Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics Concentration, B.S.

Human Sciences
615-898-5853
Liz Smith
elizabethann.smith@mtsu.edu

The major in Nutrition and Food Science with a Dietetics concentration is a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Dietetics and Nutrition of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (312) 877-1600, ext. 5400.

Students are required to go through a sequential four-step process to become a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RD/RDN) including

completion of an ACEND accredited DPD, such as the MTSU program.
completion of an ACEND accredited dietetic internship program.
completion of a graduate/master’s program (as required by the Commission on Dietetic Registration as of January 1, 2024)
passing the national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

Note: Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) requires a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited DPD at MTSU are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program. For more information about educational pathways to become an RDN please visit www.eatrightpro.org/acend/students-and-advancing-education/information-for-students.

Students with baccalaureate degrees in other areas may complete the DPD requirements at MTSU. Transfer students must meet with the DPD director to determine which courses will be accepted toward the MTSU DPD program. At a minimum all transfer students must complete NFS 1010 , NFS 4010 , NFS 4020 , NFS 4275 , NFS 4285 , NFS 4300 , NFS 4305 , NFS 4310 , NFS 4320 , and NFS 4322 at MTSU.

Students may take some of these courses online or in the traditional classroom format. For students interested in taking any of the above courses online, please access Distance Learning to obtain information about D2L, the online platform used and other beneficial resources to help you be a successful distance learning student.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirements	60 hours
Support Courses	33 hours*
Electives	0-6 hours*
TOTAL	120-134 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the True Blue Core curriculum. If courses for this program are also used to fulfill True Blue Core requirements, the program of study may be completed in 120 hours.

True Blue Core (41 hours)

True Blue Core (TBC) requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

The following courses required by the major meet True Blue Core requirements:

MATH 1530 (Quant Lit)
SOC 1010 (HSSR)
BIOL 2010 /BIOL 2011 (Sci Lit)
CHEM 1010 /CHEM 1011 or CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 (Sci Lit)
NFS 2100 (CCE)
NFS 2220 (HSSR)

Major Requirements (60 hours)

NFS 1010 - Career Orientation in Dietetics 2 credit hours
NFS 2220 - Nutrition for the Health Sciences 3 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
NFS 2100 - Cultural Food Studies 3 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
NFS 3200 - Food Science 3 credit hours AND
NFS 3201 - Food Science Lab 0 credit hours
NFS 3260 - Community Nutrition 3 credit hours
NFS 3280 - Sports Nutrition 3 credit hours
NFS 3400 - Food Safety and Sanitation 1 credit hour
NFS 4010 - Professional Issues in Dietetics 2 credit hours
NFS 4020 - Senior Seminar in Dietetics 2 to 3 credit hours (3 credit hours required)
NFS 4240 - Experimental Food Study 3 credit hours
NFS 4241 - Experimental Food Study Lab 0 credit hours
NFS 4270 - Advanced Nutrition I 3 credit hours
NFS 4271 - Advanced Nutrition II 3 credit hours
NFS 4275 - Applied Nutrition Across the Lifespan 4 credit hours
NFS 4285 - Successful Approaches in Dietetics Research 2 credit hours
NFS 4300 - Medical Nutrition Therapy I 4 credit hours
NFS 4305 - Nutrition Coaching and Counseling Skills 3 credit hours
NFS 4310 - Medical Nutrition Therapy II 4 credit hours
NFS 4320 - Food Systems Management 4 credit hours
NFS 4322 - Dietetics Management 4 credit hours
Upper-division elective 3 credit hours

Support Courses (33 hours)

BIOL 2010 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2011 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
BIOL 2020 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2021 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 2230 - Microbiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2231 - Microbiology Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 1010 - Introductory General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1011 - Intro to General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
OR
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
CHEM 1020 - Introductory General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1021 - Intro to General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
OR
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 2030 - Elements of Organic Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 2031 - Elements of Organic Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3570 - Nutritional Biochemistry 3 credit hours
MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
SOC 1010 - Introductory Sociology 3 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)

Electives (0-6 hours)

Curriculum: Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics

Freshman

Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression/Elective 3 credit hours
SOC 1010 - Introductory Sociology 3 credit hours (HSSR)
NFS 1010 - Career Orientation in Dietetics 2 credit hours
NFS 2220 - Nutrition for the Health Sciences 3 credit hours (HSSR)
CHEM 1010 - Introductory General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Sci Lit) AND
CHEM 1011 - Intro to General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Sci Lit)
OR
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Sci Lit) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Sci Lit)
CHEM 1020 - Introductory General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1021 - Intro to General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
OR
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 2010 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 4 credit hours (Sci Lit) AND
BIOL 2011 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab 0 credit hours (Sci Lit)

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Sophomore

MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours (Quant Lit)
NFS 2100 - Cultural Food Studies 3 credit hours (CCE)
Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
History and Civic Learning 6 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships/Elective 3 credit hours
NFS guided upper-division elective 3 credit hours
BIOL 2020 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2021 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 2230 - Microbiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2231 - Microbiology Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Junior

NFS 3200 - Food Science 3 credit hours AND
NFS 3201 - Food Science Lab 0 credit hours
NFS 3260 - Community Nutrition 3 credit hours
NFS 3280 - Sports Nutrition 3 credit hours
NFS 3400 - Food Safety and Sanitation 1 credit hour
NFS 4270 - Advanced Nutrition I 3 credit hours
NFS 4271 - Advanced Nutrition II 3 credit hours
NFS 4275 - Applied Nutrition Across the Lifespan 4 credit hours
CHEM 2030 - Elements of Organic Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 2031 - Elements of Organic Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours
NFS 4240 - Experimental Food Study 3 credit hours AND
NFS 4241 - Experimental Food Study Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3570 - Nutritional Biochemistry 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

NFS 4010 - Professional Issues in Dietetics 2 credit hours
NFS 4020 - Senior Seminar in Dietetics 2 to 3 credit hours (3 credit hours required)
NFS 4285 - Successful Approaches in Dietetics Research 2 credit hours
NFS 4320 - Food Systems Management 4 credit hours
NFS 4322 - Dietetics Management 4 credit hours
NFS 4300 - Medical Nutrition Therapy I 4 credit hours
NFS 4305 - Nutrition Coaching and Counseling Skills 3 credit hours
NFS 4310 - Medical Nutrition Therapy II 4 credit hours

Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics Concentration, B.S.

Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (41 hours)

Major Requirements (60 hours)

Support Courses (33 hours)

Electives (0-6 hours)

Curriculum: Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics

Freshman

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Sophomore

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Junior

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

Subtotal: 26 Hours