A nutritionist/dietitian takes classes that are heavy in the sciences during the first two years of college. These courses include biology, microbiology, chemistry, biochemistry and physiology. Many colleges, such as California's Loma Linda University, require students to also take humanities courses, such as literature, history and foreign languages, in addition to English composition.
Loma Linda, affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, has a School of Nutrition that offers specialties in medical nutrition therapy and public health nutrition. According to the university's website, upperclass students who have been admitted to the School of Nutrition will take courses in food selection and presentation, clinical nutrition, infectious diseases, quantity food purchasing, food science and nutrition counseling. Students also are required to do a 1,250-hour internship that includes clinical, community and administrative experience.
Some nutritionist/dietitians specialize in nutrition for the young or the old. As people in these age groups have different nutritional needs, the courses students take at colleges will be different from the individual who wants to work with the general public. For example, the University of Mississippi's nutrition program specializes in the needs of children and adolescents in its School of Nutrition and Hospitality Management. Besides the basic courses, the university guides upperclassmen in taking courses in food preparation, human development over our lifespan, dietetics and food purchasing.
Some nutritionist/dietitians spend their working careers in research, studying the breakdown of foods and how they're utilized in our bodies. These specialists need different courses from more generalized nutritionists. Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore notes on its website that "nutrition affects virtually every public health problem." The university offers a master's degree in health science with a specialty for registered dietitians. Students are required to take courses in biochemistry and metabolism, nutrition and health, research methods and professional skills. Courses include principles of human nutrition; international nutrition; food, technology and health; an analysis of popular diets, and nutrition in disease prevention and treatment.