is to investigate them. You may also find some luck with smaller vocational colleges offering a course that leads on to your desired course.
https://www.bda.uk.com/about-dietetics/how-become-a-dietitian.html
Entry requirements for Masters level courses in dietetics ^
Once qualified you need to become a member of the professional body before you can use the job title.
Your US qualification should be fine to get you onto a Dietetics Masters (especially as you’ll have to pay full overseas student fees 😱)
You have to have an Undergraduate degree in the field of study you want to do a Masters in.. it is also completely pointless spending a fortune on international fees when your degree won’t get you a Skilled Worker Visa after your graduate visa runs out.
Most all of the graduate dietetics programmes require an undergraduate degree in nutrition or another science.
Taught masters courses in the UK are extremely expensive for international students, they’re essentially how universities make their money.
To add – check if the UK MSc will qualify you to register as a dietician or whatever the relevant term is in whatever state in the US you might want to live in.
While you can stay in the UK on a Graduate visa for 2 years after a MSc, you’d then need to have a job that qualifies you for a Skilled Worker visa or somehow qualify for some other visa. I’m not sure dietician qualifies.
Degrees are a tickbox exercise for most jobs here from what I’ve experienced (even in science).
Tick the box and then your work experience should be the bulk of your CV.