Graduates from health science programmes can access the Master's Degree in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition, specifically those with bachelor's degrees (or licentiate or associate degrees) in biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, food science and technology, oenology, pharmacy, nursing, medicine, human nutrition and dietetics, chemistry, and veterinary studies, among other studies, as can students with foreign degrees in these areas. The Academic Committee will consider admission for holders of other degrees depending on their previous education.

The Committee will consider the following criteria with the following weights (as percentages) for admission purposes:

• Students' academic transcript, weighted according to previous studies (80%);
• A letter of intent written by the applicant (10%); and
• Other degree-related academic merits that students can provide (e.g., knowledge of English, specific training courses, etc.) (10%).

Admission to the 'Development and Innovation in Nutrigenomics and Functional Nutrition' pathway is dependent on the available offer of external internships in companies for the corresponding academic year.

Nutrition in the 21st century incorporates knowledge about metabolism, food and the interactions between genes and nutrients (nutritional genomics) in order to improve people's diets and health, and offer increasingly personalised or precision nutrition.

The Master's Degree in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition aims to train researchers and professionals in 21st-century nutrition, and is the first official master's programme of its kind in the world.

The programme covers the most sought-after skills at businesses, research centres and by individuals in the new food and health fields. It guarantees the best career prospects in an increasingly relevant sector for a society ever more aware of the importance of health, sustainability and healthy ageing.

It is an official public programme in line with European Higher Education Area guidelines. It includes training in molecular nutrition; nutrigenomics; nutrigenetics; designing new foods with positive health effects within the context of functional foods; aspects related to food technology, legislation and food safety, and potential impacts for public and individual health, as well as new developments in the field.

Students can choose one of the two specialised pathways on the programme (see the ‘Programme Structure' section). Both pathways offer the latest training in nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition, and qualify graduates for admission to PhD programmes.

• The Research in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition pathway (profile 2A) is more focused on training professionals who are fluent in core or applied research in these fields, including the knowledge and application of postgenomic technology. This pathway is recommended for students who want to work in research at public or private institutions in the fields of nutrigenomics, molecular nutrition, personalised nutrition or functional food. The training provided by this pathway will enable students to acquire all necessary skills and abilities to be able to plan and undertake research work, and take a PhD programme.
• The Development and Innovation in Nutrigenomics and Functional Nutrition (profile 2B) pathway focuses more on acquiring knowledge and skills so that graduates are ready to join business settings in the field of nutrigenomics, personalised nutrition, molecular nutrition, functional nutrition and new foods, or food safety. Although this pathway may be seen as more geared towards business or services, it also qualifies graduates for admission to PhD programmes. Further studies represent a major qualitative leap for career development in business environments.

Academic, Scientific and Professional Relevance

The following are indicators for the academic, scientific and professional relevance of the master's and PhD programmes in nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition, and the lecturing staff:

1. Most of the faculty are active researchers affiliated with internationally renowned research groups in the fields of nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics and metabolic programming who have ongoing funding for their research from the European Union, Spanish government and regional governments in Spain. This research activity is reflected in a large selection of important publications and supervised PhD theses (please see the corresponding CVs in the ‘Lecturers' tab), and promotes up-to-date, evidence-based learning.
2. The field of knowledge is supported by specialists in the NuGO Network (European Nutrigenomics Organisation) which started as European Network of Research Excellence in Nutrigenomics both endorsed and funded by the European Union.
3. Several of the research groups linked to the programme belong to the CIBER network (Networking Biomedical Research Centre), specifically the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre, a Spanish government initiative that brings together groups of excellence and promotes research into biomedicine and health sciences in areas of interest for the national health service. They develop and enhance stable cooperative networked research structures.
4. The researchers and groups involved in the programme have wide-ranging experience as participants and leaders on international research projects. These include several projects funded by different EU programmes such as INTEGRActiv (Identification and validation of INTEGRative biomarkers of physical ACTIVity level and health in children and adolescents; JPI HDHL STAMIFY Call Ref AC21_2/00033) and BIOCLAIMS (BIOmarkers of Robustness of Metabolic Homeostasis for Nutrigenomics-derived Health CLAIMS Made on Food; FP7-244995), both coordinated by the UIB coordinator for the master's and PhD programmes in nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition; PREVENTOMICS (Empowering consumers to PREVENT diet-related diseases through OMICS sciences; Grant Agreement 818318); IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of Dietary- and lifestyle-induced health EFfects in Children and InfantS: FP6-2004-FOOD-3-A016181-2) and I. FAMILY (Determinants of Eating Behaviour in European Children, Adolescents and their Parents; ref. 266044); DIABAT (Recruitment and Activation of Brown Adipocytes as Preventive and Curative Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes; HEALTH-F2-2011-278373); SALUX (European Network to Follow-up the Reformulation of Manufactured Foods; ref. 2010 12 10); and EUROCAROTEN (European Network to Advance Carotenoid Research and Applications in Agro-food and Health; Cost Action CA15136).
5. The programme's researchers and groups also have many strong business contacts through implementing collaboration agreements over the years, including important agreements within the framework of the CENIT and CIEN strategic programmes from the Spanish government jointly funded by the Centre for Industrial Technology Development (CDTI), as the CENIT-2008-1004 PRONAOS project led by Puleva Biotech S.A. and the SMARTFOODS project in the CIEN STRATEGIC PROGRAMME, IDI-20141208. Moreover, programme lecturers are behind ALIMENTOMICA, a university tech start-up at the UIB, whose purpose is research, development, innovation and marketing for new knowledge and products in the food and health sector. These collaborations have had positive effects for the master's and PhD programmes, enabling us to establish collaboration agreements for active participation from different businesses.
6. Finally, certain lecturers on the master's programme (particularly some past and present directors such as Dr Andreu Palou and Dr Catalina Picó) play standout roles at official bodies and renowned foundations in Europe, such as AESAN (the Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency), whose scientific committee was chaired by Dr Palou and also include Dr Catalina Picó as a member; the EFSA (European Food Safety Agency), where Dr Palou was deputy chair of the scientific committee on nutrition (dietary products, nutrition and allergies); the ILSI (International Life Sciences Institute, a foundation including the top global food companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Danone, etc.) and the FIAB (Spanish Foundation of Food and Drinks Companies).

The career opportunities open to graduates include:

• Admission to PhD programmes (nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition, biomedical research, biotechnology, nutrition and Industrial PhD programmes)
• PhD in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition
• PhDs related to the area of knowledge
• Careers at companies in the agri-food, biotech or eHealth sectors with developments/applications in functional foods and/or personalised nutrition
• Setting up biotech start-ups linked to food, nutrition and health
• Freelance work (e.g. consultant, nutritionist-dietician, etc.), in accordance with graduates’ undergraduate and other qualifications.

Other Information Sources

Careers Guidance and Placement Department (DOIP) (https://fueib.org/es/universitaris/28/futuro-profesional/)

Researcher grants, contracts and mobility (https://www.uib.es/es/recerca/ajuts/beques_mobilitat/).

The Master's Degree in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition offers a total of 84 ECTS credits, of which students must take at least 60 (one academic year). Two specialised pathways are available: Research in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition (profile 2A) and Development and Innovation in Nutrigenomics and Functional Nutrition (profile 2B). Students need to take a pathway in full (please see the ‘Learning Goals' section).

When pre-registering for the programme, applicants must indicate their preferred specialised pathway.
There are mandatory subjects for both pathways, elective subjects specific to each pathway which must be taken for this specialisation and common elective subjects that may be taken on both pathways.

In order to be awarded the degree, students must pass at least 60 ECTS credits as follows:

• 25 ECTS credits from all mandatory subjects for both specialised pathways
• 12 ECTS credits from all elective subjects inherent to the selected specialised pathway (2A or 2B)
• At least 8 ECTS credits to be selected from common elective subjects for both pathways and specific electives for the pathway not being taken
• 9 ECTS credits from the placement
• 6 ECTS credits from the master's thesis.

The overall structure of the courses can be found in the 'Subjects' section for the Master's Degree in Nutrigenomics and Personalised Nutrition.

Since its design and implementation, the programme has maintained close collaboration with another official master's programme, the Master's Degree in Nutrition and Metabolism at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and the University of Barcelona (UB). The programmes have signed a specific agreement on sharing subjects using online resources. (Full collaboration protocol document).

Specific Features of the Placement and Master's Thesis (or stage)

Students must take a 9-credit placement regardless of which pathway they take: either 2A with a research assignment or 2B with a placement at sector companies/centres, (please see the placement subject factsheet). The placement is an extensive practical activity tutored by a lecturer with a PhD on the master's programme or an employee at the collaborating company/centre in collaboration with a lecturer with a PhD on the programme who will also monitor students throughout the placement period.

The master's thesis is closely linked to the placement and worth six ECTS credits. It must include a report on the work undertaken and skills acquired during the placement, the research findings and a discussion thereof, where applicable (please see the master's thesis subject factsheet). The thesis must be presented at a public viva examination before a panel approved by the programme coordinators. In addition to programme lecturers with a PhD, the panel may also include members from the business sphere or guest lecturers. The panel assesses the submitted report and the viva presentation. In order to perform this assessment, the panel has a scoring grid containing different items to consider and available marks for each (please see the grid at this link).

Specified in the "Evaluation criteria and exams" and "Structure of the study programme" sections of this descriptor (for information on the characteristics of the internship and the Master's thesis).

Specific assessment criteria are defined for each particular subject in the Master's programme, and they can vary depending on the type of subject and the specific objectives the subject aims to reach. More information can be found in the subjects section. However, in general, the following assessment methods are used (in some subjects, students can choose which kind of assessment they would like):

• Turning in and defending a request for a hypothetical project concerning topics covered in the class,
• Defending and/or turning in theoretical work (tutorials and work that can be done individually or in a group),
• Mid-course exams (for example, two exams with one multiple choice section and one short answer section that involves interpreting experimental data),
• Final exam (exam with one multiple choice section and one short answer section that involves interpreting experimental data),
• Etc.

Also, for information on the nature of the internship and Master's thesis, see the "Structure of the study programme" section.

Dra. Catalina Picó Segura

Dra María Luisa Bonet Piña

Related web pages:

Molecular biology, nutrition, and biology laboratory - LBNB  (http://palou.uib.es).

Further information on the credit transfer and recognition system, regulations and procedure