Do you want to customize your degree to pursue your deepest interests? The Food, Nutrition and Health major offers you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests in food, nutrition and health without being locked down to any one major. Focus your inquiry through restricted electives in your areas of passion, such as the physical or biological sciences, economics and marketing, ecology, or international development. Create the degree you want, for the career you’re planning.
What You Need to Know
The Food, Nutrition, and Health (FNH) major offers you the flexibility to create the program you want, to address the learning you seek. Develop a course of studies that reflects and satisfies your specific interests, and tailor your degree to the career of your dreams. Our instructors are thought leaders and change-makers in their fields, and offer you unparalleled expertise in the area of food, nutrition and health. A FNH degree marks the jumping-off point for a career that’s rich in innovation, collaboration and human betterment. And doesn’t everyone want that in their day-to-day work?
UBC’s Food, Nutrition and Health program gives you the space to pursue your own interests while gaining a deeper knowledge and perspective of the food system, including issues related to food production, food security and the role of nutrition in disease prevention. With a wide variety of electives to choose from, you’ll develop a customized program that balances content between applied nutrition courses and courses in the science of nutrition. Upon graduation, your FNH major will open doors throughout the nutrition field; our graduates experience a high level of employment in nutrition-related jobs within a few months of graduating. If you want to expand your reach to inspire awareness and change across an even broader audience, you can apply for the dual-degree option that pairs your Bachelor of Food, Nutrition and Health with a Bachelor of Education.
In Food, Nutrition and Health, you will take a combination of degree requirements (required of all students) and restricted electives (courses selected from a broad list of approved electives). You’ll also be able to take a number of unrestricted electives (courses you get to pick yourself).
After you’ve developed a strong foundation in science-based courses like chemistry, biology and math, you can look forward to exciting, career-specific courses such as:
- FNH 250: Nutrition Concepts and Controversies
- FNH 351: Vitamins, Minerals and Health
- FNH 355: International Nutrition
- FNH 474: Sport Nutrition
- FNH 477: Nutrition and Disease Prevention
To see the complete list of required courses for this program, please consult the UBC Academic Calendar. Current students, please use the ‘Degree Navigator’ tool in your Student Service Centre (SSC) to track your progress.
Minors
You may choose to supplement your Food, Nutrition and Health major with a minor program, which involves taking courses in a subject area outside of your specialization. As a Food, Nutrition and Health student, you are eligible to apply for a Minor in Arts, Commerce, Science, Fermentations, Sustainable Food Systems, or Kinesiology. To learn more about minors, including application timelines, click here.
Dual Degree with Bachelor of Education
Earn your teaching degree at the same time as your degree in Food, Nutrition and Health. This efficient five-year program lets you complete two bachelor’s degrees with fewer credits, getting you into professional practice as soon as possible. Upon graduation, you’ll be eligible for a British Columbia Professional Teaching Certificate and will be prepared to teach in the secondary system, with specific expertise in home economics. You can learn more about this dual-degree option, including application timelines, right here.
Dual Degree with Master of Management
If you’re thinking of taking your Food, Nutrition and Health degree into the business arena, you may want to apply for the Bachelor of Science (Food, Nutrition and Health) – Master of Management Dual Degree. Please note: admission to this program is primarily available to students coming directly out of high school. Depending on enrolment, the UBC Sauder School of Business may release a limited number of spaces on a competitive basis to students who are going into their third year at UBC (or those who are transferring to UBC for their third year). Learn more about this dual-degree program option and the application process in the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration section of the UBC Academic Calendar.
If you are a current FNH student interested in the Food, Nutrition and Health major, you will be prompted to select your specialization through your Student Service Centre (SSC) when registering for second year. This major is not competitive.
If you are a high school, college or university student and you want to major in Food, Nutrition and Health at UBC, you should apply for the Bachelor of Science in Food, Nutrition and Health. You can learn more here.
Where Can a Food, Nutrition and Health Major Take You?
Here’s just a handful of careers where Food, Nutrition and Health graduates have applied their LFS degrees:
- home economics teacher
- food service management
- family life educator
- lab technician
- nutrition educator
- sales representative
- food quality control
Get a head start on your career-related work experience while you’re at UBC. Check out What You Can Do With a Food, Nutrition and Health major here, and scroll through our job board for postings that relate to your field of study!
Got Questions?
If you are a prospective or current student with questions about planning for or choosing this major, or if you have questions about how your transfer credits apply, get in touch! One of our academic advisors in LFS Student Services will be glad to help you.
If you are already in the Food, Nutrition and Health major and have specific questions about restricted electives and Directed Studies, please contact an FNH Advisor.