About the Undergraduate Dietetics Program
The B.S. in Human Nutrition and Food - Dietetics Pathway at UW blends science, health and hands-on experiences to prepare students for impactful careers in a variety of settings as a nutrition professional. As a dietetics student, you'll study how food influences wellness and disease, gain practical skills and apply your knowledge through community-based learning. Our graduates are prepared to tackle pressing nutrition concerns in the country, including food insecurity, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other nutrition-related chronic diseases.
The Dietetics Pathway program prepares students for our Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GPND), which is a required program for those who wish to take the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) exam.
While all human nutrition and food students are admitted into the dietetics pathway, they can opt out if they find the program is not a good fit.
Hands-on learning is the heart of our program. From day one, students are applying classroom knowledge in our teaching kitchen, nutrition labs and community settings. Courses like Scientific Study of Food and Experimental Foods give you the opportunity to experiment with ingredients, explore the science behind food and conduct sensory analyses and focus groups. Many of our undergraduate students also assist with faculty research or teaching.
What can you do with a dietetics degree?
While the dietetics pathway prepares you for our Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GPND), as well as the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) exam, it also lays the groundwork for students wanting to work in clinical, community and food service industries. The nutrition profession is a growing field with opportunities in hospitals, medical and community clinics, public health, sports, corporate wellness, public and private schools, food service settings and sustainable agriculture.
What makes the dietetics pathway program unique is that it is intentionally designed to prepare and funnel students into the University of Wyoming’s Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GPND) and ultimately toward becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Unlike many external graduate programs, UW’s pathway meets required accreditation standards and coursework needed for RDN exam eligibility, making it a relatively uncommon and highly streamlined option.
Here is a just a small sampling of where you could work as a dietetics student:
- Nutrition Program Managers for the VA Hospital in Los Angeles and Martinsburg (VA)
- Nutrition Coordinators for state health departments
- Research Scientists at UNC-Chapel Hill and Chobani
- Clinical Dietitians for medical facilities across the country
- Public Health Nutritionists
- Veteran’s and children’s hospitals
Many of our graduates go on to serve not only the Laramie community, but Wyoming as a whole. We encourage dietetics students to get involved with the local community to further their learning. Here are just a few local business our students and graduates have worked at:
“UW's FCSC department has one of the most supporting, tightknit and diverse departments I've experienced on campus! Everyone is so kind and uplifting and has backgrounds and expertise in a wide range of different areas.”
- Family & Consumer Sciences Graduate
