In 2008, more than half of all graduates in nutrition were employed in hospitals, nursing care facilities, or offices of physicians or other health practitioners. Today, roughly 63% of nutritionist positions are specifically situated in local and state health departments, schools, public or private health agencies, and other community-based organizations that provide nutrition education, monitoring and other supportive health care services for their target audiences. According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for graduates with a strong background in community health and nutrition education is expected to increase 20% from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations.
The BS in Nutrition with a concentration in Applied Nutrition is ideal for those individuals who are interested in working in the field of nutrition in non-clinical settings. The curriculum gives students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in nutritional assessment and support techniques that target groups of people within a community and not just individuals. Graduates are prepared to develop, manage and coordinate group-based nutrition education programs for a wide variety of federal, state, or privately funded community-based services.
Students also have the unique opportunity to combine their coursework in nutrition with courses from other disciplines by building a minor into their major program. Minors such as Public Health, Communication Studies, Journalism, Political Science, Psychology or Sociology allow graduates to apply their knowledge of nutrition in a tangential but specialized field such as weight loss consulting, nutrition communication, public health policy and regulations, social services, elder care health services or food retail, to name a few.
The specific objectives of the program are:
- To prepare practitioners with skills in performing group-level nutritional needs assessments in the community
- To prepare practitioners with skills in analyzing gaps in existing policies and planning appropriate population-based nutrition education initiatives
- To prepare practitioners who are committed to social justice and the elimination of health disparities in their communities using advanced-level critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- To prepare practitioners to contribute to a diverse workforce representing multiple cultural, educational and other professional backgrounds
- To prepare practitioners to collaborate with other professionals in the field and work together to advance the standing of the applied nutrition profession