Nutrition Distance Learning Course

Online nutrition courses are offered at many college and universities through their distance learning programs. These courses specifically target skills for dietitians, teachers, food service staff, and many other careers in nutrition. Graduates with certificates or degrees in nutrition counsel patients in hospitals and nursing homes, work the areas of food service management and sports nutrition and as personal chefs. Whether you need courses to maintain a professional license or certificate or wish to pursue a degree, an online nutrition course can be a convenient method of earning college credit without the scheduling problems of attending classes on campus.

Free Nutrition Courses at Harvard Medical School

The Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition offers a variety of courses that were taught in the past and recorded. They are made available free to the public in the form of webcasts. No registration is needed and credit is not offered for these courses.

Continuing Education Courses

If you need a course for continuing education credit, Nutrition Dimension offers inexpensive choices with a variety of continuing education courses. Food and Health Communications also offers courses to apply for continuing education. These courses do not apply to a degree, but are useful for continuing professional education units for maintaining certificates of accreditation or recertification.

Certificates and Associate's Degrees

Simmons School of Health Sciences offers a certificate in sports nutrition that prepares students for the American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer Exam. Nutrition classes in the areas of Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness, and Sports Nutrition Practice are combined with classes in Sports Psychology and Exercise Assessment and Prescription to qualify you in the area of Sports Nutrition. Coursework should take one to two years to complete.

The dietary manager training course from the University of Florida prepares students for a career as a certified dietary manager. Students completing the course are prepared to take the national DMA Credentialing Exam and earn certification. Graduates work in all areas of food service operations and nutrition care. Similar courses are offered by the University of North Dakota Online and Distance Education, and Barton County Community College. The classes take an average of one year to complete.

Barton County Community College also offers an associate degree in science, dietary management emphasis, which can be applied toward a bachelor of dietetics through Kansas State University.

Bachelor's Degree Programs

Bachelor's degrees programs usually take four years to complete. Some students choose to obtain an associate's degree first and then continue toward a bachelor's degree.

The University of Northern Colorado School of Human Sciences offers a bachelor of science in dietetics and a minor in nutrition. Completion of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at UNC prepares you to apply for a supervised practice program and take the exam to become a registered dietitian. Eastern Michigan University, College of Health and Human Services also offers a bachelor of science in dietetics that prepares students to become registered dietitians.

Master's Degree Programs

There are a number of master's degree programs in nutrition available through distance learning. Most are designed for students who are already credentialed as a registered dietitian.

Iowa State University in association with the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance offers a master of family and consumer sciences (MFCS) degree in dietetics. The program prepares RDs for advanced degrees in dietetics or to practice at an advanced level.

The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences offers a master of science in human nutrition. Students are not required to be registered dietitians to enroll, although certification as a RD is required to practice in most states.

References

• USDA Professional and Career Resources for Online Nutrition Courses

Resources

• Harvard Medical School Free Nutrition Courses