Overview
Apply the Key Concepts of Nutrition to Your Discipline
Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them and the relationship that exists among diet, health and disease. Students minoring in nutrition will study the link between good nutrition and good health as well as how nutrition is the conduit to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The nutrition minor integrates well with academic disciplines that relate directly or indirectly to the health care of the individual, regardless of age, since nutrition provides an important piece of the holistic approach to one’s health care. The nutrition minor is intended to augment an already existing declared major in another discipline, such as exercise science, biology, nursing, psychology or social work.
Faculty
News
Core Classes
Basic Nutrition Across the Lifespan
EXS 2000
This course will explore the nutritive value of foods and provide an integrated overview of the physiological requirements and functions of macronutrients, energy, vitamins, and minerals for the human body across the lifespan.
Course Hours: 2
Nutrition for Fitness and Performance
EXS 2100
Provide an understanding of optimal nutritional intake in support of peak performance in sport. Address food as fuel and which fuels are most important to specific sport activities, the role nutritional supplements can play, how to assure fluid balance, weight management for athletes, and the effects of disordered eating on performance and health. The unique international food and athletic culture should be incorporated into understanding nutrition for peak performance. Understand what athletes should eat before, during, and after competition, design optimal meal plans for athletes, and be able to identify the best and worst applications of sport supplements such as protein powders/bars, creatine, and sport drinks. This will be prescribed through a Christian worldview for the best stewardship of the body for optimal muscle development, recovery, and sports performance.
Course Hours: 3
Community Nutrition
EXS 3400
Identifying resources that will assist in policy design, program planning, and program implementation/evaluation in order to meet the nutritional needs of the community population from school-age children to the elderly. Explore the role nutrition plays in promoting and improving health within the community setting.
Course Hours: 3
Maternal and Child Nutrition
EXS 3410
Study the impact of appropriate feeding guidelines and practices during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood-aged children and how to manage various nutritional challenges during this stage of life and how those challenges can affect the other life cycle stages.
Course Hours: 3
Nutrition and Healthy Aging
EXS 3420
Provide an understanding of the impact of nutrition on aging and the importance of maintaining good healthy quality of life during the aging process.
Course Hours: 3
Special Topics - Nutrition
EXS 4330
This course is reserved for select topics reflecting specialized areas of nutrition. Course will be announced the semester prior to course offering. Student may take this two times for college credit.
Course Hours: 2
Minor Details
The nutrition minor will help expand the student’s knowledge of the key concepts of nutrition as it applies to their given discipline.
The program includes focused coursework on nutrition-related topics across the lifespan, including maternal and children’s nutrition, healthy aging nutrition and community nutrition.
When choosing nutrition as a minor for a bachelor’s in exercise science, students will experience coursework in core science classes, as well as in topics such as behavioral science statistics; therapeutic modalities; human growth and development; abnormal psychology and sociology. The exercise science core curriculum requires each student to complete two unique practicum experiences in order to interact with therapists in various clinical settings and gain exposure in the field.
Specifics about the nutrition minor:
- The courses are offered completely online, making this minor an attractive opportunity for students who have limited time availability
- 16 credit hours
- Courses are offered on an alternating year basis for a total of four semesters
- Courses are offered in fall/spring only, with no courses being offered in the summer
- There are no prerequisites for any of the nutrition courses; students not seeking a minor may take only the courses that interest them.
Outcomes/Careers
Earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise science or another major with a concentration in nutrition is an excellent foundation for a wide variety of jobs in many different settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and for state and local governments.
Minoring in nutrition augments students’ learning in other majors where a basic knowledge of nutrition could enhance their job performance or client treatment (for example, having knowledge of nutrition may help counselors as they treat clients with eating disorders).
Students with an interest in nutrition or those who desire more knowledge in the subject will find this minor an asset in their course of study.
Overview
Apply the Key Concepts of Nutrition to Your Discipline
Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them and the relationship that exists among diet, health and disease. Students minoring in nutrition will study the link between good nutrition and good health as well as how nutrition is the conduit to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The nutrition minor integrates well with academic disciplines that relate directly or indirectly to the health care of the individual, regardless of age, since nutrition provides an important piece of the holistic approach to one’s health care. The nutrition minor is intended to augment an already existing declared major in another discipline, such as exercise science, biology, nursing, psychology or social work.