Food is Medicine, Minor

Program Overview

This minor addresses the critical need for specialized knowledge in using food-based interventions alongside typical health protective practices. This will help prepare undergraduates for careers in nutrition, food policy, public health, and professional healthcare. Graduates will gain expertise needed to contribute to innovations in health and wellness, advocate for food-based health solutions, and support diverse populations in achieving better health through their understanding of different human diets and dietary components. This will enhance students' competitiveness in numerous fields including medicine, community health, and public health government agencies.

Nutrition majors are not eligible for this minor.

Non-Nutrition majors may only take one minor offered by the Department of Nutrition.

Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the various types of food and nutrition anchored strategies in the Food is Medicine framework.
  • Recognize that public policy has shifted to incorporate the importance of nutrition security. This is defined as the incorporation of food based strategies into population and system health approaches.
  • Identify the synergy between food and nutrition education, development of simple culinary skills, cultural sensitivity in meal planning and positive behavior changes in dietary patterns.
  • Describe foundational concepts in nutrition and food education to promote the development of healthy dietary patterns.

Undergraduate Policies

For undergraduate policies and procedures, please review the Undergraduate Academics section of the General Bulletin.

Program Requirements

Required Courses:
NTRN 201Nutrition3
NTRN 341Food as Medicine: How What We Eat Influences How We Feel, Think, and Our Health Status3
NTRN 343Dietary Patterns3
Choose one of the following:1
Case Cooks: Ethnic Eats
Case Cooks: Healthy Lifestyles
Choose two of the following:6
Understanding Plant-Based Diets in Health and Disease
Child Nutrition, Development and Health
Community Nutrition
Food Service Systems Management
Human Nutrition I: Energy, Protein, Minerals
Undergraduate Research
Total Credit Hours16