Best Colleges for Nutrition Science and Human Nutrition

With the advent of long transportation chains delivering food to consumers, the best colleges for nutrition play an important role in society. From genetically modified foods (GMOs) to processed packaged foods to long gaps between harvest and consumer the question of good human nutrition is increasingly relevant. Broadly speaking Nutrition Science deals not only with the nutritional make-up of different foods and diet, but also the science of metabolism within the body. In addition, the popular culture makes diet and dieting a popular past-time for many, and an increasing prevalence of truly bad nutrition advice in fad diets.  All of these societal trends create a needed space for top universities to train students in real nutrition science, not pseudo science that may populate social media.

A typical curriculum for a nutrition major draws on disciplines from physical sciences, like chemistry, biological sciences and social sciences. The courses involved in a major in nutrition science might include community health policy, food research, medical nutrition, anatomy, physiology, dietetics and biochemistry.

The major programs at different universities may go by different names, such as:

• Nutritional Science
• Human Nutrition
• Public Health and Human Biology

Economic Value of A Degree in Nutrition

Nutrition has application in a number disciplines, and often also serves as a pre-medical undergraduate major. Among the career paths open to students who major in nutrition are:

• Food Safety Manager
• Dietician
• Nutritionist
• Nutrition Therapist
• Athletic Trainers
• Health Educator
• Food Technologist
• Food Scientist
• Pre-medical
• Pre-nursing
• Pre-pharmacy
• Pre-Physical therapy.

Nutrition Has a Mid-Range Earning Potential for Recent Graduates

Students who major in nutrition as an undergraduate have a wide range of starting salaries. Typically these starting salaries are in the mid-range for college graduates. However, it is important to understand that many of these jobs are in healthcare and research, which often have better job security and non-monetary benefits. In addition some of the possible career paths may be in relatively higher paying fields as well, that tend more toward the research and development side of bionutrition.

20 Best Colleges for Nutrition Science and Human Nutrition Majors

This is our RealRank ranking of the best colleges for nutrition. Each of the listed universities include a link to its website. You can search around those websites to find out more about their academic  programs, and the fee/cost estimators, if they have one. (Independence Note: We do not earn any commissions from the links!)

Have you attended any of the universities on the list, or taken nutrition there? What is your experience at these universities?