Nutrition plays a vital role in maintaining health and the prevention and treatment of diseases. Registered Dietitians (RD)s or Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN)s are the food and nutrition experts who translate the science of nutrition into personalized recommendations to help people prevent and manage medical conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and many more. To become a RD, students must complete required coursework as well as supervised practice. Required courses include biology, chemistry, biochemistry, medical nutrition therapy, nutrition assessment, diet selection and planning, and food service systems management.
At Purdue, students complete all required coursework for dietetics in the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics, and then apply to either an outside dietetics internship or the Coordinated Program in Dietetics at Purdue to complete the required supervised practice. Upon completion of supervised practice, students are eligible to sit for the national registration examination for dietitians.
With a focus on preventive health and nutrition, Dietetics is an excellent pre-professional major.
Degree Requirements and Supplemental Information
The full Program Requirements for 2016-17 Nutrition and Dietetics include all Supplemental Information and selective lists of those categories which a student must fulfill in order to earn their degree. These are intended to be printer-friendly, but include less descriptive course detail.
Please see below for program requirements and the necessary degree fulfillments.
NUTR SCI-BS
DPND
120 credits