Types of Degrees 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	2,884
Master’s Degree	1,793
Graduate Certificate	663
Basic Certificate	475
Associate Degree	238
Doctor’s Degree	32
Undergraduate Certificate	28

What 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:

• 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

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

• 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.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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 Major?

People with a nutrition degree often go into the following careers:

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 ?

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. This major is dominated by women with about 85% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	175
Black or African American	214
Hispanic or Latino	422
White	1,839
International Students	81
Other Races/Ethnicities	153

Geographic Diversity

Nutrition appeals to people across the globe. About 2.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• Venezuela
• Canada
• India

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

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 you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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

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	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 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)	15	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	53	4
Bachelor’s Degree	62	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	124	28
Post-Master’s	11	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	5	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a nutrition grad is $30,130 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Majors Related to

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	319,502
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Public Health	41,651
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	30,594
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Medicine	29,089
Dental Support Services	26,024
Communication Sciences	23,558
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	19,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,605
Other Health Professions	7,676
Dentistry	6,771
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,980
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,434
Chiropractic	2,881
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,163
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	1,818
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,796
Optometry	1,746
Medical Science	1,051
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	452
Alternative Medical Support Services	140
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

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.