(curriculum code: HONF-RDS)
This concentration is for students who want a thorough understanding of human nutritional needs and of ways to help people maintain and improve their health through appropriate food choices. Our program, developmentally accredited by the American Dietetic Association, provides a foundation of courses the knowledge and skills to prepare students for a dietetic internship that leads toward credentialing as a Registered Dietitian (RD).
Introduction
All of us must eat and drink, and do so daily to obtain the energy and nutrients we need for growth and health, as well as to enjoy the social and cultural experiences we so strongly associate with food. The study of nutrition and food provides solid academic education and practical training for a great variety of career opportunities. Through positions in health care, business, government service, private practice, the food and food service industries, and educational and community programs, nutritionists and food industry professionals help individuals and the public to make better informed food choices.
Students in the undergraduate program may specialize in any one of three closely related areas of concentration:
- Nutrition and Dietetics for students who want a thorough understanding of human nutritional needs and of ways to help people maintain and improve their health through appropriate food choices. Our program, accredited by the American Dietetic Association (until 2011), provides all courses and training experiences needed to qualify students for dietetic internships that lead toward credentialing as a Registered Dietitian (RD);
- Food and Restaurant Management for students who want to focus on the management of operations, finances, and personnel involved in food products, food services, and food marketing; and
- Food Studies for students who want to explore the cultural, historical, and sociological aspects of food production and consumption.
The three areas of concentration share many liberal arts and core courses in common. This means that students can enroll in one of the areas, and take courses in each of them. Students are encouraged to take courses across all of the areas during their entire undergraduate career.
This page describes the concentration in Nutrition and Dietetics. For information about the other two areas of concentration, consult the undergraduate programs page.
The area of concentration in Nutrition and Dietetics prepares students for entry-level positions in health care, community program, school food service, private practice, publishing, public relations, or other businesses that involve food and nutrition. It also prepares students for dietetic internships that enable students to become eligible to take the examination to become a Registered Dietitian (RD).
NYU’s program in Nutrition and Dietetics fully meets the foundation knowledge and skills in the Standards of Education established by the American Dietetic Association. These Standards are known collectively as the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and they are met by taking the full set of courses required for the Bachelor of Science degree. The mission of the Nutrition and Dietetics DPD is to provide students with a well-integrated education in basic sciences, liberal arts, and theoretical and applied aspects of nutrition. Students who complete the degree in Nutrition and Dietetics will:
- Obtain a sound basis of liberal education and specialty courses in nutrition and dietetics.\
- Meet the knowledge requirements of the American Dietetic Association’s Standards of Education.\
- Be able to apply decision-making and analytical skills to further training.
- Be eligible to enter dietetic internships or programs of graduate study in nutrition and dietetics.
- Be prepared to assume positions as entry-level practitioners and to become active members of the dietetics community.
Career Opportunities
Food is a multibillion dollar annual industry; half of all meals are eaten outside the home, and 30 percent of all new food products are designed to meet nutritional goals. Career opportunities in food-related professions are expanding rapidly. Employers increasingly seek university graduates with educational experience in liberal arts, food, nutrition, and management. You can use your education in Nutrition and Food Studies: Nutrition and Dietetics as a step to becoming a nutritionist or dietitian, food or restaurant manager, food and health reporter or editor, advertising or marketing specialist, catering manager, consultant, or teacher or professor in a great variety of institutional, corporate, academic, or other professional settings.
Registered Dietitians hold jobs as:
- Clinical dietitians or managers of nutrition programs in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health professions schools, and other health care settings.
- Nutrition educators in health care, community, corporate, elementary and secondary schools, or academic agencies and institutions.
- Members of clinical specialty teams in pediatrics, surgery, cardiovascular, renal, and other medical care services.
- Counselors of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
- Private nutrition consultants to the public, government and private agencies, and the food industry.
- Public relations, media, and product development executives, staff, and consultants in private and public agencies, institutions, and media outlets.
Admissions
Freshman applicants must present a high school degree and SAT scores. Transfer applicants from accredited colleges must also present official transcripts from all institutions attended; SAT scores are not required for transfer students. For more detailed information and to download materials, please visit the NYU Admissions website. Materials are also available by contacting:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
New York University • Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
22 Washington Square North, Room 440
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: (212) 998-4500
The current NYU Steinhardt Bulletin, available from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, contains detailed information on criteria for admission of students with either US or international credentials; tuition and living costs; admission as a special (non-matriculated) student; housing; and financial aid. For more information, please click here.
Curriculum
Credit Requirements
The curriculum in Nutrition and Food Studies: Nutrition and Dietetics requires completion of 128 credits. These are divided into five categories:
- Liberal Arts Requirements 60
- Nutrition & Food Studies Core 18
- Nutrition & Dietetics Specialization 32-33
- Electives by Advisement 5-6
- Unrestricted Electives 12
New Student Seminar
Students must enroll in New Student Seminar E03.0001 (0 pts) during the first semester in residence, to review basic college-level skills and to obtain an introduction to NYU's academic and personal resources and services.
The full curriculum is outlined in this PDF.
How to Become a Registered Dietitian (RD)
The concentration in Nutrition and Dietetics fully prepares students to meet the educational knowledge and skills specified by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) as part of the requirements to become a Registered Dietitian (RD). The complete set of requirements includes:
- The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). This is the ADA’s term for the collection of undergraduate courses that meet its established educational competencies. The core science, nutrition, foods, and food management courses in the Nutrition and Dietetics concentration meet those competencies.* The Department’s courses list specific competencies as learning objectives.
- Statement of DPD Verification. Students apply for this Statement in their final year of undergraduate study and obtain it upon completion of the bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Application forms are available in the department office. Students applying to Dietetic Internships before graduation should request and file a “Declaration of Intent to finish the DPD” that lists courses to be completed in the final semester.
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. This requirement is met by completing the 128 credits of courses required for the Nutrition and Dietetics concentration.
- Dietetic Internship. Students with either a Declaration of Intent or a DPD Verification may apply to enter Dietetic Internships that meet the ADA’s clinical competency requirements. The Association lists accredited internship programs throughout the United States on its Web Site (see below). Post-DPD students apply for internships through a national computer matching program. For information about the Dietetic Internships at NYU, ask for the handouts for the NYU and Bronx Veterans Affairs Dietetic Internships.
- Verification of Internship Completion. This Statement is obtained from the Dietetic Internship Director when all Internship requirements are fulfilled.
At this point, students may apply to the ADA’s Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) to take the dietetic registration examination and become RD-eligible on the CDR Registry. This application requires submission of the Verification Statements from the DPD and Internship.
Students who pass the examination earn the Registered Dietitian credential.
Student Membership in the American Dietetic Association
Students in DPD programs or Dietetic Internships are eligible to join the American Dietetic Association as Associates. For information about the organization, its benefits, and its membership requirements, consult the ADA’s Website: www.eatright.org.
To join the student committee of the Greater New York Dietetic Association, go to: http://www.eatrightny.org/students/student_info.php.
* The NYU Undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the American Dietetic Association until 2011 (200 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago IL 60606-6995, 1-800-877-1600).