Michelle Foley November 22, 2020 6 Academic Tips and Info,College Lists

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Nutrition Major

The field of nutrition bridges between the worlds of biology, chemistry, and social sciences. Its researchers explore the close connections between diet and well-being. If you hold dual passions for healthcare and science, a bachelor’s in nutrition may be in your future.

Interested in this major? Here, we’ll break down which colleges offer nutrition programs and what to look for in a school.

Overview of the Nutrition Major

Course requirements may vary from school to school, but nutrition students can count on exploring some of these key topics:

• Bacteriology, Microbiology
• Human Anatomy, Human Physiology
• Immunology
• Lifestyle Nutrition
• Mathematics
• Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Nutritional Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry
• Nutrition Science

We recommend choosing schools with a strong science curriculum. While nutrition is multifaceted and partially rooted in social science, developing strong analytic and technical skills will up your educational credibility.

Some schools will allow students to pick a specialization, such as public health and nutrition, general nutrition sciences, dietetics, or the pre-medicine path. Of course, concentration choice is wholly dependent on your interests and career goals.

Successful students in this major are passionate about nutrition and conscious of its role in human wellbeing. They have a strong desire to communicate their knowledge to others, and they communicate well. Caring for others brings them great satisfaction, and they love knowing that their words and advice bring about positive impact.

Academically, strong nutrition students have an aptitude for social and hard sciences, including sociology, biology, and chemistry. They have a natural curiosity for biological systems and processes, down to the molecular level. Math skills are a definite plus!

For most students in this major, an advanced degree is only necessary for pre-meds and those seeking a career in research or academia.

Nutrition graduates often become nutritionists and dieticians. These two positions are commonly confused, as both may work with individuals in creating a personalized diet plan. The key distinction is that dieticians must attain a certificate administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration to become Registered Dieticians (RD) or Registered Dietician Nutritionists (RDN), while nutritionists only have to do this in certain states. No matter which you choose, obtaining a certificate will boost your credibility.

Service-oriented nutrition grads often work in hospitals, nursing homes, care centers, and schools. Additionally, some work in public health or for private companies, particularly ones that sell food products. 

What to Look for in a College as a Nutrition Major

Accreditation

Your education must be verified to be valued. Make sure that the colleges you’re interested in are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, or ACEND. This is especially vital if you’re interested in becoming a dietitian nutritionist or dietetic technician, as only graduates from ACEND-accredited schools are eligible to take the exam to become registered in these fields through the Commission on Dietetic Registration. 

Research Opportunities

For prospective doctors, academics, and all otherwise shooting for grad school, this element is especially important. Earlier, we stressed the importance of a science-based nutrition education, and research will further support this. Check out your college’s undergraduate access to research. How expansive are your schools’ research opportunities? Which professors do work that interests you? How many nutrition majors perform research, and how easy or difficult is it for them to do so? Check out their facilities; are the labs up to date, technology-wise? Are they accessible?

Course Structure and Concentration Options

Many students go into college with a broader idea of what they would like to study before narrowing down on their key goals and interests. Ideally, your school will offer a broad nutrition major with plenty of specialization options in several areas. Some people go into college knowing exactly what they would like to specialize in, in which case finding a school which satisfies a specific concentration becomes the main priority.

If you’re an aspiring dietician, the structure of your undergraduate education is especially important. Through a didactic education, students learn coursework through a program crafted to meet the knowledge requirements necessary for becoming a Registered Dietician. Through a coordinated education, the internship requirement is actually implemented into your curriculum.

Internship Opportunities

This one is applicable to most majors, but it is especially vital for aspiring dietitians. After graduation, and before passing their qualifying exam, successful dietitians must complete an ACED-certified internship or individualized supervised practice. Look at the post-grad outcomes for students in your potential colleges’ nutrition major and evaluate the strength of their Career Resources center. If you can, reach out to seniors and recent graduates to ask them about their experiences in securing necessary internships.

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Nutrition Major

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

No matter your major, you must be academically comparable to previous years’ admits to be a competitive college applicant. Most selective schools use the Academic Index, a complex tool based on your grades, test scores, and class rankings, to evaluate academic aptitude and filter out students who don’t meet their standards.

The qualitative aspects of your application, like your essays and extracurriculars, are your place to show who you are and demonstrate fit with your chosen schools and majors. 

Prospective nutrition majors may showcase and expand their passion for the topic through volunteer work. Meals on Wheels, food banks, homeless shelters, and hospitals are all great ways to give back to your community while learning about the distribution of food resources. Speech-and-writing-based extracurriculars like Model UN and Newspaper will enhance the communication skills you’ll use to aid patients in your future career,

We recommend taking many solid math and science courses, especially biology, chemistry, health, and anatomy. Classes covering human geography and economics are also a strong choice, as they cover how resources—like food—are allocated.

If you’re struggling to figure out where you match up to other applicants, we recommend using our free Chancing Engine. Unlike other solely stats-based chancing calculators, ours considers your profile holistically, including both your quantitative stats and qualitative extracurriculars.