Nutrition Major: Nutrition and Wellness Option (B.S.)
Nutrition is the study of how nutrients and food components function at molecular, cellular, and whole-body levels to impact human health and disease. Students are grounded in fundamental sciences as they develop nutrition-specific competencies in nutrition and health, foods, nutritional assessment, wellness, life cycle nutrition, and/or metabolic biochemistry.
The nutrition program prepares students for entry-level positions in health care, education, or the biotechnology industry, or entry into post-baccalaureate professional programs. Nutrition faculty have expertise in clinical nutrition, sports nutrition, and food science, as well as assessing risk factors of chronic disease risk (i.e. obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, cognitive) in diverse populations (pediatric, young adult, older adult).
Students who complete the Nutrition and Wellness option are prepared for jobs in agencies or businesses that have an emphasis on health and wellness, including schools, fitness centers, and non-profit or community organizations.
A minimum grade of C-minus or better must be earned in all NUTR courses required by the major.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Courses | ||
| BMS 507 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
| BMS 508 | Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
| SOC 400 | Introductory Sociology | 4 |
| or PSYC 401 | Introduction to Psychology | |
| Choose ONE statistics course | 4 | |
| Applied Biostatistics I | ||
| Statistics in Psychology | ||
| Statistics | ||
| Science Core Courses | ||
| CHEM 411 | Introductory Chemistry for Life Sciences | 4 |
| BMS 501 | Microbes in Human Disease | 4 |
| BMCB 501 | Biological Chemistry | 4 |
| Nutrition Core Courses | ||
| NUTR 400 | Nutrition in Health and Well Being | 4 |
| NUTR 401 | Professional Perspectives on Nutrition | 1 |
| NUTR 476 | Nutritional Assessment | 4 |
| NUTR 650 | Life Cycle Nutrition | 4 |
| Nutrition and Wellness Courses | ||
| NUTR 403 | Culinary Arts Skills Development | 4 |
| NUTR 506 | Nutrition and Wellness | 4 |
| NUTR 546 | Nutrition in Exercise and Sports | 4 |
| NUTR 610 | Nutrition Education and Counseling | 4 |
| NUTR 720 | Community Nutrition | 4 |
| NUTR 755 | Treatment of Adult Obesity | 3 |
| NUTR 758 | Practicum in Weight Management | 2 |
| OT 513 | Stressed Out: The Science and Nature of Human Stress | 4 |
| ENGL 502 | Professional and Technical Writing | 4 |
| or ENGL 503 | Persuasive Writing | |
| HMP 401 | United States Health Care Systems | 4 |
| HMP 501 | Epidemiology and Community Medicine | 4 |
| EXSC 620 | Physiology of Exercise | 4 |
| or HPE 648 | Current Issues in Teaching Health | |
| 700-level elective | 4-5 | |
Nutrition and Wellness Capstone Experience
One capstone experience, supervised and approved within the major, is required of all seniors. The capstone explores areas of interest based on the integration of prior learning. The capstone requirement for Wellness students is satisfied through the completion of NUTR 720 Community Nutrition or NUTR 755 Treatment of Adult Obesity during their senior year.
NOTE: Both NUTR 720 Community Nutrition and NUTR 755 Treatment of Adult Obesity are required courses; one of these courses must be taken during the student's senior year to fulfill the university's capstone requirement.
SAMPLE Course Sequence for Nutrition and Wellness
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| NUTR 400 | Nutrition in Health and Well Being | 4 |
| NUTR 401 | Professional Perspectives on Nutrition | 1 |
| BMS 507 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
| SOC 400 or PSYC 401 |
Introductory Sociology or Introduction to Psychology |
4 |
| ENGL 401 | First-Year Writing | 4 |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUTR 476 | Nutritional Assessment | 4 |
| BMS 508 | Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
| HMP 401 | United States Health Care Systems | 4 |
| Discovery course | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| CHEM 411 | Introductory Chemistry for Life Sciences | 4 |
| NUTR 403 | Culinary Arts Skills Development | 4 |
| OT 513 | Stressed Out: The Science and Nature of Human Stress | 4 |
| Inquiry course | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUTR 506 | Nutrition and Wellness | 4 |
| BMCB 501 | Biological Chemistry | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Applied Biostatistics I | ||
| Statistics in Psychology | ||
| Statistics | ||
| Elective (WI) | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| NUTR 546 | Nutrition in Exercise and Sports | 4 |
| NUTR 610 | Nutrition Education and Counseling | 4 |
| BMS 501 | Microbes in Human Disease | 4 |
| EXSC 620 or HPE 648 |
Physiology of Exercise or Current Issues in Teaching Health |
4 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUTR 650 | Life Cycle Nutrition | 4 |
| ENGL 502 or ENGL 503 |
Professional and Technical Writing or Persuasive Writing |
4 |
| HMP 501 | Epidemiology and Community Medicine | 4 |
| Discovery Course | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| NUTR 755 | Treatment of Adult Obesity | 3 |
| NUTR 758 | Practicum in Weight Management | 2 |
| Discovery Course | 4 | |
| Discovery Course or Elective | 4 | |
| Elective (any course) | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 16-17 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUTR 720 | Community Nutrition | 4 |
| 700-level Elective | 4 | |
| Discovery Course | 4 | |
| Elective (any course) | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 15-16 | |
| Total Credits | 128-130 | |
- Demonstrate how to locate, interpret, evaluate and use professional literature to make ethical, evidence-based conclusions and decisions.
- Use current information technologies to locate and apply evidence-based guidelines and protocols.
- Apply critical thinking skills.
- Demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication and documentation.
- Demonstrate an understanding of cultural competence/sensitivity.
- Describe basic concepts of nutritional genomics.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and how it is used to generate knowledge in nutrition science.
- Understand basic concepts of statistical analysis.