BS in Nutritional Science

The nutritional science program has two curricular options, both of which provide a broad background in the biological, chemical, and nutritional sciences. Students take core courses in the sciences during the first two years of the program in addition to courses in the humanities and social sciences. The nutritional science option provides academic preparation for those students who intend to go to graduate school in any of the life sciences, pursue medical or other professional studies, or seek employment in biomedical sciences, nutrition, or public health.

The dietetics option focuses on professional practice and prepares students for careers in clinical nutrition, management, public health, research, and industry. Students who graduate with this option will have completed the Boston University Didactic Program in Dietetics (BUDPD). They will be eligible to participate in the national computer matching process for American Dietetic Association (ADA) accredited dietetic internships. Successful completion of a dietetic internship is required prior to taking the ADA national registration exam.

The BUDPD is approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the American Dietetic Association, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL, 60606-6995, 312-899-0040 ext. 5400.

The mission of the BUDPD is to teach and apply knowledge in food, nutrition, and dietetics. The BUDPD strives to create an environment that fosters the critical thinking skills, communication skills, and commitment to lifelong learning necessary for graduates to provide the highest quality of food and nutrition services. The goals of the BUDPD are to prepare graduates to enter a dietetic internship, a graduate program, or the job market, and to encourage its students to engage in lifelong learning.

Degree Requirements

The minimum requirements to enter the junior year are 66 credits and completion of the required courses specified in the freshman and sophomore curricula with a GPA of 2.5 or better. To be accepted for external transfer, a course must be approved by the faculty and completed with a minimum grade of C. The minimum credit requirement for matriculation in the senior year is 98 in the nutritional science option, and 100 in the dietetics option. In addition, students must have completed all required courses specified in the junior year curriculum with a minimum GPA of 2.5. A minimum of 128 credits is required for graduation. Completion of all required senior year courses with a minimum GPA of 2.5 must be achieved for graduation. The GPA must represent a record that contains no more than 12 credits of D grades. A student may repeat a course only once to meet the requirement. For students in the dietetics option, all required DPD food and nutrition courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C–. Courses can only be repeated once to meet this requirement.

Curricula

Each course carries 4 credits unless otherwise indicated.