Food, Nutrition & Related Services

Types of Degrees Food, Nutrition & Related Services Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many food, nutrition and related services graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	2,947
Master’s Degree	1,083
Associate Degree	423
Basic Certificate	270
Graduate Certificate	100
Doctor’s Degree	31
Undergraduate Certificate	4

What Food, Nutrition & Related Services Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to nutrition were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Nutrition Majors

Nutrition majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to nutrition:

• 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

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a nutrition student include the following:

• 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 Food, Nutrition & Related Services 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 Food, Nutrition & Related Services?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 2,947 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in food, nutrition and related services in 2021, making it rank #106 in popularity. The major attracts more women than men. About 79% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of nutrition majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	258
Black or African American	279
Hispanic or Latino	359
White	1,754
International Students	95
Other Races/Ethnicities	202

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Nutrition. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Malaysia
• Canada

How Much Do Food, Nutrition & Related Services Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition was $30,474 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $26,654 (25th percentile) and $32,511 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in nutrition, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $30,130 to $61,210 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to nutrition. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Food, Nutrition & Related Services

Some degrees associated with nutrition may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to nutrition have obtained the following education levels.

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 Food, Nutrition & Related Services Programs

In 2020-2021, 253 schools offered a nutrition program of some type. 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	98	3
Bachelor’s Degree	25	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	83	22
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	18	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Food, Nutrition & Related Services Worth It?

The median salary for a nutrition grad is $36,190 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Majors Related to Food, Nutrition & Related Services

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to nutrition.

Major	Number of Grads
Human Development & Family Studies	42,112
Textile & Apparel Studies	3,313
General Family & Consumer Sciences	2,906
Family & Consumer Economics	1,454
Human Sciences Business Services	704
Housing	302
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences (Other)	158

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.