A female student interacts with a young girl at a booth about nutrition.

Department of Nutrition & Food Science

A female student in hairnet and lab coat provides another female student with a food sample for a taste test.

Learn about the science behind nutrition and food. Help others live healthier lives. Create better food products. The Department of Nutrition & Food Science prepares students to work in the food processing and health care industries.

#1

Polytechnic University for Diversity & Economic Mobility

The Wall Street Journal, 2025; CollegeNET, 2024; Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 2024

#21

Best Colleges in America

Wall Street Journal, 2025

Our Programs

Bachelor's

Nutrition

Want to help people live healthy lives or make new discoveries about diet, disease, and health? Then the nutrition major is for you. This degree can lead to graduate school, and careers as a researcher or scientist, a teacher, consumer advocate, health coach, registered dietitian, healthcare professional, animal professional, or Peace Corps worker.

Bachelor's

Food Science & Technology

Apply science to create healthier foods that taste good, process better, ship well, and last longer. Use your creativity or your analytic skills in this major.

Minors

Five Minors

Expand your skills or specialize in an area with one of our five minors.

Master's

Agriculture - Nutrition & Food Science Option

Develop your research skills and increase your expertise in this program. It will equip you for careers in teaching, research, or industry.

Master's

Dietetics

This online program prepares students to become registered dietitians or registered dietitian nutritionists.

Post-Baccalaureate

Dietetic Internship Certificate

Complete the supervised practice toward becoming a registered dietitian/nutritionist in this internship program.

The Polytechnic Experience

A student in hair net and lab coat works in a kitchen lab.

Lab Work

Where else can you play with food? Discover the science behind food. Experiment and create.

A female nutrition student educates her peers about sugar in sodas at a National Nutrition Month event.

Nutritional Counseling

Learn how to help others make healthy food choices.

Two women at the Estudiante de Dietética booth

Join Estudiante de Dietética

Learn how to work effectively with Spanish-speaking clients and how to communicate with them about nutrition and health issues.

A student cuts food samples at a product presentation booth.

Develop Innovative Products

Get hands-on experience creating food products, down to the packaging and nutritional label.

A female student and two male students celebrate being named as finalists to a national baking competition.

Participate in Collegiate Competitions

Our food science and technology students have excelled in regional and national competitions.

Alumni Success Stories

"The nutrition program at Cal Poly Pomona allowed me to study nutrition while pursuing a career in the medical field. I had incredible professors who mentored me throughout my journey."

Jacquelyn Valenzuela-Moss ('21, nutrition) Clinical Research Coordinator, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

A woman lectures in front of a PowerPoint presentation

Program Recognitions

Accredited & Approved

Our Didactic Program in Dietetics and Dietetic Internship Program are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. Our food science and technology program is the only one in Southern California approved by the Institute of Food Technologists and the Research Chefs Association.