Human Nutrition

Types of Degrees Human Nutrition Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many human nutrition graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	446
Graduate Certificate	15
Doctor’s Degree	8

What Human Nutrition Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to human nutrition were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Human Nutrition Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in human nutrition should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Skills for Human Nutrition Majors

human nutrition majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Human Nutrition Majors

Human Nutrition majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Human Nutrition Major?

People with a human nutrition degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dietitians and Nutritionists	14.6%	$60,370

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition?

The major attracts more women than men. About 92% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of human nutrition majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	28
Black or African American	22
Hispanic or Latino	49
White	304
International Students	14
Other Races/Ethnicities	29

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Human Nutrition. About 3.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human Nutrition

Some degrees associated with human nutrition may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to human nutrition have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	27.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	32.2%
Master’s Degree	23.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.6%
Doctoral Degree	9.2%

Online Human Nutrition Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	12	1
Bachelor’s Degree	8	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	31	6
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Human Nutrition

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to human nutrition.

Major	Number of Grads
Food & Nutrition	2,397
Foodservice Systems Administration/Management	383
Other Foods, Nutrition, & Related Services	136

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.