Official course descriptions taken from the UNC Course Catalog are below.
Additional courses may be added on a semester basis at the discretion of the department. See the UNC Registrar’s Directory of Classes page for more information.
NUTRITION (NUTR)
Additional Resources
Courses
Introduction to food studies covering a variety of topics including how food was consumed over history, land use and aquaculture, food in the arts, food and culture in the American South, food politics, and nutrition science. Previously offered as ANTH 175.
Relationships of human nutrition to health and disease. Integration of biology, chemistry, and social sciences as related to human function. Nutrient composition of foods and safety of the food supply.
Examines the intersection of local foods and public health with respect to nutrition and environmental, economic, and community issues. Students explore impacts and potential solutions of the increasingly industrialized and centralized food system, while assisting community partners to increase opportunities for farmers, local food marketers, distributors, and entrepreneurs.
This course will provide an overview of global food systems drivers, elements, and activities; key players; key problems, and potential solutions. Students will learn about challenges facing food systems across the globe, and learn to critically evaluate the design, measurement, and impact of programs, policies, and interventions addressing these challenges. Students will also learn about methods to assess food systems activities and impacts.
Permission of the instructor. For undergraduates enrolled in the department's baccalaureate degree program. Directed readings or laboratory study on a selected topic. May be taken more than once for credit.
Function of the human body focusing on chemical properties, function, and metabolism of nutrients. Biochemistry of nutrients with a limited focus on medical aspects of nutrient metabolism. For advanced undergraduates and graduate students needing to enhance background prior to NUTR 600.
This course focuses on food and nutrition policy on a federal, state, and local level. Topics covered include policy formation, interest/consumer advocacy groups, key legislation, how research informs policy, equity and diversity, global food policy issues, sustainability and health, advocacy, and current public health nutrition policy hot topics and examples.
This course is designed to introduce students to clinical trials in nutrition, including experimental designs, nutrition intervention methods, and skills necessary to critically analyze, describe, and evaluate feeding and behavioral nutrition interventions. The course covers concepts, skills and methods related to nutrition interventions, with an emphasis on theory-based interventions at the individual, community, or environmental levels to improve health and nutrition outcomes.
Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing integration of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids in whole-body metabolism; regulation of energy expenditure, food intake, metabolic adaptations, and gene expression; and macronutrient-related diseases (atherosclerosis, obesity).
This course covers nutrition during the life cycle. Units include women during preconception, pregnancy, and lactation; infancy; childhood; adolescence; and older adults (65+). Nutrient and energy needs, assessment of nutritional status, and cultural and socioeconomic barriers are discussed for each phase.
Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing metabolism of vitamins and minerals including antioxidant protection, immune function, nutrient control of gene expression, and disease states induced by deficiencies (e.g., iron-deficient anemia).
Course teaches the future nutrition professional the art and science of communicating with individuals, groups, and the public. Students will enhance cultural awareness and frame nutrition messages for mass media including social media.
This course will focus on the laboratory mouse as a model organism to learn fundamental genetic concepts and understand how state-of-the-art experimental approaches are being used to elucidate gene function and the genetic architecture of biological traits.
This is a food service management practicum that applies the basic concepts of institutional food service systems. Two laboratory hours per week.
This is an honors course for research for the first semester of senior year, to be followed by NUTR 692H in the second semester. NUTR 691H/692H is a two-course sequence. Enrollment is only for students approved to conduct a senior honors thesis project.
Permission of the instructor. Directed readings or laboratory study of a selected topic. Requires a written proposal to be submitted to and approved by the B.S.P.H. Committee and faculty research director. A written report is required. May be taken more than once for credit. Six laboratory hours per week.
Permission of the instructor. Individual arrangements with faculty for bachelor and master students to participate in ongoing research.
Permission of the instructor. Reading and tutorial guidance in special areas of nutrition.
This course provides support for the practicum process and trains students on how to ethically, meaningfully, and professionally engage and prepare for practicum placements. Students will learn how to work within their organization and their stakeholders through building skills in leadership and interprofessional practice. Additionally, students will sharpen their clinical skills in preparation for their hospital-based experience and include mandatory on-boarding requirements.
Fundamental scientific premises of human nutrition. This course covers the basic concepts of macro and micronutrients, food sources, and the evidence-based requirements for a healthy diet. This course integrates nutritional needs of populations, with an emphasis on nutrition-related diseases, including over and undernutrition.
This course covers nutrition during the life cycle. Units include women during preconception, pregnancy, and lactation; infancy; childhood; adolescence; and older adults (65+). Nutrient and energy needs, assessment of nutritional status, and cultural and socioeconomic barriers are discussed for each phase.
This course teaches the future nutrition professional the art and science of communicating with individuals, groups, and the public. Students will enhance cultural awareness, practice counseling individuals and facilitating groups, and frame nutrition messages for mass media including social media.
This course teaches the future nutrition professional the art and science of communicating with individuals, groups, and the public. Students will explore the role of nutrition in different cultures and how to frame nutrition messages for mass media including social media. The course will also focus on nutrition justice and nutritional health equity.
Introduction to biochemistry and functions of macro- and micro-nutrients with a limited focus on medical aspects of nutrient deficiencies and metabolism. Focus on chemical structures, chemical properties, metabolism, and functions of macro- and micro-nutrients.
A lecture and skills course where students practice skills used in nutrition therapy and the Nutrition Care Process (such as calculating caloric intake and modifying intake, calculating diabetic diets, calculating sodium content of intakes, etc.) under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian.
The changing landscape of nutritional science research has increased the demand of early-career investigators to be more transdisciplinary, perform highly rigorous research, and be prepared for less-traditional research positions. With a framework of performing reproducible research, this course introduces students to the concepts and skills to perform and understand rigorous nutrition research. The course also covers aspects of research ethics, effective use of UNC research resources, work-life balance and research innovation. Restricted to first year MS students and senior BSPH Honors students.
This course provides graduate students with competencies to assess factors that influence the nutritional status of the population; identify community resources to promote and support nutrition and health; conduct community assets and needs assessments; and design, implement, and evaluate public health nutrition programs.
Provides a broad overview of international nutrition research issues, programs, and policies. Topics will include micronutrient deficiencies, child feeding and growth, determinants of under- and over-nutrition, chronic disease and nutrition, food fortification and supplementation, and nutrition intervention programs and policy.
Course will explore the social, historical, and political context of how individuals make decisions about what to eat; how this context shapes food policy; and how these policies in turn shape individual behavior, by employing a comparative framework over three countries (China, Mexico, and the U.S.).
This special topics seminar examines the impact and potential of mobile health interventions and apps for health behavior change. The overall course objective is to understand state of the science and future potential to leverage mobile phones and wearable technologies in innovative and powerful behavior change interventions to improve health. The course considers adaptation of eHealth interventions for mobile delivery, unique opportunities with mHealth, data collection via mobile devices and sensors, and using the data.
Introduction to foods, chemical and physical properties, nutritional composition, food safety, production, and regulation.
Basic culinary techniques. Classes illustrate biochemical processes and food properties covered in lecture. Introduction to new foods and food ideas. Critical evaluation of recipes. Laboratory fee required. Three laboratory hours per week.
Basic culinary techniques. Classes illustrate biochemical processes and food properties covered in lecture. Introduction to new foods and food ideas. Critical evaluation of recipes. Laboratory fee required. Three laboratory hours per week.
This course introduces basic methods of dietary assessment, reviews various topics in nutrition epidemiology, and teaches the skills needed for critical evaluation of the nutritional epidemiologic literature.
This course is designed to introduce students to nutrition interventions and help students develop knowledge and skills necessary to critically analyze, describe, and evaluate behavioral nutrition interventions. The course covers concepts, skills and methods related to nutrition interventions, with an emphasis on theory-based interventions at the individual, community, or environmental levels to improve health and nutrition outcomes.
Permission of the instructor. Individual arrangements with faculty for a graduate student to serve as a teaching assistant for a nutrition course.
This course focuses on nutrition policy on a federal, state, and local level. Topics covered include policy formation, interest/consumer advocacy groups, key legislation, how research informs policy, equity and diversity, global food policy issues, sustainability and health, advocacy, and current public health nutrition policy examples. Permission of the instructor for undergraduates.
This core seminar addresses biology, genetics, epidemiology, intervention and policy strategies relevant for addressing global cardiometabolic disease, as well as, professional development and responsible conduct of research in global settings.
This course provides an overview of major issues in physical activity measurements, population distribution, correlates, impacts (physically and economically), and public health recommendations. Interventions, including relevant theories, will be reviewed. Three lecture hours per week.
Provides a broad survey of obesity research including measurement issues, biological, social and economic etiologies, health and economic consequences, and prevention and treatment of obesity.
This course introduces basic methods of dietary assessment, reviews various topics in nutrition epidemiology, and teaches the skills needed for critical evaluation of the nutritional epidemiologic literature.
Examines epidemiology research on the causes, consequences, and prevention of obesity. Emphasis on methodological issues pertinent to obesity research.
This course covers key concepts in nutritional epidemiology, including dietary assessment and analytic approaches. The goal is to teach and reinforce the application of conceptual understanding to the critical evaluation of nutritional epidemiology literature. Comfort with basic epidemiologic and biostatistical concepts and methods is assumed.
Skills and techniques to study how dietary exposures, physical activity, and anthropometric status relate to disease outcomes. Focus is hands-on data analysis using STATA, and interpretation of results from statistical analysis.
A problem-based approach to examine current topics in biochemistry relevant to nutrition and metabolism. Students interpret data and design experiments related to recent advances in nutritional biochemistry.
Permission of the instructor. Course focuses on nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics with an emphasis on the genetic and dietary interactions predisposing one to increased risk of disease.
Focuses on the molecular processes involving B and D-group vitamins, mechanisms of pathologies caused by their deficiency, as well as the latest studies on nutritional requirements, population consumption levels, and use of the vitamins for treatment and prevention of human disease.
The course will cover the biology of cancer as well as the metabolic and physiological functions of nutritional factors and how they impact the cancer process. The course will focus on aspects of current research that are relevant to links between nutritional factors, with emphasis on mechanism-based cancer prevention approaches.
Permission of the instructor. For doctoral students prepared with Ph.D. aims/focus. Focuses on key elements that contribute to a successful career as a scientific researcher. These include scientific presentations, NIH proposal grant writing, evaluating published manuscripts, sources of funding, peer review, use of animals and humans in research, and scientific ethics.
The changing landscape of nutritional science research has increased the demand of early-career investigators to be more transdisciplinary, perform highly rigorous research, and be prepared for less-traditional research positions. With a framework of performing reproducible research, this course introduces students to the concepts and skills to perform and understand rigorous nutrition research. The course also covers aspects of research ethics, effective use of UNC research resources, work-life balance and research innovation.
Individual arrangements with faculty for doctoral students to participate in ongoing research.
Two laboratory or research group rotations supervised by nutritional biochemistry faculty. Provides a breadth of research experience for students prior to selecting dissertation adviser. Up to six laboratory hours per week.