Important Planning Guidelines:
- CHEM 105 or CHEM 110 is a required prerequisite for the foundation courses in the minor (NUTR 222 and NUTR 121). Therefore, students wanting to complete a foods and nutrition minor will need to complete one of these courses early - in the fall of the sophomore year at the latest for most students. Human Development and Family Science majors who wish to complete a Foods and Nutrition Minor should take CHEM 105 or 110 and take NUTR 222 rather than NUTR 110.
- A number of the upper level courses are only taught every other year. This requires careful course planning as we will not be able to offer directed studies to enable students to complete a minor.
Students considering the Foods and Nutrition minor should be aware that many work environments, particularly those in health care, required that an individual be credentialed as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) to practice individual nutrition care. To earn the RDN credential, an individual must complete a three step process:
- Complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at a U.S. regionally accredited college or university and complete the required undergraduate courses through a dietetics program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
- Complete a ACEND-accredited dietetic internship. These internships are typically offered by health care facilities, community agencies, foodservice corporations, or educational institutions and are 9 - 12 months in length. (Note: some colleges offer a “Coordinated Program” which combines steps 1 and 2. This type of program is called a “Coordinated Program”.)
- Pass a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
For additional information on dietetics education contact ACEND at: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995,
Phone: 312-899-0040 Ext. 5400, or .
The courses in the minor are part, but not all, of the academic coursework needed to obtain verification of the academic preparation needed to apply to a Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics Education (ACEND) accredited dietetic internship. Students interested in pursuing Dietetic Registration should talk to their minor adviser about the additional courses they would need.