Nourishing Health. Improving Lives.
Food plays an essential role in how we grow, live and thrive. At Cal Poly, the Nutrition major combines the science of food and human health with hands-on learning to prepare you for careers in nutrition and healthcare. From your bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree and dietetic internship, you can pursue your education and professional preparation within the same department.
What You’ll Study
You’ll examine how nutrition influences health, disease prevention and wellbeing while learning to apply scientific principles to the nutritional needs of individuals and communities.
What You’ll Take Away
Graduate with a strong foundation that prepares you for opportunities in healthcare, dietetics and community wellness, with the option to continue your education through a master’s degree and dietetic internship at Cal Poly.
Find Your Path in Nutrition
Nutrition opens doors to careers that improve health and wellbeing in many different ways. Explore concentrations that connect your interests with careers in dietetics, healthcare and research, along with opportunities to advance your education through Cal Poly's blended bachelor's and master's program.
Dietetics (ACEND Accredited)
Discover how nutrition science can improve health through clinical care, community programs and food systems. Build knowledge in nutrition assessment, counseling and food service management through an accredited pathway that prepares you for the next steps toward becoming a registered dietitian or pursuing advanced study.
Nutrition and Pre-Health
Explore the connections between nutrition, human biology and health through a strong foundation in chemistry, biology and nutrition science. Develop the scientific knowledge and analytical skills to prepare for graduate study or pursue further education in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and other health professions.
Bachelor‘s and Master’s
Take your Nutrition education further through Cal Poly's blended bachelor's and master's program. Combine undergraduate and graduate study while deepening your expertise in nutrition science, conducting faculty-guided research and building advanced skills to prepare for opportunities in healthcare, public health and nutrition research.
Coursework Highlights
Explore courses that take food science from theory to practice. Through hands-on learning in food chemistry, processing, nutrition, sensory evaluation and product development, you’ll build the knowledge and skills to create safe, nutritious and innovative foods.
Class and Lab Options
Explore the science behind cooking and food preparation through hands-on culinary experiences. You’ll learn how ingredients, techniques and scientific principles work together to influence the flavor, texture and quality of the foods we prepare.
Build a broad foundation how nutrition supports health, growth and development from pregnancy through adolescence. You’ll examine nutritional needs and challenges related to fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood while exploring current issues in maternal and child nutrition.
Explore how the body breaks down and uses carbohydrates, fats and proteins to produce energy and support essential functions. You’ll examine the metabolic pathways that regulate how nutrients are processed, stored and used to support human health.
Examine how effective communication and counseling can help people make informed nutrition choices. You’ll develop skills in nutrition education, behavior change and counseling techniques while applying what you learn through hands-on community-based projects.
Explore how nutrition programs and education can improve health across communities. You’ll learn to assess community nutrition needs, develop educational programs and plan strategies that promote healthy living, support disease prevention and address public health challenges.
Discover how nutrition science is applied in clinical care. You’ll examine how diseases and medical conditions change the body’s nutritional needs while learning to assess patients and develop individualized nutrition strategies that support treatment and recovery.
Gain experience in the structure and function of the human body, from cells and tissues to the skeletal, muscular, nervous and endocrine systems. You’ll connect anatomy with physiology through hands-on laboratory study, including the examination of human cadaver specimens.
Discover how microorganisms shape human health and our environment. You’ll explore microbial growth, genetics, metabolism and the ways microbes interact with the human body while learning how scientists study and control these microscopic organisms.
Experience Food Science
Build your community and your career through clubs, research and experiences that connect you to the science, food and industry professionals who are shaping the future of food science.
Find Your People
Find your people in the Nutrition Club and experience life as a mustang together through social events, volunteer opportunities and hands-on learning experiences in the food and nutrition industry.
Learn about internships, job opportunities, what is going on in the field, make networking connections and lifelong friends.
Hands-On Learning Labs
Put nutrition science into practice through hands-on learning in specialized laboratories and research facilities. Explore food analysis, human physiology and nutrition assessment while building practical skills to understand how nutrition influences health and wellbeing.
Check out Your New Learning
Dietetic Internship
Take the next step toward becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist through Cal Poly's Dietetic Internship. Build on your academic knowledge through supervised practice in clinical nutrition, community health and food service management while developing the professional skills to prepare for a career in dietetics.
Explore Nutrition
Discover the major, hands-on facilities and experiences that can help you build a future in Nutrition.