Nutrition
Types of Degrees Nutrition Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many food, nutrition & related services graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Bachelor’s Degree | 2,117 |
Master’s Degree | 1,093 |
Basic Certificate | 371 |
Associate Degree | 327 |
Graduate Certificate | 72 |
Doctor’s Degree | 20 |
Undergraduate Certificate | 14 |
What Nutrition Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to nutrition and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Nutrition Majors
According to O*NET survey takers, a major in nutrition should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Skills for Nutrition Majors
nutrition majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Abilities for Nutrition Majors
As a nutrition major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
What Can You Do With a Nutrition Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with nutrition:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | 7.7% | $26,860 |
Dietetic Technicians | 9.3% | $27,140 |
Dietitians and Nutritionists | 14.6% | $60,370 |
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 9.3% | $32,450 |
Food Service Managers | 9.0% | $54,240 |
Home Economics Professors | 8.6% | $71,380 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nutrition majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 169 |
Black or African American | 222 |
Hispanic or Latino | 263 |
White | 1,276 |
International Students | 42 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 145 |
Geographic Diversity
Nutrition appeals to people across the globe. About 2.0% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Nutrition
Some careers associated with nutrition require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
Find out what the typical degree level is for nutrition careers below.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Less than a High School Diploma | 12.3% |
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) | 40.4% |
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) | 5.8% |
Some College Courses | 5.6% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 1.7% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 6.7% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 6.0% |
Master’s Degree | 10.3% |
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 0.5% |
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. | 0.1% |
Doctoral Degree | 11.1% |
Post-Doctoral Training | 0.2% |
Online Nutrition Programs
The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 18 | 0 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 0 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 107 | 3 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 25 | 8 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 80 | 17 |
Post-Master’s | 5 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 14 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 0 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 0 | 0 |
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Majors Related to Nutrition
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nutrition.
Major | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Human Development & Family Studies | 40,263 |
Textile & Apparel Studies | 2,961 |
General Family & Consumer Sciences | 2,454 |
Family & Consumer Economics | 1,208 |
Human Sciences Business Services | 560 |
Housing | 314 |
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences (Other) | 142 |
Work and Family Studies | 10 |
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
More about our data sources and methodologies.