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The 129-credit BS program in Global Public Health/Nutrition and Dietetics provides you with foundational training in current knowledge, policy, and research on food and nutrition, equipping you with key tools to enhance public health. You’ll explore areas like food production, technology, epidemiology, diet assessment, health policy, and nutrition counseling.

The curriculum for the BS, Global Public Health/Nutrition and Dietetics includes the accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) courses needed to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Learn more about the NYU DPD.

Core Course Sequence

College Core Curriculum (CORE)

NYU’s College Core Curriculum provides a foundational academic experience of general education in the liberal arts for undergraduates at NYU. The Core Curriculum includes courses in foreign language, expository writing, and foundations of contemporary culture and scientific inquiry. In addition to these required subject areas, students also have the opportunity to explore liberal arts electives in the topics that most interest them, gaining the skills and breadth of intellectual perspective to flourish in their major programs of study and in their later careers.

Major and Co-Major Requirements

You’ll take core classes in public health, including health policy, epidemiology, and environmental health, and in nutrition and dietetics, including food science, health and nutrition, human physiology, and diet assessment. You’ll expand on these foundational courses with electives in the areas that most interest you, such as bioethics or global medicine. The program includes an internship, where you’ll apply course concepts to real-world scenarios and build professional relationships in the field.

Sample Elective Courses

Food Microbiology and Sanitation 

This course explores food safety, processing, and regulatory issues related to the role of microorganisms in food processing and preservation, as well as the use of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) to prevent contamination of food, equipment, and personnel.

Epidemiology for Global Health 

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health and illness in human populations worldwide. The overall objective of this course is to introduce students to the history, principles, and methods of epidemiology in a global context. Students will also examine epidemiological theories, analytic approaches, and tools from a global health perspective. Finally, students will develop the necessary skills to critically read, interpret, and appraise published epidemiological studies and to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize information from mass media sources.

Food and Identity  

This course focuses on how people use food to identify themselves as individuals and as groups. Students will ascertain the meaning and significance of food in different cultures by exploring the way that ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and religion influence our food choices. In addition, they will also examine how people transmit and preserve culture using food. Through reading scholarly articles, personal essays, book excerpts, newspaper articles, cookbooks, and viewing films, students will examine the intricate relationships that people have with food. The course looks critically at the following questions: how can food have different meanings and uses for different people? How does food function both to foster community feeling and drive wedges among people? What are some prevailing academic theories that help society understand some of these patterns of identification and how do societies change over time?

Program Requirements

Course Title Credits
Liberal Arts Requirements
Foreign Language
Select eight credits of a foreign language8
Expository Writing
EXPOS-UA 1Writing as Inquiry4
ACE-UE 110Advanced College Essay: Educ & The Professions4
Foundations of Contemporary Culture
Texts and Ideas4
Cultures and Contexts4
Expressive Culture4
Societies and the Social Sciences
Choose one of the following:4
PSYCH-UA 1
Intro to Psychology
or APSY-UE 2
Introduction to Psychology and Its Principles
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry
APSTA-UE 1085Basic Statistics I (or other Statistics by advisement)4
CHEM-UA 120Introduction to Modern Chemistry5
CHEM-UA 210Principles of Organic and Biological Chemistry and Laboratory5
NUTR-UE 1068Introduction to Human Physiology4
NUTR-UE 119Nutrition and Health3
Other Liberal Arts Requirements
Select seven credits of other Liberal Arts requirements7
Additional Requirements
SAHS-UE 1New Student Seminar0
Writing Proficiency Examination
The Global Health Major requires one Fall, Spring or Summer semester abroad at one of NYU's 14 global sites.
Specialization Requirements
Public Health Core Content
UGPH-GU 10Health and Society in a Global Context4
UGPH-GU 30Epidemiology for Global Health4
UGPH-GU 50Environmental Health in a Global World4
UGPH-GU 40Health Policy in a Global World4
Public Health Electives
4 credits, by advisement.4
Public Health Internship
UGPH-GU 60Undergraduate Experiential Learning in Global Public Health4
Nutrition and Dietetics Core Content
FOOD-UE 1051Food and Identity4
NUTR-UE 85Intro to Foods and Food Science3
NUTR-UE 91Food Management Theory3
NUTR-UE 120Theories & Techniques of Nutrition Ed Counseling2
NUTR-UE 1023Food Microbiology & Sanitation3
NUTR-UE 1052Food Production and Management3
NUTR-UE 1064Nutritional Biochemistry3
NUTR-UE 1117Current Research in Nutrition (seniors)2
NUTR-UE 1184Food Science & Tech3
NUTR-UE 1185Clinical Nutrition Assessment Intervention3
NUTR-UE 1198Fieldwork4
NUTR-UE 1209Community Nutrition3
NUTR-UE 1260Diet Assessment and Planning3
NUTR-UE 1269Nutrition and Life Cycle3
Unrestricted Electives
Select two credits of Unrestricted Electives2
Total Credits128

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/TermCredits
SAHS-UE 1 New Student Seminar 0
NUTR-UE 85 Intro to Foods and Food Science 3
NUTR-UE 119 Nutrition and Health 3
CHEM-UA 120 Introduction to Modern Chemistry 5
EXPOS-UA 1 Writing as Inquiry 4
 Credits15
2nd Semester/Term
ACE-UE 110 Advanced College Essay: Educ & The Professions 4
Global Public Health Course 4
FOOD-UE 1051 Food and Identity 4
CHEM-UA 210 Principles of Organic and Biological Chemistry and Laboratory 5
 Credits17
3rd Semester/Term
NUTR-UE 120 Theories & Techniques of Nutrition Ed Counseling 2
NUTR-UE 1023 Food Microbiology & Sanitation 3
Global Public Health Course 4
NUTR-UE 1068 Introduction to Human Physiology 4
Texts and Ideas 4
 Credits17
4th Semester/Term
NUTR-UE 1064 Nutritional Biochemistry 3
NUTR-UE 1184 Food Science & Tech 3
PSYCH-UA 1 Intro to Psychology 4
NUTR-UE 91 Food Management Theory 3
NUTR-UE 1260 Diet Assessment and Planning 3
 Credits16
5th Semester/Term
NUTR-UE 1269 Nutrition and Life Cycle 3
Cultures and Contexts 4
Foreign Language 4
Global Public Health Course 4
 Credits15
6th Semester/Term
NUTR-UE 1209 Community Nutrition 3
Expressive Culture 4
Foreign Language 4
Global Public Health Course 4
NUTR-UE 1117 Current Research in Nutrition 2
 Credits17
7th Semester/Term
NUTR-UE 1052 Food Production and Management 3
NUTR-UE 1185 Clinical Nutrition Assessment Intervention 3
Global Public Health Course 4
NUTR-UE 1198 Fieldwork 4
Unrestricted Electives 1
 Credits15
8th Semester/Term
Unrestricted Electives 1
Global Public Health Course 4
GPH Elective 4
Elective 7
 Credits16
 Total Credits128
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How to Become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

This curriculum fully prepares students to meet the educational knowledge and skills specified by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as part of the requirements to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

Learn More about how to Become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

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