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MSc Nutrition and Dietetics is a 2 Year postgraduate course which specially deals with the principles of the Nutritional values in Food and their impacts on the Human Body.
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics requires the students to have completed their graduation course from any recognized college/university with at least 50% marks in aggregate (5% relaxation available for the SC/ST/OBC reserved category students)
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The admission in MSc Nutrition and Dietetics course is done on the basis of the marks secured by the candidates at their graduation level. However, some colleges/universities admit students to the course based on the score in the entrance exam conducted by National and State Level.
Check the list of Top MSc Colleges in India
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics course syllabus specially covers the topics related to the Fundamentals of Nutrition, Food Microbiology, Nutritional Management, Diet Therapy, Sports Nutrition and more.
The course fee for getting admission to the top colleges for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics ranges between INR 20,000-4 Lakhs per annum. The average annual salary offered to the qualified and experienced postgraduates in this course in India ranges between INR 2-12 Lakhs.
The candidates, who have completed their post-graduation course in Nutrition and Dietetics, professionally work as a Dietician or Nutritionists in any Private or Govt. Hospitals, Public Health Organizations, National/ International Food Organizations or any other sectors.
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MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Course Highlights
Here are some of the most popular highlights of the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics degree program that have been tabulated below:
| Course Level | Post-Graduation | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 2 Years | |
| Eligibility Criteria | Graduation in relevant discipline with minimum 50% marks in aggregate | |
| Admission Procedure | University level entrances | |
| Examination Type | Semester-Based | |
| Recruiting Areas | Govt. and private Hospitals, Multinational Corporations, Pharmaceutical Agencies, Wellness Centers, International Food Organizations etc. | |
| Job Profile | Management Dietician, Clinical Dietician, Nutrition Product Manager and more. | |
| Top Recruiting Companies | Public Health Departments, WHO, UNICEF, Accor Hospitality, NPA, Tech Connex etc. | |
| Average Course Fees | INR 20,000-4 lakhs | |
| Average Salary Package | INR 2-12 lakhs per annum |
What is MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Course All about?
In recent days, the human lifestyle needs a balanced and nutrition-rich diet plan to avail a healthy life. Only nutritionists and dieticians can provide a healthy diet chart to improve the quality of life. Keeping this in mind, the course is gaining more popularity.
As mentioned in the name of the course, the program was implemented with the master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. The post-graduates in this course are placed at several health organizations, research institutes, hospitals or any other food organizations after completing this degree.
The MSc Nutrition and Dietetics syllabus is distributed among four semesters and all the subjects cover diet and human nutrition related topics. The course aims to enhance the student’s knowledge in various objectives-
- Implementation of nutrients in food on human body
- Quality, composition and safety properties available in food ingredients
- Fundamentals of balanced food diet and its impact on human body
- Understanding the importance of fitness and exercise
After successful completion of this PG course, the students can either enroll themselves in PhD program or become professor/research scholars or can join as a Dietician in any hospital/health organization/corporate organizations.
Read More: Top MSc Courses
Why Should You Study MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Nowadays, a vast number of students opt for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics. Here we elaborate the reasons in the following:
- Nutritionists and Dietitians are professionals who provide proper diet plans for the people and help them to understand the importance of healthy eating. Their key role is to develop the concept of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through a proper diet plan.
- MSc Nutrition and Dietetics helps the students to arrange the correct diet chart for the human body based on certain health related parameters. Only proper nutrition and diet can control all the deficiencies, imbalances in the body and try to get a healthier life.
- Only an experienced nutritionist can change the thinking of the people regarding food and nutrition and can provide proper advice to the patients and develop a proper diet chart suitable for them based on their health concerns.
- This course will give you the opportunity of developing advanced skills and research implementations in the human nutrition and dietetics field.
- Once you have completed your post-graduation course in Nutrition and Dietetics, you can get the opportunity to work with some notable designations, like Clinical Dietician, Consultant Dietician, Nutrition Product Manager and more.
- After completing the course, you can self-employed or can easily join in any private or Govt. Hospitals. Besides these, there is a prospective job opportunity available for nutritionists by joining in a corporate hospital along with a huge salary package.
- According to the knowledge, experience and skills, one can easily earn a decent salary package. The average salary will be around INR 2-12 lacs per annum based on your expertise.
What is the Admission Process of MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Admission to the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics program is done on the basis of the merit list (marks scored in graduation level). However, few colleges allow the candidates to get admission in this course on the basis of entrance exam performance, conducted by State and National Level. So, admission to this course is either merit-based or entrance exam based.
Merit-based Admission:
- Some colleges allow enrolling their students to MSc Nutrition and Dietetics based on the aggregate marks achieved at under-graduate degree programs.
- Students need to submit the application form along with all detailed documents, like graduation mark sheet, certificate etc.
- The college authority will then proceed on the applications and release a merit list.
- Students will get admission on the availability of the seats. After that, the candidates are required to pay the admission fees.
Entrance Exam Based Admission:
- Apart from the merit-based admission procedure, students are only eligible for admission if they crack the entrance exam.
- With the entrance exam score card, the candidates need to participate in the counseling round.
- The counseling round usually involves two additional rounds- Group Discussion and Personal Interview. This round is basically arranged to examine the candidate’s general aptitude knowledge regarding this particular course.
- Once the candidate clears the counseling round, the college authority releases a merit list and the qualifying candidates can get admission to those particular colleges/universities.
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| Osmania University College for Women (UCW), Hyderabad Admission | St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam Admission |
Do I Qualify the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Eligibility Criteria?
Following are some of the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics eligibility criteria to be fulfilled by the candidates to pursue the course:
- Complete the Bachelor Degree course or any other equivalent course from any recognized university.
- Need to secure at least 50% marks in aggregate at the UG level.
- The candidates require to complete their graduation in any of the disciplines like BSc Biology, Home Science, BSc Microbiology, BSc Food Science, BSc Life Sciences, Clinical Biochemistry, BNYS , BAMS .
- Candidates appearing in the final year examination of graduation course can also apply for this course on the provisional basis.
- For SC/ST/OBC candidates there is 5% relaxation on the aggregate marks. The reserved category students need to secure 45% marks in the UG level.
The course is specially designed for the graduate degree holders in Life Sciences willing to pursue their career in the Clinical Nutrition field.
Skills required for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics:
The course mainly focuses on the nutritional values of food, positive impacts of nutrients on the human body, balanced diet, food processing and its proper consumption. So, the student willing to opt for the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics, must be familiar enough with all these. There are some other important skills required for this course:
- Must have knowledge on different nutrients and its actual application on diet
- Must be attentive on the health-related safety and hygiene regimens
- Good Communication skills
What are the Entrance Exams for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Some of the top colleges and universities which offer MSc Nutrition and Dietetics conduct their respective entrance tests for admission to this program. However, the admission tests for this course are generally not of the National or State level, but on university level.
| Entrance Exams | Registration | Exam Dates |
|---|---|---|
| CUET PG | April 2023 | June 1 – 10, 2023 |
| BITSAT |
January 30, 2023 – April 09, 2023 |
Session 1 Exam Date – May 22 – 26, 2023 Session 2 Exam Date – June 18 – 22, 2023 |
| NEST | 3rd week of February 2023 – 3rd week of May 2023 | 3rd week of June 2023 |
| IIT JAM | September 07 – October 14, 2022 | February 12, 2023 |
| TISS NET | December 14 – January 28, 2023 | February 25, 2023 |
Check: Top MSc Entrances
How to Prepare for the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Entrance Exams?
Following are some of the points to help you prepare for the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics entrance exams
- The entrance exam syllabus for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics may vary from colleges to colleges. So, you need to conduct proper research work on the exam and its syllabus first.
- Start practicing the previous year question papers. It will help you to score well in the entrance exam. You can also follow the BSc Nutrition and Dietetics course book for better reference.
- Do more revisions of the core subjects on a daily basis. Try to focus on the subjects like Biology, Chemistry, General Aptitude, Reasoning etc.
How to Get Admission in a Good MSc Nutrition and Dietetics College?
The below-mentioned tips will be helpful enough to secure your admission into a good college that offers MSc Nutrition and Dietetics discipline:
- Before searching for the top colleges, all you need to secure at least 50% aggregate marks in your graduation level, as because most of the colleges consider the Bachelor’s degree marks as the basic eligibility criteria.
- Check out the top colleges and make a list according to the course fees, location, eligibility criteria, selection and more.
- Prepare yourself for the entrance exam and counseling round. Try to solve previous years’ question booklet.
- Stay updated with all the latest information regarding the colleges.
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Syllabus
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics syllabus is divided into four semesters and each of the semesters contains approx. 5 to 7 subjects. A complete overview of the semester-wise MSc Nutrition and Dietetics syllabus is given in the following table:
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Food science | Advanced Nutrition I, |
| Diet Therapy I | Diet therapy II |
| Nutriion through developmental stages | Community nutrition |
| Food Science | Diet control |
| Nutraceuticals and functional foods | Food cost and quality control |
| - | Human Rights |
| - | Extra: disciplinary paper (E.D) |
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 |
| Advanced Nutrition: II | Financial and food management |
| Research Methodology and statistics | Clinical Nutrition |
| Nutritional management safety for food science | Dissertation |
| Nutritional Biochemistry | - |
| Clinical Nutrition | - |
| Computer Application | - |
| Internship | - |
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Books
Some of the most recommended books suitable for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics course are as follows:
| Books | Author |
|---|---|
| Nutrition and Dietetics | Shubhangini A Joshi |
| Modern Nutrition in Health & Diseases | Maurice E. Shils, James A.Olson, Moshe Shike |
| Dietetics | B Srilakshmi |
| Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy | Kathleen Mahan & Krause |
What are the Top MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Colleges in India?
There are several reputed institutes available in India, offering Master degree programs in Nutrition and Dietetics. The following table consists the list of MSc Nutrition and Dietetics colleges along with its locations and fees:
| College Name | City | Average Annual Fees (in INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Manav Rachna International University | Faridabad | INR 1,92,000 |
| SGT University | Gurgaon | INR 2,00,000 |
| Kurukshetra University | Kurukshetra | INR 16,380 |
| Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University | Hyderabad | INR 58,840 |
| Alphonsa College | Pala Kottayam | INR 60,000 |
| Andhra University | Visakhapatnam | INR 40,000 |
| Berhampur University | Orissa | INR 20,000 |
| JSS University | Mysore | INR 1,85,715 |
| SRM University | Kanchipuram | INR 1,00,000 |
| Islamic University of Science and Technology | Jammu and Kashmir | INR 2,24,000 |
| Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration | Manipal | INR 1,84,000 |
| Women’s Christian College | Chennai | INR 45,260 |
| Raja Balwant Singh Engineering Technical Campus | Agra | INR 3,16,000 |
| Ch. Devi Lal State Institute of Engineering and Technology | Haryana | INR 1,29,000 |
| Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology | Hisar | INR 2,22,000 |
| Haldia Institute of Technology | Midnapore | INR 3,61,000 |
MSc Food Science and Nutrition is a 3 year long post-graduation course that helps the students to create an overall balanced and nutrient-rich diet plan for everyone, like toddlers, pregnant women, old agers etc. Just like MSc Nutrition and Dietetics , this course is also high in demand and highly competitive and both have a prospective career opportunity.
The following table provides the key difference in between the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics and MSc Food Science and Nutrition.
| Parameter | MSc Nutrition and Dietetic | MSc Food Science and Nutrition |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Helps the students in developing a balanced food diet for the human body. Provides basic concepts on utilizing the right nutrients in food to control health related issues | The course imparts the basic aspects of healthy food production and evaluating the nutritional values in any food products along with hygiene and safety details |
| Duration | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Eligibility | Require UG degree in the relevant discipline with minimum 50% marks in aggregate from any recognized university | Graduation from any recognized university with at least 50% marks in aggregate |
| Admission Procedure | Direct admission based on merit. Entrance Test & Counselling are required in some cases | Merit Based. In some cases, entrance exam is mandatory |
| Top Colleges | Manav Rachna International University, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, SGT University, etc. | Shoolini University, Queen Mary's College, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, Pondicherry University and more |
| Job Roles | Clinical Dietician, Nutrition Product Manager, Community Dietician etc. | Food Scientist, Quality Control Manager, Food Production Manager etc. |
| Top Recruiting Fields | Private & Govt. Hospitals, Public Health Departments, Health Maintenance Organizations etc. | Leading food brands, like Nestle, Britannia, Cadbury or any National/International food organizations etc. |
| Average Annual Fees | INR 20,000-4 lacs | INR 10,000-90,000 |
| Average Annual Salary | INR 2-12 Lacs | INR 5-8 Lacs |
What after MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Students who have completed this post-graduation degree program , will get numerous MSc Nutrition and Dietetics jobs according to their skills and interests. There are various MSc Nutrition and Dietetics jobs in Public Health Clinics, Private and Govt. Hospital, Health Maintenance Organizations, Institutes for Research Organizations, Airlines, Athlete Camps and much more.
After completing this PG course, students can work as a Clinical Dietician, Management Dietician, Consultant Dietician and more. Not only that, they can also work as a Private Practitioner, Private Dietician Consultant, Pediatric Dietric Specialist, Assistant in the organization’s dietetic department etc.
The following table consists of some top professional MSc Nutrition and Dietetics jobs available along with the corresponding salary packages:
| Job Role | Job Description | Average Salary Package (per annum) |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Dietician | A Clinical Dietician designs custom nutritional programs for the patients to improve and maintain their health conditions. They are actually trying to ensure that the proper nutrition is delivered to the patients with kidney diseases, diabetes, heart diseases, obesity and more. They often work with the hospitals, clinics, university, public schools, community health centers etc. | INR 2,16,000 |
| Consultant Dietician | The consultant dietician usually works in hospitals or any other institutional food service organizations. Their key role is to assist a dietician with menu planning, proper diet selection for patients, recipe development and portion control. They also have to keep the track record of supplement and equipment used in food preparation. | INR 6,00,000 |
| Management Dietician | The management dietician is actually working in different healthcare centers and workplaces, like cafeteria, prisons, schools etc. They have to supervise business related tasks, budgeting while hiring and train workers in food and nutrition planning, health and safety code related requirements and more. They have to ensure that the overall meal plan can meet the required nutritional guidelines within the budget. | INR 7,60,000 |
| Community Dietician | The community dieticians actually work with a team of professional Nutritionists and Dietetic Technicians. They have to provide individual diet and nutrition counselling to the patients suffering from diabetes, obesity or any other medical conditions. They work for any health organizations, hospitals, clinics to offer proper nutritional counselling to the patients by improving their diet chart. | INR 4,00,000 |
| Nutrition Product Manager | A Nutrition Product Manager is basically an upper-level administrator who will oversee the sale of products or services, estimate the service demand, and try to identify the potential customers. They will make the marketing planning and strategies along with the company's research and development team, sales team, advertising team and more. | INR 11,00,000 |
What are the Future Scope of MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
After completion of this post-graduation program, the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics Degree holders basically prefer to do jobs or can opt for further higher studies. Some of the most popular educational choices after this course are mentioned below:
Internship: The MSc Nutrition and Dietetics degree holders can opt for the 6 months long internship program at any hospital recognized by the IDA.
Ph.D: You can pursue Ph.D. in Food and Nutrition or any other related field according to the interest. It will help the students to gather in-depth knowledge on the fundamental principles in the field of study and can go through a vast number of innovative practices.
Check out the Top Ph.D. in Food and Nutrition Colleges in India
MSc Nutrition and Dietetics FAQs
Ques. What is MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Ques. What is the MSc Nutrition and Dietetics eligibility criteria?
Ques. Is there any relaxation on eligibility criteria available for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics ?
Ques. What is the average course fee for this course?
Ques. What are the top colleges for MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Ques. Which is the best course you can pursue after completing MSc Nutrition and Dietetics?
Ques. What kind of job opportunities are available for the PG degree holders in Nutrition and Dietetics?
Ques. What is the highest salary package for the Post-graduates in Nutrition and Dietetics?
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