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2nd degree NFS major
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Second Degree NFS Majors — Career Change To Nutrition

Hunter College increasingly finds itself addressing the needs of people who ‘discover’ nutrition after hav-ing satisfied requirements for their baccalaureate degrees in areas often far removed from nutrition. We therefore developed an alternative route of preparation for a dietetics career for this heterogeneous group of highly-motivated non-traditional students. We call it our "second degree" pathway because students are counseled to matriculate for a second undergraduate degree to complete the coursework and/or attain the competencies necessary to obtain a verification statement, which permits them to apply for a dietetic in-ternship and eventually sit for the registration examination.

Students matriculated for a second degree may complete their DPD requirements by taking a combination of MPH and undergraduate courses. While students may take all of their "second degree" coursework on the undergraduate level, we encourage them to take a combination of undergraduate and graduate courses in order that they will have completed work towards a graduate degree by the time they have completed their DPD requirements.

Note that "second degree" students will not actually complete a second undergraduate degree. We counsel them to matriculate for the degree in order to register early for classes, and therefore be assured they are not closed-out of courses they need. (Students who are not matriculated register last, and therefore are often closed-out of required courses.)

There are two types of "second degree" students -- those with adequate undergraduate preparation in the sciences as well as introductory foods and nutrition, and those without. See the prerequisites section.

Academic standards
Second degree students must meet the same standards as undergraduate NFS majors and graduate students pursuing the MPH degree. Students must attain a grade of grade of B or better in every 100-level NFS course, a grade of C or better in every 300- and 400-level NFS course and every course taken in the Biology and Chemistry Departments, and a grade of B or better in every 700-level MPH course.