BS in Nutrition

The nutrition program has three curricular tracks, each of which provides a broad background in biological, chemical, and nutrition sciences. Students take core courses in the sciences during the first two years of the program in addition to humanities and social sciences courses, included in the BU Hub requirements.

The nutrition science track 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 nutrition and health track is for students interested in pursuing careers in nutrition combined with other specialty areas such as public/global health or mass communications. The curriculum includes courses in basic science, nutrition, and food, along with courses in an area of concentration. Students interested in pursuing physician assistant (PA) education after completing their academic degree can meet prerequisite requirements for many PA programs via this track.

The dietetics track focuses on professional practice and prepares students for careers as Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) in clinical nutrition, management, public health, research, and industry. Students who graduate with this track will have completed Boston University’s Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). They will be eligible to participate in the national computer matching process for Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)–accredited supervised practice programs (e.g., dietetic internships). Starting on January 1, 2024, both successful completion of a supervised practice program and completion of a master’s degree are required prior to taking the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) national registration exam to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

The CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). In many states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. It is ACEND’s considered opinion that the program is designed to and does meet all state dietetics licensure and certification laws, though some states may interpret their statutes differently. Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited didactic program in dietetics (DPD) at Boston University are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program.

The Boston University DPD is approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the AND, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995; 312-899-0040 ext. 5400.

The mission of the Boston University Programs in Nutrition, which includes the Boston University Didactic Program in Dietetics, is to establish an inclusive environment that promotes the acquisition of knowledge, critical thinking, and effective communication to prepare graduates from diverse backgrounds for success in supervised practice leading to eligibility to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an entry-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, or to enter into a graduate degree program, or a job in a health-related field.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• Recall basic food and nutrition information.
• Describe and evaluate their experience providing nutrition care in a community setting.
• Evaluate the quality of research articles published in peer-reviewed journals.

Requirements

All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities.

Students majoring in Nutrition will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Quantitative Reasoning, Communication, Scientific and Social Inquiry, and some elements of the Intellectual Toolkit. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences.

Degree Requirements

Nutrition Science Track

A minimum of 128 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. (Note: PDP course credits do not count toward the minimum of 128 credits.) The GPA must represent a record that contains no more than 16 credits of D grades. A student may repeat a course only once to meet the requirement. If courses are repeated, both grades are used to calculate GPA.

Nutrition and Health Track

A minimum of 128 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. (Note: PDP course credits do not count toward the minimum of 128 credits.) The GPA must represent a record that contains no more than 16 credits of D grades. A student may repeat a course only once to meet the requirement. If courses are repeated, both grades are used to calculate GPA.

Dietetics Track

A minimum of 128 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. (Note: PDP course credits do not count toward the minimum of 128 credits.) The GPA must represent a record that contains no more than 16 credits of D grades. A student may repeat a course only once to meet the requirement. If courses are repeated, both grades are used to calculate GPA. For students in the Dietetics Track, all graduation requirements must be met in order to receive an ACEND Verification Statement documenting completion of the DPD coursework.

A student must obtain an average grade of C+ (2.3) for four specific gateway courses (CAS BI 107, CAS BI 108, CAS CH 171, and CAS CH 174) to enter into the Dietetics Track. (Grades in CAS CH 101/102 will be substituted for the grade in CAS CH 171 and grades in CAS CH 203/204 will be substituted for the grade in CAS CH 174, if appropriate.) If a C+ average is not obtained, a student can only repeat a course once. An average of the two grades will be used to determine if the gateway criteria are met. If any equivalents of the four courses (CAS BI 107, CAS BI 108, CAS CH 171, and CAS CH 174) are taken outside of Boston University, they must be taken at a two- or four-year college or university. They must also be reviewed and approved by the College of Arts & Sciences before they can be used to meet the criteria stated above.

Curriculum

Each course carries 4 credits unless otherwise indicated.

Honors Requirements

Nutrition students are eligible to participate in the Sargent College Senior Thesis for Distinction. This experience provides a thorough understanding of the research enterprise. The thesis will develop your technical writing and oral presentation skills through interactions in the laboratory, writing a final report on your project, and summarizing your research in a final presentation to students and faculty. Completing the Senior Thesis for Distinction will help prepare you for graduate school where the dedication, creativity, and independence honed during your thesis experience will be invaluable. Successful completion of the Thesis will result in the designation of “graduation with distinction” appearing on the student’s diploma and transcript.

Further information is available here.