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Nutrition

Do you want to help people be healthier — whether to prevent or manage disease or maximize their performance — by improving their diet? Whatever your passion, the University of Central Missouri has a Nutrition program for you. Get the education and skills you need at UCM to promote health and wellness in a variety of settings. We offer Nutrition minors that enhance many areas of undergraduate study and master’s degree programs that meet your exact career goals as well as guidelines from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).

UCM offers two pathways to a career in nutrition:

  • Clinical Nutrition: Do you want to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN)? UCM’s Future Education Model graduate program (FEM/GP) meets new requirements to achieve your goal. Pair your bachelor’s degree with this Nutrition minor to qualify to apply.
  • Sport Nutrition: If you wish to help athletes and others perform at optimum levels through nutrition, this is the option for you. Current RDNs can also meet ACEND requirements for continued practice via this path.

 

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Contact

Meera Penumetcha, Ph.D., RDN
Associate Professor and Nutrition Program Director
Morrow 130
Warrensburg, MO
Tel: 660-543-8904 | penumetcha@ucmo.edu

College of Health, Science and Technology

Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology and Health

Future Education Model in Nutrition and Dietetics

 

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Named a top U.S. nutrition program

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15:1 student-to-faculty ratio

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Access to modern labs

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Automatic Clinical Nutrition scholarship

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Online and hybrid master’s degrees

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Expert faculty mentorship for your goals

Find your Nutrition future at UCM

As a UCM Nutrition student, whether undergraduate or graduate, you’ll get a first-rate education through:

  • Use of state-of-the-art labs: Whether completing one of our minors or master’s programs, you’ll get a hands-on education in our fully equipped foods lab. You can also access our human performance lab for research. Nutrition graduate students will build clinical skills in our simulation lab at our picturesque Missouri Innovation Campus, located in Lee’s Summit and just 30 minutes from Kansas City.
  • Expert and caring faculty support: UCM Nutrition faculty have experience as educators and researchers and as clinical dietitians, and will guide you on the best path to your career ambitions. With your academic success at heart, they’ll also take an interest in your personal life to help ensure you reach your goals, no matter what you’re facing.
  • Real-world experience: Undergraduate students completing a Nutrition minor will have access to opportunities specific to food and nutrition. If you’re completing our Clinical Nutrition (or FEM) program you’ll take part in supervised experiential learning, with UCM faculty taking the lead to match you with the right preceptors.
  • Networking: In addition to the network of professionals you’ll build in the field, you’ll also have opportunities to build relationships with other UCM students. Join our Student Dietetic Association, participate in on-campus National Nutrition Month activities or attend conferences to make connections or even present research.
  • Financial support: UCM Nutrition is fortunate to have the financial support of the Regina Myers McClain Endowment. This generous fund provides a scholarship for every student in our Clinical Nutrition master’s program. It also makes possible graduate research assistantships to promote research and engagement in our community.

 

What can you do with a degree in one of UCM’s Nutrition programs?

The rise of preventable diseases and conditions, combined with more people desiring to be healthy, have in turn driven a rise in demand for Nutrition graduates. No matter your goal for your career in health and wellness, know that your education from the University of Central Missouri will have successfully prepared you for the job at hand.

As a graduate of our Clinical Nutrition master’s program, you’ll be eligible — and ready — to sit for the RDN exam by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Upon your certification, you’ll be able to provide medical nutrition therapy or serve as a nutrition expert in various settings, such as fitness centers or schools.

Our Sport Nutrition offerings prepare you to help others meet their health and fitness goals in sports- and community-related organizations and programs. If you’re a current RDN, the Sport Nutrition graduate program will allow you to fulfill ACEND’s new requirement for a master’s degree without the need for supervised experiential learning.

 

 

 

UCM meets ACEND guidelines to help you become an RDN

New guidelines by ACEND require students, by 2024, to have a master’s degree to sit for the RDN certification exam. To support our students, UCM offers:

As a result, our Dietetics undergraduate program will close in May 2023 and is no longer accepting students.

UCM’s Nutrition program received candidacy accreditation in fall 2021 for the FEM graduate program, which includes coursework and supervised experiential learning components. Upon their completion, students receive a verification statement and are eligible to take the RDN certification exam. Our master’s degree in Sport Nutrition provides a path for students who are already RDNs.

 

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