What You'll Learn
As a student in the Nutrition concentration, you will gain the skills to assess scientific evidence for nutritional guidelines and recommendations, evaluate how social, cultural, environmental and community factors affect dietary intake and nutrition-related outcomes in individuals, families and communities, demonstrate proficiency in writing evidence-based, nutrition-related professional and consumer communications using a variety of media platforms and practice in compliance with current federal regulations and state statutes related to public health nutrition programs.
This program will empower you with the knowledge and skills to achieve the following core competencies:
Assess the scientific evidence for nutritional guidelines and recommendations.
Assess dietary intake and nutrition status of individuals and populations.
Evaluate how social, cultural, environmental and community factors have an impact upon dietary intake and nutrition-related outcomes in individuals, families and communities.
Evaluate nutrition-related health promotion/disease prevention services, products, programs or interventions (including policy analysis), using appropriate evidence or data.Create an evidence-based nutrition-related professional and consumer communications
Analyze local or global food or nutrition-related policy issue.
Required Courses & Sample Plan of Study
In addition to the interdisciplinary, 14-credit Gillings MPH Core, you will take six concentration-specific courses, including food and nutrition policy, nutritional epidemiology, and nutrition communication.
NUTR 713: Nutrition Communication, Counseling and Culture
NUTR 723: Community Nutrition
NUTR 765: Nutritional Epidemiology
NUTR 805: Food and Nutrition Policy
* Students without a prior college course in Human Nutrition will also take NUTR 705: Human Nutrition (3 credits) as an elective.
Fall 2023 Nutrition Degree Requirements and Plan of Study (PDF)
Fall 2024 Nutrition Degree Requirements and Plan of Study (PDF)
Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD
Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been named one of two winners of the American Diabetes Association’s® (ADA) Pathway to Stop Diabetes® (Pathway) grants, a five-year grant to support breakthroughs in translational science, clinical science, technology, care, and potential cures in the field of diabetes.
Graduating with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in Nutrition will empower you to meet the growing demand for nutritionists in a range of professional settings where disease prevention and nutrition promotion are needed. These settings include public health nutrition programs, governmental agencies, nonprofits, public policy organizations and nutrition marketing and media companies.
Providing one-on-one, personalized nutritional counseling requires a registered dietitian (RD) license. While this concentration does not prepare you for RD licensure, it will equip you with the skills needed to offer nutritional and dietary guidance to groups of people. (If you are interested in pursuing RD licensure, explore our MPH/RD program.)
Career Opportunities
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the employment of dietitians and nutritionists will grow by 15 percent between 2016 and 2026, which is faster than the average for all occupations.1
Students fund their education through a combination of sources, including loans, fellowships and awards, assistantships and grants. Several awards and scholarships are supported by generous contributions to the School and University who value the current and future contributions of our students.
Contact: Sarah Kitchens, Funding and Awards Coordinator, sarah_kitchens@unc.edu
Looking for more flexibility?
Explore the online version of our Nutrition concentration by filling out the form below.
