Nutrition

Types of Degrees Nutrition Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dietetics & clinical nutrition 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	2,478
Master’s Degree	1,887
Basic Certificate	506
Graduate Certificate	473
Associate Degree	214
Doctor’s Degree	47
Undergraduate Certificate	39

What Nutrition 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

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:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Nutrition Majors

When studying nutrition, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• 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.
• 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 Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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
Dietetic Technicians	9.3%	$27,140
Dietitians and Nutritionists	14.6%	$60,370

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition?

This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 14th most popular in the country with 2,782 students graduating with a bachelor’s in nutrition in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 86% 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	122
Black or African American	159
Hispanic or Latino	405
White	1,576
International Students	62
Other Races/Ethnicities	154

Geographic Diversity

Nutrition appeals to people across the globe. About 2.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Nutrition

Some degrees associated with nutrition may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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	13.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	34.8%
Some College Courses	3.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	15.4%
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.	13.8%
Master’s Degree	9.9%
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.	2.0%
Doctoral Degree	3.9%

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)	16	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	52	1
Bachelor’s Degree	65	12
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	130	30
Post-Master’s	12	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	4	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Nutrition

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	88,809
Allied Health Professions	85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services	85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	79,189
Public Health	42,551
Health Sciences & Services	35,887
Mental & Social Health Services	31,550
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	29,934
Medicine	29,206
Dental Support Services	25,040
Communication Sciences	23,288
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,413
Other Health Professions	7,387
Dentistry	6,961
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,431
Chiropractic	2,698
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,689
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,845
Optometry	1,789
Medical Science	1,090
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	468
Alternative Medical Support Services	136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	116

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.