Best universities for dietetics and nutrition in the world

Best Nutrition and Dietetics Colleges and Universities in the World

About Nutrition and Dietetics

Nutrition and dietetics belong to a branch of medicine that studies diverse foods and their nutritional qualities in order to meet public health and fitness goals. Staying healthy and fit has been the norm in the twenty-first century, with people from all walks of life making healthy lifestyle choices. Therefore, nutritionists and dieticians who are experts in food and diet are in great demand nowadays. Dieticians work with both healthy and sick people. Nutritionists mainly work with healthy patients to maintain their health.  

Although nutrition and dietetics are two distinct professions, they lie under the umbrella of public health due to their striking similarities with respect to the study of food and nutrition. These fields are best suited for those who are interested in health and wellness. This article discusses nutrition and dietetics as career options, especially for international students. It also provides a reference list of top universities that offer different programs in these subjects. 

Duties of Nutritionists and Dieticians 

Since nutrition and dietetics are considered separate fields, the duties of a nutritionist differ from those of a dietician. Nutritionists are somewhat limited in what services they can offer, for instance, nutritionists cannot diagnose or treat eating disorders, but dieticians can. Let us take a look at some of their responsibilities one by one:

Duties of a Nutritionist

• Create nutrition and fitness programs for clients
• Track and document progress and encourage patients to stay to it
• Analyze the nutritional and health requirements of clients
• Deliver presentations on the importance of food nutrition to promote health and nutrition
• Create nutrition and food-related educational materials
• Keep up with the latest food and nutritional science research, or contribute to it
• Encourage a healthy lifestyle

Duties of a Dietician

• Provide personalized nutrition counseling to patients to manage diseases like diabetes, lipid disorders, hypertension, and obesity
• Diagnose and treat malnutrition and eating disorders.
• Treat patients with a variety of acute and chronic diseases using diet and nutrition therapy
• Analyze the nutritional and health requirements of critically ill patients
• Improve athletes’ nutrition for improved performance
• Keep up with the most recent food-related public health and scientific research and contribute to it
• Promote a healthy way of life
• Create nutrition-related educational material to educate patients

Popular degrees for pursuing a career in Nutrition and Dietetics

Although the functions of a nutritionist and dietician differ from each other, their education revolves around food and human nutrition. Many of the classes required for dieticians are often included in nutritionist degree programs, as well as the majority of public health degrees offered by many universities. Hence candidates who wish to enter these fields can opt for the following degrees.

Bachelor’s programs 

Bachelor’s degrees in nutrition and dietetics are referred to as B.S. in the USA and B.Sc. in the UK and Europe. Students can enroll in the following courses for their undergraduate degree in nutrition and dietetics:

• Nutrition
• Dietetics
• Nutritional Science
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Nutrition and Food Studies
• Public Health

Master’s programs

Similarly, in the USA, master’s degrees are commonly referred to as M.S., but in the UK and Europe, they are referred to as M.Sc., where both terms refer to the master of science degrees. Advanced degrees like master’s are particularly useful for skill development and professional advancement. Some of the popular graduate programs in nutrition and dietetics are:

• Nutrition
• Dietetics
• Nutritional Science
• Nutrition Education
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Human Clinical Nutrition
• Global Public Health/Nutrition and Dietetics
• Public Health Nutrition
• Clinical Nutrition

Doctoral programs

Students who want to pursue a career in academia or research can pursue terminal degrees such as a Ph.D. For obtaining a Ph.D. degree in nutrition or dietetics, a dissertation, as well as research article publications, are required.

Because nutrition is not as regulated as dietetics, students can pursue certification and online courses offered by top institutes to become a nutritionist.

Specializations in Nutrition and Dietetics

After earning a bachelor’s degree, nutritionists and dieticians can pursue master’s or doctoral degrees in one of the following specializations:

• Nutrition science
• Community health service
• Public health science
• Pediatric nutrition
• Health and wellness
• Naturopathy
• Holistic medicine
• Human diet and nutrition
• Food systems and hunger studies
• Personalized nutrition
• Applied nutrition and culinary medicine
• Lifestyle medicine or nutrition

Duration of programs in Nutrition and Dietetics

The duration of programs in nutrition and dietetics is similar to that of other undergraduate and postgraduate degrees offered in the field of public health. In America, most bachelor’s degrees in nutrition science and dietetics are of four-year duration, and master’s degrees are of two-year duration, whereas in the UK and Europe, a bachelor’s can range from 3 to 4 years and a master’s from 1 to 2 years. 

Career opportunities in Nutrition and Dietetics

As more individuals become health-conscious, the nutrition and dietetics profession is flourishing, generating a wealth of employment opportunities for qualified candidates. Both nutritionists and dieticians are capable of working in government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), education, and research. Here are some career options available for them:

Average salaries for Nutritionists and Dieticians

Nutritionists and dieticians earn a variety of salaries based on the responsibilities they do as well as the type of employment and expertise they have in the industry. The average salary for nutritionists and dieticians in the USA is 63,090 USD/year (Source: US News). 

Nutritionists in the UK earn 32,256 USD/year (Source: Payscale). A dietician in the UK on the other hand earns 31,201-39,801 USD/year (Source: Prospects).

In Australia, the annual average salary for a dietician is 70,254 USD/year (Source: Talent) and the average base salary for a nutritionist is 51,221 USD/year (Source: Indeed). 

Nutritionists earn 52,347 USD/year in Canada, whereas dieticians earn 74,334 USD/year per year (Source: Talent).

*Note: All prices mentioned in the USD are for reference only. Exchange rates may vary from time to time and from country to country.

Top 50 Universities in the world for Nutrition and Dietetics based on subject rankings (US World News/Shanghai/QS):

Top Universities in the USA for Nutrition and Dietetics

When it comes to higher education, international students choose to study in the USA. The quality of education, cultural variety, and job prospects are some of the reasons why the USA sees the highest number of international students every year. When it comes to nutrition and dietetics education, the USA continues to lead the pack. In the USA, full-time bachelor’s programs in nutrition sciencetypically run for four years, whereas master’s programs in nutrition scienceoften last two years. Part-time courses have varying lengths. The following is a list of the best nutrition and dietetics universities in the USA as ranked by US World News, Shanghai, and QS rankings.

Top Universities in the UK for Nutrition and Dietetics

The UK offers an excellent higher-education system and hundreds of world-class universities in nutrition and dietetics for international students. Therefore, studying in the UK is the next best choice. The UK offers a wide range of options to study bachelor’s courses in nutrition science as well as master’s courses pertaining to nutrition science. Below is a list of top universities in the UK that specialize in nutrition and dietetics courses.  

Top Universities in Canada for Nutrition and Dietetics

Studying in Canada is a wonderful choice for international students because of its high quality of life, economic independence, and educational opportunities. It offers handsome salaries to nutritionists (52,347 USD/year) and dieticians (74,334 USD/year per), therefore the scope of these fields is high in Canada. Typically, the demand for undergraduate nutrition science courses in Canada is on the lower side, but the demand is high for postgraduate programs in nutrition science as they pay more. Below is the list of some top universities in Canada for nutrition science as ranked by top-ranking agencies. 

*Note: All prices mentioned in the USD are for reference only. Exchange rates may vary from time to time and from country to country.

Top Universities in Australia for Nutrition and Dietetics

Many overseas students prefer studying in Australia as it offers higher minimum wages than the rest of the countries. Here is a list of top-ranked Australian universities offering bachelor’s courses in nutrition scienceas well as master’s courses in nutrition science. 

Top Universities in the Netherlands for Nutrition and Dietetics

The Netherlands is one of the most popular countries in Europe for international students. In comparison to other European countries, it boasts the largest number of international students and lower tuition fees.  Kindly go through the list of top universities in the Netherlands that offer a variety of bachelor’s programs in nutrition science and master’s level courses in nutrition science.

Academic requirements for studying Nutrition and Dietetics

Although entry requirements for studying nutrition and dietetics do vary, some general requirements for international students are summarised below:

Bachelor’s level

Undergraduate admissions criteria for a bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics typically include some combination of the following:

• A high school diploma with GPA 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0)
• Academic transcripts
• Personal statement 
• Letter of recommendation
• Valid passport
• English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL (generally above 90) or IELTS (generally above 6.0)

Master’s level

Similarly, admissions criteria for master’s degrees in nutrition and dietetics typically include a mix of the following:

• A bachelor’s degree in nutrition, dietetics or relevant field with GPA 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0)
• Academic transcripts
• Personal statement 
• Letters of recommendation
• Valid passport
• Work and/or research experiences
• English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL (generally above 90) or IELTS (generally above 6.0)

Steps to become a Registered Dietician (RD)

Each country has its regulatory agency that makes rules and regulations for becoming a dietician. Any international student who wishes to practice as a registered dietician must comply with the requirements of these regulatory authorities. Another category of registered dieticians is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). It places a greater emphasis on the nutritional and fitness components of training. This distinction is important because while all dieticians are nutritionists, not all nutritionists are educated to diagnose and treat health problems. 

The following are the steps to becoming a (RD):

• Obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nutrition science or a similar field from an authorized university. For example, if a student wishes to study in the USA then he or she can go for the courses approved by a USA-based accreditation agency like Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
• Complete a dietetic internship under a licensed professional (approximately 1,200 hours) to gain some hands-on experience. Students can do internships either after completing a bachelor’s or a master’s degree.
• Pass the state dietetic registration exam 
• Apply for licensure in the state or country where a prospective professional intends to work, and then keep the license active through continuing education and learning.

Steps to become a Certified Nutritionist (CN)

The term “nutritionist” is not legally protected in many countries as that of a dietician and therefore tends to have fewer credentials than that of a dietician. But the titles such as certified/clinical nutritionist are protected. Here are some general guidelines for becoming a CN:

• Earn a master’s degree or doctoral degree in nutrition or a related field such as public health, biochemistry, health science, dietetics, etc.
• Have some supervised experience in the field of nutrition (1,000 hours)
• Pass the certification exam for the Certification of Nutrition Specialists (CNS) (for instance in the USA, the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists conducts the CNS exam).

In many countries, the term “nutritionist” is not regulated, and anyone with some education and experience in the field of nutrition can call oneself a nutritionist. However, a nutritionist can get a membership or certification by regulating agencies such as

• Association for Nutrition (AfN)
• Federation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (FNTP)
• Association of Naturopathic Practitioners (The ANP)
• Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT)
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)
• Naturopathic Nutrition Association (NNA)
• British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT)
• Federation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (FNTP)

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