Food and Nutritional Sciences

VIEW DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

• Food and Nutritional Sciences Minor

Programs offered

• Food and Nutritional Sciences (major, minor, and emphases)

Family and Consumer Sciences Faculty

Food and Nutritional Sciences (BS)

VIEW DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

• Food & Nutritional Sciences: Food & Nutrition Emphasis (BS)
• Food & Nutritional Sciences: Sports & Exercise Emphasis (BS)
• Food and Nutritional Sciences: Dietetics Emphasis (BS)

• A minimum 89–116 credits are required for this major, including 25 upper-division credits.
• You must complete one of the three emphases for the BS degree in Food and Nutritional Sciences:
  
  • Dietetics Emphasis
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences (General) Emphasis
  • Sports and Exercise Emphasis
• This major requires completion of the Family and Consumer Sciences Core, which includes:
  • FCS 1050 Introduction to FCS, completed during your freshman or sophomore year. (If you are a transfer student, you may complete this in your junior year.)
  • FCS 3240 Individual and Family Development, completed after FCS 1050.
  • FCS 4899 Senior Capstone, completed after FCS 3240 and during your senior year.
• For admission to the Food and Nutrition major, you are required to complete the following courses with a grade of C- or higher:
  
  • BIO 2129, BIO 2130; CHM 1310, CHM 1330, CHM 1360; FCS 1050, and FCS 2365 or FCS 3340.
• An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher is required for application to the Dietetics emphasis.
• An overall GPA of 2.5 or higher is required for application to the Food and Nutritional Sciences emphasis.
• An overall GPA of 2.5 or higher is required for application to the Sports and Exercise emphasis.
• You should complete the prerequisite courses in chemistry, biology, and Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS 1050 and FCS 2365 or FCS 3340) by your junior year.
• A minimum 55 credits are required for the minor, including 15 upper-division credits.

Dietetics emphasis

The Dietetics emphasis, also known as the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD), is approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). After you complete the DPD and the baccalaureate degree, you are awarded the DPD Verification.

If you intend to become a registered dietitian (RDN), you must also complete a post-baccalaureate dietetic internship and pass the national registration examination for dietitians offered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

Appointments to dietetic internships are awarded on a competitive basis. Additional information on educational requirements, the RDN credential and a listing of dietetic internships is available from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Dietetics emphasis for post-baccalaureate students

If you are a post-baccalaureate student seeking DPD verification, your course requirements are identical to those of the Dietetics emphasis, except for the following:

FCS 1050 Introduction to FCS and FCS 3240 Individual and Family Development are not required.

If you are a post-baccalaureate student seeking a second bachelor’s degree in addition to DPD verification, you must complete the requirements listed above, as well as the following:

• At least 45 credits from SPU as a matriculated student.
• At least 15 upper-division credits in the major.
• Five credits in Christian Scriptures or Christian Theology

Your previous academic work, if completed within the last seven years, will be considered for meeting DPD requirements. A transcript review by the DPD director will determine the courses that you must complete to fulfill requirements.

The admission requirements and application process for post-baccalaureate students are identical to those listed above for undergraduate students.

If you are completing the requirements for a second baccalaureate degree, you may be eligible for federal student financial aid; non-degree students are not eligible for financial aid.

Apply for the major or minor

• Apply for a major or minor by your junior year, using the online Major or Minor application.
• Your application is due on or before the first Friday of Autumn, Winter, or Spring quarter.
• Applications for all majors and minors, except Interior Design, are reviewed once per quarter.   
• Faculty must approve all admission to the majors and minors.
• Your overall GPA must be a minimum of 2.5 for admission to the major for Apparel Design, Apparel Merchandising, Human Development and Family Studies, or Family and Consumer Science Secondary Education.
• In the Food and Nutritional Sciences major, your must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 for admission to the Dietetics emphasis; for the Food and Nutritional Sciences emphasis and the Sports and Exercise emphasis, your must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5.
• You must complete the major or minor requirements in effect when you are admitted to the major or minor.