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Food & Nutrition

Types of Degrees Food & Nutrition Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Food & Nutrition may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	7
Associate’s Degree	292
Bachelor’s Degree	1,164
Master’s Degree	761
Doctor’s Degree	11

What Food & Nutrition Majors Need to Know

Programs in Food & Nutrition emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Food & Nutrition graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Food & Nutrition emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Food & Nutrition program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Food & Nutrition careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Food & Nutrition graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Food & Nutrition professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
ValuSoft MasterCook	Data base user interface and query software	—
Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro	Analytical or scientific software	—
ESHA Research The Food Processor	Analytical or scientific software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
CyberSoft NutriBase	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Food & Nutrition graduates include:

• Nutrition Coordinator
• Dietary Aide
• Nutrition Counselor
• Menu Planner
• Clinical Dietician
• Teaching Dietitian
• Food Advisor
• Community Dietitian
• Administrative Dietitian
• Dietist
• Renal Dietitian
• Registered Dietitian
• Research Dietitian
• Dietician
• Dietitian

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Food & Nutrition graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Post-baccalaureate certificate	35.7%
Master’s degree	30.3%
Doctoral degree	12.3%
Bachelor’s degree	8.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.0%
Postsecondary certificate	3.5%
Some college courses	1.9%
Less than a high school diploma	1.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.9%
Post-doctoral training	0.2%
First professional degree	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Food & Nutrition?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 78.8% of Food & Nutrition degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,785	78.8%
Men	479	21.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Food & Nutrition graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,218	53.8%
Asian	210	9.3%
Hispanic or Latino	381	16.8%
Black or African American	202	8.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	11	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.2%
Two or More Races	88	3.9%
Race Unknown	84	3.7%
International Students	66	2.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Food & Nutrition Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Food & Nutrition graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$35,066
4 years	$41,526
5 years	$47,346

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $47,346 — roughly 35% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Food & Nutrition Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Food & Nutrition. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	4
Bachelor’s	3	4
Master’s	12	5

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Food & Nutrition Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Food & Nutrition graduates earn a median of $41,526 four years after completion — roughly 9% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	19.05
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services, Other	19.0599
Foodservice Systems Administration/Management	19.0505
Human Nutrition	19.0504
Adult Development and Aging	19.0702
Apparel and Textile Manufacture	19.0902
Apparel and Textiles, General	19.0901
Business Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences	19.0201
Child Care and Support Services Management	19.0708
Child Development	19.0706
Consumer Economics	19.0402

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.