UG, PG & OTHER COURSES - NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
Degree Course Type
Bachelors, Masters, Others
Entry Level Qualification
Class 10+2
Degree Course Duration
1 Year, 2 Year, 3 Year
Degree Course Entrance Exam
KCET
Average Course Fee
50000 - 200000
Average Salary Offered
300000 - 1200000
Course Details
The students can check the types of Nutrition and Dietetics Courses given below.
Name of the Course | Type of Course | Duration |
Certificate in Dietetics | Certificate Course | 1 year |
Diploma in Diet Assistant | Diploma Course | 1 year |
Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics | Diploma Course | 3 years |
BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics | Undergraduate Degree Course | 3 years |
BSc in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics | Undergraduate Degree Course | 3 years |
MSc in Nutrition and Dietetics | Postgraduate Degree Course | 2 years |
MSc in Clinical Nutrition | Postgraduate Degree Course | 2 years |
PGDM in Dietetics and Applied Nutrition | Postgraduate Diploma Course | 2 years |
PG Diploma in Dietetics | Postgraduate Diploma Course | 1 year |
PG Diploma in Dietetics and Public Health | Postgraduate Diploma Course | 1 year |
Course Highlights
Some of the major highlights of the Nutrition and Dietetics course are given below.
Name of the Course | Nutrition And Dietetics |
Minimum Eligibility | The candidate must have passed class 12 with a 50% minimum aggregate. |
Duration | Certificate Course 1 year Diploma Course 1 year BSc Nutrition and Dietetics 3 year MSc Nutrition and Dietetics 2 year |
Entrance Exam | LPU NEST KCET MDU CEE |
Admission Process | Merit-based: Some colleges take admission on the basis of merit obtained in the qualifying exam. Entrance based: Some colleges take admission on the basis of a national level, Institute level or state level entrance exam. |
Course Fee | 50,000 per annum (depends on institute) |
Internship | There are a lot of internship opportunities for a Nutrition And Dietetics degree candidate in India. |
Average starting salary | 6 lakhs per annum |
Career Options | Consultants Food Show Host Researcher Therapeutic Dietitian Sports Nutritionist Administrative Nutritionist Nutritional Sales Executive Nutrition Trainer |
About Course
Nutrition and Dietetics Course provides an opportunity for the students to study different areas of food nutrition and food management. The students who want to pursue a nutrition and dietetics course can look for the colleges that are offering Nutrition and Dietetics courses. There are different ways through which students can learn about nutrition and dietetics courses. Apart from BSc and MSc degrees in the relevant field, the students can also opt for a certificate or diploma in nutrition and dietetics. The choice of course also depends on the nutrition and dietetics fee structure. Nutrition and Dietetics fees vary from institute to institute depending upon the course they opt for. Nutrition and Dietetics fee structures of government nutrition and dietetics colleges are lesser than the private nutrition and dietetics colleges that offer BSc or MSc courses.
Why Choose Course And Required Skills
Nutrition and Dietetics course is a specialized course and only those students should opt for this course who are genuinely interested in understanding the nuances of the food processing industry. The students must have basic knowledge about the relevant industry. The students who want to pursue this course must possess the below qualities.
1. The candidates must be ready to do a lot of research and analyze the data in the relevant field.
2. The students must have a keen interest in nutrition and dietary supplements and should be able to guide the people about the same.
3. The candidates must be physically and mentally fit so that they are able to instill faith in others to maintain a healthy life.
When Should You Do a Nutrition and Dietetics Course?
Nutrition and dietetics course deals with several aspects and are offered at multiple levels. As there are different levels of courses available for learning nutrition and dietetics course, it is difficult to define a particular time frame for doing this course. However, the students must keep the following points in mind if they wish to do any course related to nutrition and dietetics.
1. The candidates can do a certificate or a diploma course in nutrition and dietetics after completing their class XII examination from a recognized board.
2. BSc Nutrition and Dietetics courses can be done by the candidates if they have completed their intermediate examination from a recognized board with a good percentage of marks. Admission to this course can be taken on the basis of merit or through some of the entrance examinations conducted at the undergraduate level.
3. MSc Nutrition can be done by the students if they have completed their graduation in BSc Nutrition or a similar related course.
4. The candidates should do this course only if they are genuinely interested in nutrition and dietetics and want to further research in this field.
Required Skills
The students who are willing to pursue this must possess a lot of skills to gain the maximum from the course. Apart from the course syllabus, the students must have the below-mentioned skills in order to get jobs from the recruiters.
Communication Skills
Research Skills
Patience
Interest in Food Preparation
Health Management Skills
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria for Nutrition and Dietetics for all courses available are mentioned below.
Certificate, Undergraduate Diploma and Degree Courses
1. Candidates can apply for undergraduate diploma, degree and certificates courses after passing class 12 board exams.
2. Admission to 3-year diploma programmes offered by some government institutes is done on the basis of state level entrance exam.
3. Admission to certificate and short-term diploma programmes is done directly after candidates have passed 10+2 exams.
4. For BSc programmes, it is essential for students to study Physics, Chemistry, Biology till class 12.
Post Graduate Degree Courses
1. Candidates who have pursued BSc in this field with at least 45% marks can apply for MSc in Nutrition and Dietetics.
2. Admission to this programme is done on the basis of entrance exams. Some of the reputed institutes also conduct personal interviews to shortlist candidates for these programmes.
3. Direct admission without entrance exams and personal interviews are also possible at some institutes.
Post Graduate Diploma Courses
1. Aspiring candidates can apply for PG diploma programmes after completing their graduation in Nutrition and Dietetics.
2. Some of the institutes also offer this programme to candidates who have pursued diploma courses in Nutrition and Dietetics.
Entrance Exams Details
Some of the entrance examination conducted for taking Nutrition and Dietetics admission are mention below which students can check and prepare for the same accordingly.
LPU NEST- Lovely Professional University conducts National Entrance and Scholarship Test annually for admission to different courses at undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered by the university.
CUCET- CUCET is a national level entrance examination conducted annually by Chandigarh University. CUCET stands for Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test. The examination is conducted to provide admission to eligible students in different undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
KCET- KCET stands for Karnataka Common Entrance Test which is conducted annually by Karnataka Examination Authority. KCET provides admission to different courses including nutrition and dietetics in different colleges and universities that comes under Karnataka Common Entrance Test.
MDU CEE- MDU CEE entrance exam is conducted by Maharshi Dayanand University.
Degree Course Syllabus
First Year Nutrition and Dietetics Syllabus
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
Introduction to Food and Nutrition | Maternal and Child Care |
Food and Nutrition | Personal Development |
Communication Skill | Nutritional Biochemistry |
Human Physiology | Public Health and Nutrition |
Food Chemistry | Human Nutrition |
Computer Fundamental | - |
Second Year Nutrition and Dietetics Syllabus
Semester 3 | Semester 4 |
Food Microbiology | Food preservation |
Industrial management and Facility Planning | Basics of Bakery and Confectionary |
Food Quality and Analysis | Food Science |
Family Meal Planning | - |
Third Year Nutrition and Dietetics Syllabus
Semester 5 | Semester 6 |
Dietetics 1 | Food Service Management |
Ethics and Environment | Food Biotechnology |
Food Packaging and Marketing Management | Dietetics 2 |
Diet and Patient Councelling | Internship |
Top Colleges
The popularity and demand for food nutrition and dietetics have increased in the last few years and many popular and reputed colleges have started offering this course because of job opportunities after pursuing a BSc and MSc in nutrition and dietetics. Nutrition and Dietetics fees are different for all the colleges. The students can check the top Nutrition and Dietetics colleges mentioned below.
Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi
Quantum University, Roorkee
University of Kashmir, Srinagar
Mount Carmel College, Bangalore
Lady Irwin College, New Delhi
Banasthali University, Jaipur
Shoolini University, Himachal Pradesh
Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar
Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurgaon
Chandigarh University
Nutrition and Dietetics Top Private Colleges
The students who have completed their class XII examination from a recognized board can be admission to an undergraduate course in nutrition and dietetics in some of the top private colleges in India. The list of top private colleges for nutrition and dietetics is mentioned below.
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Christian Medical College, Vellore
Mount Carmel College, Bangalore
Lovely Professional University, Punjab
Women’s Christian College, Chennai
Isabella Thoburn Degree College, Lucknow
Nutrition and Dietetics Best Government Colleges
There is no fixed entrance test for taking admission to nutrition and dietetics courses in India. Most of the colleges take admission on the basis of merit and some colleges and universities also conduct entrance tests for taking admission to nutrition and dietetics courses In India. Nutrition and Dietetics course fee is less in government colleges as compared to private colleges. The list of top government nutrition and dietetics colleges in India is mentioned below.
Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi
Daulat Ram College, New Delhi
University of Rajasthan
Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana
Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University
Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj, Nagpur
IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University)
University of Mumbai
Course Fees
The average fee for Nutrition & Dietetics is INR 50,000 per year.
Top Recruiters And Salary
Some of the top recruiters in this field are mentioned below.
Cadbury
Nestle
Unilever
GlaxoSmithKline
Novartis
Eli Lilly
Food & Nutrition Board (FNB)
FNB, Ministry of Women and Child Development

Nutrition and Dietetics Job Roles and Salary
Nutrition and Dietetics course is gaining popularity as it offer multiple job profile in different organization. The students can choose job profile as per their interest and qualification. The salary structure also varies from profile to profile depending upon the job description they get in the respective organization. Some of the top profile after BSc and MSc nutrition and dietetics course is mentioned below.
Dietician- The average salary of dietician in the current scenario ranges from 3-4 lakhs per annum. The dieticians who are senior and expert in their area are hired by corporate hospitals and their salary can go as high as 10-12 lakhs per annum.
Consultant Dietician- The consultant dieticians are hired by organizations and corporates. Their salary structures are better and depend on the experience one has in the relevant field. The average salary structure ranges from 4-5 lakhs per annum.
Nutritionist- A nutritionist salary is getting better with time as the demand is increasing in the current scenario. The salary structure depends on the organization where they are working. On an average, their salary ranges from 3-4 lakhs initially but with experience they might get 7-8 lakhs per annum.
Food Inspector- They are involved in checking the quality standards of different food products which are sold in the market. The average salary structure of food inspector is 4- lakhs per annum.
Course Scope And Career Options
Nutrition and Dietetics course is a career-oriented profile and students get placed in multiple organizations after completing BSc courses. The students enhance their skills by doing MSc course in nutrition and dietetics course. There are many organizations that deal exclusively with the field of nutrition and dietetics and provide career opportunities in the areas such as government and private hospitals, private health organizations, sports organizations, celebrity management organization, research centres, etc. Most of these organizations look for skilled nutritionists and dieticians for their respective department.
There are different profiles and career options available to the students who have completed their course in nutrition and dietetics stream. Some of the important profiles that the students can opt for after doing the course are mentioned below.
Dietician- Dieticians play a crucial role in speedy recovery of the patients. They provide dietary charts to the patients before and after operation. Dieticians are required in every field these days because of fast food habits that people have developed over a period of time. They provide nutritional care not only to patients but also to normal people who seek their support in maintaining their health. They are also hired by celebrities to maintain their diet chart and keep them in shape.
Consultant Dietician- A consultant dietician is a healthcare professional who is hired by individuals or celebrities for different health purposes such as maintaining diet chart, weight loss program by working on the eating habits, cholesterol reduction, and other health related problems. Most of these healthcare organizations refer their patients to different consultant dieticians. A consultant dietician along with their contract with private healthcare facilities can also do their own practice.
Management Dietician – The different kind of food programs are managed and planned by professionals known as management dietician. They work for schools, hospitals, prisons, cafeterias, etc. They are responsible for supervising the functioning of kitchen staff and other dieticians.
Nutritionist-A nutritionist takes care of food habits of individuals. They control the dietary supplements by guiding the appropriate quantities of different supplements require by the body. They also guide about food and eating habits that affect your health and may cause health problems. They are also responsible for educating individuals on nutritional values.
Nutrition and Dietetics Job Prospects
With increasing urbanization and medical problems amongst working individuals rising, a need for proper nutrition is dire. Dietitians are gaining a lot of importance amongst the urban crowd as the young generation of India is realizing the importance of a healthy diet and value of getting proper nutrients.
Following are some of the profiles that nutritionists and dietitians can seek:
Consultants
Food Show Host
Researcher
Therapeutic Dietitian
Sports Nutritionist
Administrative Nutritionist
Nutritional Sales Executive
Admission Process
Nutrition and Dietetics admission processes in different colleges and universities are done through merit based and entrance examination. Nutrition and Dietetics admission process differs from college to college. All those institutes that offer admission on the basis of merit consider the marks obtained by the students in their class XII if they applying for BSc in admission. If a student is seeking Nutrition and Dietetics admission at the masters level for post-graduation degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, then the marks obtained by them in their graduation is taken into consideration. In case of entrance based examination process for taking Nutrition and Dietetics admission in some of the colleges and universities, the students must meet the cut off marks as released by the examination conducting authority.
If the students have qualified in the entrance examination, then they will have to go through the process of counseling. In certain colleges and universities, the students also have to go through the process of personal interview and group discussion. The students who seek to take admission in certificate and diploma courses must possess the relevant skill and interest to do a course in nutrition and dietetics. Most of the students after class XII prefer to do certificate course in nutrition and dietetics to make them more job oriented.