Are you interested in learning how eating habits influence our lifestyles? Do you want help vegetarians and vegans maintain their eating patterns and their health? Have you ever wanted to know whether fad diets are really worth the time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider majoring in foods, nutrition and wellness studies in college! Foods, nutrition, and wellness studies students learn how food directly affects our physical health.
Education
According to the College Board, the foods, nutrition and wellness studies major usually leads to a bachelor’s degree. Taking classes like AP Biology, health science and family and consumer studies in high school will help prepare you for your college program. At college, you will most likely take classes including dietetics, culinary arts, and nutritional science.
What to know before you apply
Before you set your heart on one college, decide whether you want a broad education or a concentrated one, like studying only dietetics. Make sure the programs you apply to match up exactly with what you want to learn about. Also, find out what other graduates are doing with their degree. Do they work at fitness centers, hospitals or public health offices? Knowing what they are up to will help you figure out if this field of study is right for you. Finally, physiology makes up a large part of this major. You’ll be learning that fruits and vegetables are better for the body, but you will also be learning the scientific reason for that. Make sure you are up to college science classes.
Colleges offering a related field of study
• New York Chiropractic College: Seneca Falls, N.Y.
• Oklahoma Baptist University: Shawnee, Okla.
• Regis College: Weston, Mass.
• Stephen F. Austin State University: Nacogdoches, Texas
Salary
A foods, nutrition and wellness studies degree will prepare you for positions in food service management, culinary arts, and dietetics and nutrition. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food service managers earned an average of $52,620 per year in 2011, while chefs earned $46,600. Dietitians and nutritionists earned an average of $55,460 in 2011.
> For more information about careers check out NextStepU.com!
