Nutrition & Food Science - CSU, Chico

Graduate Program within the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

There are two options to the MS degree in Nutritional Science, an option in General Nutritional Science which is designed to increase competence in the science of nutrition and an option in Nutrition Education which is designed to facilitate nutrition professionals in communicating information and promote optimal health and nutritional status.

Mission and Goals

The mission of the graduate program in Nutritional Science at California State University, Chico is to provide educational experiences for students to increase their expertise in the science of nutrition and nutrition education. Students gain confidence in conducting and analyzing research. The program will prepare students to become competent, evidence-based nutrition professionals and practitioners.

The goals of the MS program are to:

Ensure that upon graduation, students use evidence-based practice in their chosen profession. Evidence-based practice is defined by the American Dietetic Association as “the use of systematically reviewed scientific evidence in making food and nutrition practice decisions by integrating best available evidence with professional expertise and client values to improve outcomes.”
Provide pre-professional practice opportunities that benefit students while serving the North State community.
Graduate students who are well prepared and secure nutrition-related employment in healthcare, state, or federally funded programs, industry, or education.
Use program resources effectively and efficiently while maintaining quality.

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Key indicators of the program's quality include

90% or more of students who start the program complete it.
80% or more of students who apply to dietetic internship (DI) programs, to become Registered Dietitians (RDs), are accepted.
90% or more of students completing a DI program pass the national registration examination for RDs.
80% or more of students applying for doctoral programs are accepted.
75% or more of students secure nutrition-related employment in healthcare, state or federally funded programs, industry, or education.
Graduates of the program will indicate they are satisfied with the MS program in 80% of the items listed on the alumni survey.
80% or more of graduates of the program will indicate that the MS program prepared them for their first career-related position on the alumni survey and 80% indicate the pre-professional practice opportunity they had was beneficial.
Measures of program resources will be monitored such as student to faculty ratio, offering a minimum of 2 graduate courses per semester, release time for the coordinator and faculty who chair culminating activities, availability of space and equipment, and financial support for students

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How are we doing?

Forty MS degrees have been awarded since spring 2000. Students take an average of six semesters to complete their degrees.
The attrition rate is very low. Only two students have dropped out of the program in the last five years.
Twenty-nine papers have been accepted for presentation at state and national meetings, including the annual meetings of the California Dietetic Association and the American Dietetic Association, between 2001 and spring of 2005.
About 75 percent of our graduates complete a dietetic internship either here at CSU, Chico or at another internship program and go on to become registered dietitians (RDs); the other 25 percent secure nutrition-related employment or go into PhD programs (two students during the previous five-year period).
The acceptance rate into dietetic internship programs is 87 percent (compared to the national average of 60 percent).
Ninety-eight percent taking the Registration Exam for Dietitians passed (compared to a national average of 75 percent).
A survey of recent graduates (last five years) indicates they are securing employment in a wide variety of settings. Some examples include community RD, clinical RD, food services supervisor, food safety education program coordinator, instructor, neonatal RD, renal RD, and manager of a fitness facility. The average full-time salary earned was $48,700.
Surveys of past graduates indicate high satisfaction with all aspects of the program.

These data are based on the program's last five-year review (2000-2005)

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Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the CSU, Chico graduate program should:

Master breadth of knowledge in key content areas of nutritional science including macronutrients, micronutrients and research methods
Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and analyze the scientific literature in a variety of areas of nutritional science
Demonstrate the ability to design and conduct an independent research project (a thesis or professional paper)
Demonstrate proficient oral and written communication skills

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