BS in Nutrition and Food Sciences

At least 90% of students will complete a nutrition-related practicum or externship experience that serves the Northern California community prior to program completion.

• Over the last 5 years, 91% of students in the options in food and nutrition communication (FNC) and nutrition management (NM) completed a nutrition-related practicum or externship experience that servers the Northern California community.
• Over the last 7 years, 100% of students in the option in general dietetics completed a nutrition-related practicum or externship experience that servers the Northern California community.

At least 70% of students will report on their exit survey that they participated in a pre-professional organization (e.g. student nutrition clubs, Center for Healthy Communities, FitU, California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and other relevant professional organizations).

• Over the last 5 years, 81% of students in the options in FNC and NM reported participating in a pre-professional organization.
• Over the last 7 years, 98% of students in the option in general dietetics reported participating in a pre-professional organization.

The Department has two very active student organizations, the Nutrition and Food Science Association and Embodied. For more information on these students clubs, please visit this link.

At least 30% of the BS/DPD students will identify with a race/ethnicity or gender that is often underrepresented in the field of nutrition and dietetics.

• Over the last 5 years, 42% of students that graduated in the options in FNC or NM identified as ethnic/race or gender minorities.
• Over the last 7 years, 30% of students in the option in general dietetics identified as ethnic/race or gender minorities.

Over a five-year period, at least 60% of BS/DPD graduates will obtain employment in nutrition, dietetics or related field within 12-24 months of their graduation date.

• Alumni data for 2011-2015, indicate that of the 31 graduates in the option in NM, 68% obtained employment in nutrition or related field (40% work as foodservice directors or in foodservice, 9% work as food scientists or for the food industry, 19% work in healthcare); 13% in other positions; and 19% unknown.
• Alumni data for 2011-2015, indicate that of the 86 graduates in the option in FNC, 60% work in nutrition or a related field (47% work as nutrition educators or other health-related positions (e.g., WIC, diet aide, RN, wellness or fitness industry), 13% work for the food industry or in foodservice); 20% in other positions and 20% unknown.
• Alumni data for 2011-2015 indicate that of the 112 graduates in the option in general dietetics, 63% are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), 22% work in other nutrition-related jobs (diet tech or dietary supervisor, nutrition education specialist, wellness industry or other allied health professional, or the food industry), 10% are in graduate programs, 2% in other positions, and 3% unknown.

The Department makes tremendous effort to stay in contact with our alumni. Students are asked to join the NFSC alumni Facebook page(opens in new window)  their last semester before graduation. The facebook page provides a mechanism to administer alumni surveys and as a way to post job announcements for our students. In addition, every fall we create an alumni newsletter (PDF)  that highlights some of the amazing accomplishments of our students.

Additional objectives for students in the BS program in Nutrition and Food Sciences option in General Dietetics (DPD program):

Over a five-year period, at least 80% of the students graduating from a bachelor-level DPD program will complete program requirements within six years, or 150% of time for completion.

• 94% of students completed the program requirements within 6 years.

Over a five-year period, the pass rate for DPD graduates taking the registration examination for the first time will be at least 80%.

• 93% of students passed the registration examination the first time they took it (or within a year of completing their internship).

Over a five-year period, at least 60% of DPD graduates will apply to supervised practice programs within 12 months of graduation.

• This objective was consistently met each year, with the exception of the 2010-2011 school year.

Over a five-year period, at least 60% of those applying to supervised practice programs will be accepted within 12 months of graduation.

• 74% of students were accepted into a supervised practice program within 12 months of graduation.

Over a five-year period, 75% or more of dietetic internship (DI) directors will indicate that the DPD graduate was prepared or very prepared in all of the content areas when surveyed within 12-24 months of the graduation date.

• Over a 6-year period, on average, 86% percent of DI Directors indicated that DPD graduates from CSU Chico were well prepared in all content and skill areas.