Food and Nutrition

Food and Nutrition at USI

The mission of USI's Food and Nutrition program is supported by the following goals:

The graduate at the completion of the program will be able to:

- - - evaluate the role of nutrition in optimizing health throughout the lifecycle and respond to harmful nutrition practices.
    - demonstrate knowledge of nutrition as it applies to food service, dietetics and wellness.
    - demonstrate the knowledge and ability to apply management principles to nutrition and food service.
    - present and evaluate food and nutrition education programs to a variety of audiences.
    - assess the role that behavior, economics, and dietary supplements have on planning and eating healthy diets.
    - demonstrate basic food preparation and presentation skills.
    - apply food science knowledge.
    - demonstrate problem-solving skills in food service, dietetics and wellness.

Accreditation

The University of Southern Indiana is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Opportunities

The USI Food and Nutrition programs are known nationally for offering premier curriculums, in particular the ACEND-accredited dietetics concentration. One hundred percent of dietetics graduates who apply to a supervised practice program are admitted within 12 months of graduation (2018-2022).
All graduates are prepared for career success with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities in our state-of-the-art Quantity Foods Kitchen and Clinical Simulation Center.
Students learn to solve real-world problems by collaborating on projects with students in other healthcare programs, such as Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Respiratory Therapy, Occupational Therapy Assistant, and Public Health.
Approximately 90% of our graduates are employed in the state of Indiana.
Employment of dietitians and nutritionists is projected to grow 7% from 2021 to 2031 (BLS, 2023).

Dietetics Program Application

Spotlight

Jamie Baker, MS, RD, LD, IBCLC

After working in Western Kentucky with the WIC program for 7 years, Jamie has returned home to USI as an instructor in Food and Nutrition. As Jamie relates, "I came back to USI as an instructor because I had a great experience at USI as a student and wanted to give back to the program that shaped me into the person I am today." Read about Jamie and other alumni on the Alumni Spotlight page.