Studying nutrition: requirements and access

Studying nutrition is a science that studies food intake in relation to the needs of the organism, analysing dietary elements that should be consumed in the development stage, from birth to old age. Therefore, if you are interested in this career, we are going to explain to you what the requirements and access are.

To become a nutrition professional, you can opt for a higher vocational training degree in nutrition and dietetics, which is an official training recognised by the Ministry of Education. The aim is to provide a broad vision of human nutrition, to offer knowledge of dietetics and nutrition, to demystify misconceptions about food consumption, etc.

What do these studies consist of?

Studying nutrition means knowing all the studies and biological processes through which the human being acquires the nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for the proper functioning of the organism. It also studies how food affects health and how food can be consumed in an appropriate way.

Likewise, nutrition professionals intervene in the processes of production, manufacture and distribution of food, supervising whether the procedures comply with labelling regulations and everything that refers to a healthy food product.

Access routes

In order to study a degree in nutrition, one of the following requirements must be met:

• Holding a Baccalaureate degree and having passed the university entrance exam.
• Holding a higher technical qualification in vocational training, plastic arts and design or sports.
• If you are over 25 years old, you must pass the university entrance exam.

Each of the access routes has a percentage of places, and there are private universities that establish their own admission criteria, so it is important to find out about each of the admission processes.

Subjects

Before choosing a university course, it is important to know which subjects you will study throughout your studies. Thus, the nutrition curriculum has the following type of subjects:

• Basic training: Biology, chemistry, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, psychology, eating behaviour, etc.
• Compulsory: Food safety and quality, clinical nutrition, bromatology, food technology, dietetics, public health, economics and management.
• Optional: Child nutrition, geriatric nutrition, dairy products, phytotherapy, nutritional anthropometry, etc.

In addition, it should be taken into consideration that a part of the credits corresponds to supervised practicals and the development of a final degree project, on which the degree depends.

Required qualifications

To be a nutritionist, apart from the academic training, certain qualities are required, such as:

• Empathy
• Communication skills
• Focus on health and not on diet.
• Didactic skills
• Motivational skills
• In-depth knowledge of foods and their nutritional properties
• Up to date with nutritional developments and advice, as well as knowledge of government strategies and laws
• Ability to work in a team and coordinate with other doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.

Career opportunities

For people who study nutrition there are many professional opportunities, and having a specialisation is a plus when developing a career, whether in the field of child nutrition, geriatric or sports nutrition.

There is also the field of teaching, as professionals can devote themselves to the dissemination of courses related to food, nutrition and health. They can even work as researchers, organisers and coordinators of food quality and safety issues.

Another professional opportunity is in the industrial field, where one can participate in the elaboration and innovation of food products. It is also possible to work in the clinical field, working to improve the health of patients and helping to prevent illnesses.

Studying nutrition generates many sources of employment, which means that it is a career with a great future, improving the quality of life of the professional.