Nutrition, Fitness, and Health, BS

About the Program

Eating right and exercising is not just a habit, it’s your life philosophy. If you’d like to learn the science behind healthy living and help others make positive lifestyle changes, consider the nutrition, fitness, and health program.

Traditionally, professionals have been trained in only one discipline, but key components of fitness are both physical activity and nutrition. The NFHL major is one of the few programs in the country that combines coursework in exercise physiology and health promotion with a science-based nutrition curriculum. Purdue’s NFHL major has formal recognition from the National Strength and Conditioning Association for its excellence in undergraduate strength and conditioning education. Upon successful completion of the program, you will earn a Bachelor of Science degree and be eligible to sit for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential.

With its strong curriculum in both exercise physiology and nutrition, the NFHL degree is also great preparation for professional school in areas like medicine, physical therapy, and other graduate healthcare programs.

Department of Nutrition Science

Nutrition, Fitness, and Health Major Change (CODO) Requirements   

Degree Requirements

120 Credits Required

Departmental/Program Major Course Requirements (34 credits)

• NUTR 10500 - Nutrition In The 21st Century
• NUTR 20500 - Food Science I
• NUTR 31500 - Fundamentals Of Nutrition
• NUTR 33000 - Diet Selection And Planning
• NUTR 33200 - Nutrition Counseling
• NUTR 36500 - Physiology And Nutrition During The Life Cycle
• NUTR 42400 - Communication Techniques In Foods And Nutrition
• NUTR 43000 - Public Health Nutrition
• NUTR 43600 - Nutritional Assessment
• NUTR 43700 - Macronutrient Metabolism In Human Health And Disease
• NUTR 43800 - Micronutrient And Phytochemical Metabolism In Human Health And Disease
• NUTR 45400 - Food Chemistry Laboratory
• NUTR 48800 - Topics In Nutrition, Fitness, And Health

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (66-75 credits)

• BCHM 30700 - Biochemistry ♦
• BIOL 11000 - Fundamentals Of Biology I ♦
• BIOL 11100 - Fundamentals Of Biology II ♦
• BIOL 20300 - Human Anatomy And Physiology ♦
• BIOL 20400 - Human Anatomy And Physiology ♦
• HK 36800 - Exercise Physiology I ♦
• HK 42100 - Health Screening And Fitness Evaluation And Design ♦
• HK 42200 - Basic Concepts In Exercise Program Design ♦
• HK 46800 - Advanced Exercise Physiology II ♦
• HK 46900 - Exercise Testing And Prescription In Special Populations ♦
• STAT 30100 - Elementary Statistical Methods ♦ (satisfies Information Literacy for core)

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• CHM 11100 - General Chemistry ♦ (satisfies Science for core) or
• CHM 11500 - General Chemistry ♦ (satisfies Science for core)

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• CHM 11200 - General Chemistry ♦ (satisfies Science for core) or
• CHM 11600 - General Chemistry ♦ (satisfies Science for core)

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• CHM 25700 - Organic Chemistry ♦ OR
• CHM 25500 - Organic Chemistry For The Life Sciences I ♦ and
• CHM 25600 - Organic Chemistry For The Life Sciences II ♦

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• ECON 21000 - Principles Of Economics or
• AGEC 21700 - Economics

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• ENGL 10600 - First-Year Composition ♦ (satisfies Written Communication for core) or
• ENGL 10800 - Accelerated First-Year Composition ♦ (satisfies Written Communication for core)

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• PSY 12000 - Elementary Psychology (satisfies Human Cultures: Behavioral & Social Sciences for core) or
• SOC 10000 - Introductory Sociology (satisfies Human Cultures: Behavioral & Social Sciences for core)

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• Human Cultures: Humanities - Credit Hours: 3.00 (satisfies Humanities for core)
• NUTR Math Selective - Credit Hours: 3:00-5:00 (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning for core)
• Oral Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00 (satisfies Oral Communication for core)
• Science, Technology & Society - Credit Hours: 1.00 - 3.00 (satisfies Science, Technology & Society for core)

Electives (11-20 credits)

Supplemental List

Nutrition Science Majors Supplemental Information  

GPA Requirements

• 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Science degree.

Pass/No Pass Policy

• A student may elect the Pass / Not-Pass grading option for elective courses only, unless an academic unit requires that a specific departmental course/s be taken Pass / Not-Pass.  Students may elect to take University Core Curriculum courses Pass / Not-Pass; however, some major Plans of Study require courses that also fulfill UCC foundational outcomes.  In such cases, students may not elect the Pass / Not-Pass option.  A maximum of 24 credits of elective courses under the Pass / Not-pass grading option can be used toward graduation requirements. For further information, students should refer to the College of Health and Human Sciences Pass / Not-Pass Policy.

University Requirements

Sample 4-Year Plan

Pre-Requisite Information

For pre-requisite information, click here.

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”. 

Disclaimer

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.