About the Program
The Nutrition Science Department at Purdue has a unique and historically popular double major offering in Nutrition, Fitness and Health (NFHL) and the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPND). This combination allows students to fulfill the requirements for obtaining the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential together with the first step in becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), as well as gain a comprehensive approach to human health and fitness. This double major is 120-129 credits and can be completed in four years.
Nutrition plays a vital role in health and disease. There is growing evidence of the role of diet in the prevention, development, and treatment of major diseases. To maximize an individual’s health, professionals need to have a strong understanding of nutrition. The Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential is the nationally recognized credential for nutritionists and is required for most employment in the healthcare industry and preferred for many other employment opportunities in foods and nutrition. To become an RDN, you must complete required course work, a supervised practice experience, obtain a graduate degree, and then pass a national registration examination for dietitians (RDN exam). In addition to our undergraduate program, Purdue offers a professional Master’s Degree in Dietetics which incorporates the necessary supervised practice hours. These programs are fully ACEND accredited and thus, the Nutrition Science Department at Purdue offers all of the required steps to be eligible to sit for the RDN exam. Scores on the national RDN exam by Purdue graduates are consistently well above the national average.
The Nutrition, Fitness, and Health (NFHL) major is designed for students interested in careers in nutrition, fitness or wellness programs in hospitals, colleges or industry. The Purdue NFHL major has formal recognition from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for its excellence in undergraduate strength and conditioning education and one is eligible to sit for the credentialing exam upon graduation to earn the CSCS credential.
With a focus on preventive health and nutrition, these majors are also excellent preparation for pursuing advanced degrees for professional health careers such as for medical, dental, physician’s assistant or physical therapy schools.
Department of Nutrition Science
Dietetics/Nutrition, Fitness and Health Major Change (CODO) Requirements
World Language Courses
World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japenese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)
Critical Course
The ♦ course is considered critical.
In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”.
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