Advancing Practice as a Dietitian
Tyarra Nelson & Jack Radford-Smith
Bodybuilding Dieticians
Graduate Certificate in Sports Nutrition
The gold standard in foundational sports nutrition education.
Do you want a fulfilling and high paying income stream? By becoming an accredited sports nutritionist you can make a great living by making a difference.
26/01/2026
6-18 months online program
Online
Newcomers, Recent Graduates, University students & Fitness professionals
Overview
Our Certificate is the only non university undergraduate program that provides the minimum standard for subjects that relate to effective competence as a Sports Nutritionist.
If you are looking at practising in this profession, then you should only be considering university programs or the Sports Nutrition Association Certificate (or one of the recognised affiliates).
The course is entirely online, runs for 19-25 weeks, and is self paced with set due dates. The program is regularly assessed for national and international education and qualification framework auditors/compliance officers as well as regular review from post graduate subject matter experts.
What you will learn
The Certificate in Applied Sports Nutrition is a comprehensive, graduate-level program designed to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills needed to excel as a sports nutritionist
This unit equips you with the business acumen and professional skills needed to establish and maintain a successful sports nutrition practice. It’s specifically designed for the reality that 95% of sports nutrition work occurs as independent service provision, not within large organizations.
This unit incorporates:
– Business & Effective Coaching: Service development, pricing strategies, marketing for nutrition professionals.
– Financial planning for service-based businesses (not product sales).
– Legal and ethical considerations specific to nutrition practice.
– Professional boundaries and scope of practice.
– Insurance and registration requirements.
– Building referral networks with allied health professionals.
– Technology integration for practice management.
Graduate ready to build a thriving practice that serves clients effectively while maintaining professional standards and business sustainability.
This comprehensive unit brings together all the biological and research sciences essential for sports nutrition practice. It combines the content from six former units to create an integrated understanding of how the human body responds to nutrition and exercise.
This unit incorporates:
– Nutrition 1 & 2: Macro and micronutrient metabolism, dietary assessment, nutritional requirements across the lifespan.
– Nutrition Physiology: Digestive system function, nutrient absorption, metabolic pathways, energy systems
– Exercise Physiology: Cardiovascular and respiratory responses, muscle physiology, adaptation to training.
– Biochemistry: Cellular metabolism, enzyme function, energy production, hormonal regulation.
– Research Methods: Evidence evaluation, literature review skills, research interpretation, staying current with science.
– Theory of Applied Sports Nutrition: Performance nutrition strategies, competition fuelling, recovery protocols.
– There is then application of all of these directly into Case Studies Assessments.
You’ll develop the scientific foundation to understand not just what works in sports nutrition, but why it works at the cellular and systemic level.
Practical Experience:
This unit includes extensive supervised practical work with real clients throughout the program. Assessments are based on actual client interactions and outcomes, ensuring you graduate with substantial hands-on experience, not just theoretical knowledge.
This unit equips professionals with advanced skills to synthesise client information for effective screening, referral, and development of comprehensive sports nutrition programs tailored to individual athlete needs. Designed to work within professional scope of practice while developing awareness of clinical conditions and utilising nutritional hierarchy to enhance sports performance.
This unit incorporates:
– Applied Body Composition Nutrition: Evidence-based approaches to weight loss, muscle gain, body recomposition.
– Applied Performance Nutrition: Sport-specific strategies, periodisation, supplement evaluation
– Advanced Assessment Techniques: Health risk factor analysis, bioenergetic evaluations, and metabolic requirement assessments using precise measurement techniques.
– Individualised Program Development: Formulating nutrition strategies that address specific bioenergetic and health-related needs of athletes.
– Program Implementation: Creating adaptable meal plans, prioritising dietary needs for enhanced adherence and efficacy.
– Supplement & Ergogenic Aid Evaluation: Critical assessment of nutritional supplements and performance enhancers for sports performance optimisation.
– Ongoing Client Management: Regular check-ins, program monitoring, data review, and refinement based on client feedback and results.
– Practical Application: Real client work, problem-solving complex scenarios in the field under trainer & assessor supervision that covers & includes:
— Integration of all previous learning into comprehensive nutrition programs
— Professional documentation and reporting
— Continuous professional development planning
Graduate ready to conduct comprehensive sports nutrition assessments, deliver tailored nutrition programs, and provide ongoing support that enhances athletic performance while maintaining professional standards and safety protocols.
Nutrition knowledge alone doesn’t create change. This unit develops your ability to communicate effectively and facilitate lasting behaviour modification in diverse client populations.
This unit incorporates:
– The Effective Coaching, Communication & Client Service: Advanced consultation skills, motivational interviewing, behaviour change theories.
– Psychology of eating and exercise behaviours.
– Cultural competency and inclusive practice.
– Group presentation and workshop delivery.
– Digital communication and online coaching strategies.
– Conflict resolution and difficult conversations.
– Building long-term client relationships.
– Measuring and demonstrating client outcomes.
Learn to translate complex nutrition science into actionable strategies that clients can implement and maintain.
Prerequisites
Language, Literacy, Numeracy, and Digital (LLND) Assessment:
All applicants must complete an LLND assessment to ensure they possess the foundational skills necessary for the course.
Educational Background:
While a prior degree in nutrition, exercise science, or a related field is advantageous, it is not mandatory. The course is designed to accommodate individuals from diverse educational backgrounds, including those without formal qualifications in these areas.
Graduate Certificate in Sports Nutrition
From $48 /week
Course details:
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4 Foundational Enterprise Units
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45 scored exams
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80 lectures + 20 additional learning videos
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2 text books (required for non uni students)
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8 practical real case study assignments
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100 hours of practical work
Who The Certification Is For
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For All Newcomers
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Recent Graduates
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University Students
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Fitness Professionals
Sports Nutrition is the merger of Applied Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition Sciences
The Certificate has been designed to meet the minimum requirements for practising in Sports Nutrition. Students that complete this program become eligible to register, insure, and practise as Accredited Sports Nutritionists provisionally while they ascertain through practise and experience in the field if this is the career path for them.
The majority of graduates and professionals will be working in some form of private practise, which is heavily dependent on your skills as a service provider to get clients on board and generate buy-in from clients to adhere to plans.
Rather than more traditional models, we recognise that spending 4-5 years, and $50,000+ to become qualified and practise, only to find out that private practise isn’t for them (which is the majority of work in applied sciences and dietetics).
We appreciate that not everyone wants to make a profession with private practise and don’t intend to sell you on a one size fits all pipe dream. However if do feel like this is the career for you, you will need further study after 3-years.
Join Australia’s only OSCA-compliant short course and begin your journey
Business & Service Provision for Nutrition Professionals
This unit covers the Sports Nutrition Service Provision model, offering guidance based on your goals and experience. Learn core business skills, financial and tax basics, and how to effectively transition into practice with practical marketing and social media strategies.
What Being Registered & Insured Looks Like
One of the best parts of our program is its flexibility — whether full-time or part-time, you can build a fulfilling career. Even with just 5–8 extra hours a week, members typically earn an additional $15,000–$60,000 per year (based on 75% of our member data).
Featuring Lectures By
Alex Thomas
Founder & President, PGd. Perform. Nutrition
Matthew White
BSc & Lead Assessor
Dr. Cliff Harvey
PhD, DipFit, DipNat
Dr Joe Klemczeweski
PhD
Danny Lennon
MSc
Dr Eric Helms
PhD, CSCS
Dr Gabrielle Fundaro
PhD, CISSN, CHC
Laurin Conlin
B.S, MSc
Dr Shawn Arent
PhD, CSCS’D, FISSN, FACSM, FNAK
Dr Eric Trexler
PhD
Dr Reid Reale
Phd, APD/RD
Jono Steedman
B.Sc. ExSci, MSc, RD
Chris Teasdale
B.Sc. ExSci
Dr Gary Mendoza
Phd, BSc, (Hons), RNutr
Tyarra Nelson
B.Sc. ExSci, MSc, RD
Choose From Flexible Payment Options
Starting At $5,799 (Prices In AUD)
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Monthly standard rate
$550 / month
11 x Monthly Payments $6,649 total
~$7,300 (NZ) ~$4,750 (US)
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Best Value
Upfront ~13% discount
$5,799
1 x Upfront Payment $5799 total
~$6,350 total (NZD) ~$3,800 (US)
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$599 Deposit + Weekly most affordable rate
$48 / week
150 x Weekly Payments $7,799 total
~$8,500 (NZ) ~$5,150 (US)
The Roadmap To A Certificate In Applied Sports Nutrition
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Set Realistic Expectations
Set realistic (industry appropriate) expectations for your practice -
Intro to scientific foundation principles
- Nutrition science
- Exercise science
- Sports nutrition
- Behaviour
- Research
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Application of these principles
- Nutrition science
- Exercise science
- Sports nutrition
- Behaviour
- Research
- Nutrition Business service
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Graduate with a solid foundation
Graduate with a solid foundation of reps and a client base ready for the ‘real world’
Empowering the Next
Generation of Experts
Direct and structured nutritional advice
Martin Refalo
Health & Fitness Coach
With SNA I feel confident knowing they’re insured
Tyson Brown
Fitness Instructor
Being able to build out my current base of knowledge
Anna Wishnowsky
Fitness Instructor
I only recommend SNA
Courtney
Fitness Instructor
The course exceeded my expectations
Jana Sterling Hammond
Fitness Instructor
Certificate FAQs
For the Graduate Certificate course is self-paced in that there are no set lecture times or workshops to attend. All lectures are on-demand in our learning platform to go through at a convenient time for you to study. There are Assessments with fixed due dates that you will need to adhere to. We recommend 12 – 20+ hours of study per week depending on prior experience. The standard Grad Cert program runs for up to 6-months and in the event you need to extend, paid extensions are available for up to a maximum of 2.5 years total study time.
For the Graduate Diploma it is more self directed and autonomous, as the program is constructed for practitioners with established clientele bases. The program still has fixed assessment due dates, but is more flexible than the graduate certificate. The standard Grad Cert program runs for up to 6-months and in the event you need to extend, paid extensions are available for up to a maximum of 3 years total study time.
The course is delivered entirely online with online tutorials delivered by the assessment team when getting close to assessment submission dates. These tutorials are recorded so they can be watched at a later date.
Personally Assigned Assessor Support – You will have your own personally assigned assessor
Support from Industry Experts – All assessors are degree qualified, Openly Accredited professional members who have completed the program
Real World Support – to start practicing with clients. All of our assessors are Permanent Part-Time employees who are currently practicing successfully with clients. They do to give back and believe in the Association’s vision & mission. They aren’t people who need a job and couldn’t cut it in private practice
Yes, on top of a formal application process we have the following entry pre-requisites:
Satisfying either one of the following pathways:
Direct Entry:
– Hold a minimum of a Bachelor Degree of higher qualification
Portfolio Entry:
– Hold a minimum of an AQF level 4 qualification in a relevant discipline (personal training. fitness, nutrition coaching), and
– Have at least 2 years relevant experience within the past 5 years (e.g. personal trainer, S&C coach, nutrition related services & industry), or
– The above mentioned experience with the satisfactory completion of our capabilities assessment
Please note: All applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis
If you are a non-native English speaking person having an English Literacy (IELTS as an example) score of 5.5 as a minimum to ensure that you will be able to comprehend and effectively learn the english delivered scientific language used to deliver the certificate.
Upon completion you will be eligible to register as an Accredited Sports Nutritionist (see registration and insurance page for further information). As a registered Accredited Sports Nutritionist you are now eligible to take out sports nutritionist specific insurance coverage which our members receive a substantial discount.
These services includes calorie targets and adjustments, macronutrient targets, meal plans, supplementation, weight management and sports performance protocols, and online check-ins and services.