Help Make Our World a Healthier Place: Pursue SC State’s Nutrition and Food Management Program
Are you interested in helping rid the world of chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cancer? Could your experience as a nutritionist major transform your love of cooking into a medical field career?
Through South Carolina State University’s Bachelor of Science in nutrition and food management degree, you’ll gain a deep understanding of the microbiology, processing, and chemistry of food. Your hands-on experiences—plus your classes on nutrition and food management topics—will prepare you to become a professional in careers as a dietitian, nutritionist, food scientist, public health nutritionist, sports nutritionist, and many more.
Our food and nutrition classes provide an appreciation for lifelong learning, developing effective problem-solving skills, and preparing for service to the community. You’ll learn to help people appreciate and develop a healthier diet, reducing the chronic health issues millions of people deal with every day.
Nutrition
Nutrition option — Our nutrition degree is offered through the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD), which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). This option prepares students to be eligible to apply to an ACEND approved dietetic internship/master’s program. After completion, the student is eligible to take the national registration examination for dietitians of the Commission on Dietetic Registration to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RD/RDN). Careers held by RDs and RDNs are available in healthcare, research and development, higher education, wellness and school food programs, entrepreneurship, and many others.
More about the Nutrition Option
Food Management
Food management option — Food management consists of a plethora of areas, from food harvesting and selection to the preparation and presentation of meals in food service settings. Although it is similar to the nutrition degree option and requires some of the same classes on nutrition, it does not satisfy the required courses necessary to become a RD or RDN. Food management program graduates hold job titles such as food service manager, food inspector, public health nutritionist, and many more.More about the Food Management Option
Program Highlights
Whether you’re interested in becoming a nutritionist major or preparing for a professional food management career, earning your degree from South Carolina State offers you many advantages, including the ability to:
Earn a uniquely respected, accredited degree
South Carolina State is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) in the state offering a nutrition program nationally accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). ACEND is the accrediting agency for programs that prepare students to become registered dietitians, nutritionists, and dietetic technicians.
Learn from faculty who are seasoned professionals
All faculty who teach classes on nutrition and food management are registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs), which means you’ll learn from registered professionals who are experts in their field and serve as student collaborators and mentors. You’ll gain tremendous insights from your classes on nutrition and food management.
Gain real-world skills and experience in the field
In addition to your food and nutrition classes, you’ll benefit from the skills and hands-on learning you’ll gain through field experiences. Some of your skills will be developed in our laboratories, while many will be developed at health care and food service facilities in the community.
What Can You Do With a Nutrition and Food Management Degree?
Nutrition degree option careers
By choosing the nutrition degree track and becoming an RD or RDN, you’ll become a food and nutrition expert prepared to translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. You can leverage your nutrition degree to help individuals make unique, positive lifestyle changes in areas such as:
- Colleges and universities
- Fitness centers
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Nutrition development companies
- Private practice
- Public health clinics
- Research institutions
- Schools
Nutritionist majors will enjoy increased demand for their preventive health offerings. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dietitians and nutritionists can expect a 7% increase in the number of jobs from now through 2031.
Food management degree option careers
Graduates of the food management degree track will find opportunities as food scientists, health inspectors, public health nutritionists, and sports nutritionists, in areas such as:
- Food manufacturing
- Food service establishments
- Government agencies
- Research and development
- Retail
Food service managers can expect a 10% job growth rate, according to the BLS, which is higher than average.
Which Classes Will You Take?
Your South Carolina State nutrition and food management education will include a variety of food and nutrition classes, ranging from biology and chemistry to family and consumer sciences and nutrition and food management.
Whether you choose the nutrition degree track or the food management degree track, you’ll also complete food and nutrition classes like:
- Human Nutrition, which is the study of life cycle nutrition.
- Nutrition II, which is the advanced study of the roles of vitamins and minerals in the nutrition processes.
- Community Nutrition, which involves the study of interpersonal-level interventions that create changes in knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and health outcomes among individuals, families, or small, targeted groups within community settings.
- Medical Nutrition Therapy, which is for nutrition majors and studies nutrition assessment for various disease states.