Diploma in Dietics & Nutrition courses in India

Dietetics & Nutrition is a field in medicine science aimed at keeping individuals fit. The demand for nutritionists/dieticians has considerably increased over the years owing to increased awareness amongst people to stay healthy and avoid high-calorie diets resulting in hypertension, obesity, and other food-related diseases. There are various opportunities in this field and a lot of scope for private clinics as well. Dietetics focuses on food management, whereas nutrition focuses on the promotion of health through healthy food. Nutritionists/dieticians are health specialists who create diets for individuals. They teach patients about healthy food habits/lifestyles and staying aware of developments in nutrition and medicine. Dietitians emphasise on food management, whereas nutrition emphasis on the promotion of health by way of healthy food. Through a healthy diet, nutritionists/dieticians facilitate in improving their patients’ quality of life as well as overall well-being.

Dietitians plan, monitor, and supervise the diet for patients (with medical conditions like diabetes, food allergies, gastro-intestinal disorders, etc.) across hospitals, clinics, health centers, sports centers or their own private clinics. They are responsible for recommending proper as well as corrective food and eating habits, while taking into account the patient’s health, lifestyle, age, potential allergies and food preferences.

Nutritionists help people achieve better health by advising on health and food choices. Their expertise lies in public health nutrition, community health, and tertiary education related to nutrition. Nutritionists can go into research as well as work as nutrition consultants and advisors, public health and health promotion officers, community development officers, quality and nutrition coordinators, food technologists, etc.

Diploma in Dietetics and Nutrition is a diploma level Nutrition and Dietetics course. It is a programme with a combined integrative and preventative educational approach to health, nutrition and disease. This programme covers the core subjects in Nutrition & Dietetics such as Fundamentals of Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, Food Microbiology, Weight Management, Nutrition Support, Measuring Nutrition, Food Poisoning, Nutrition during special situations, etc. Students are taught to identify imbalances that may be contributing to a diseased state and the overall etiology rather than diagnosing and treating individual symptoms.

Eligibility Criteria for Pursuing Diploma in Dietetics and Nutrition Programme

The basic eligibility requirements to pursue Diploma in Dietetics and Nutrition programme are:

• Candidates must have passed Class 12th with a minimum of 60% aggregate from a recognised institute/ university.

There are nearly 61 Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges in India which offer Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition courses, out of these 29 colleges are private, 19 are public colleges and rest are private public colleges. Here is the list of some of the top private and public Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges in India:

Top Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges in India accept score obtained by students in numerous national or state-level examinations, including MAT and CMAT. There are several Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges in major cities across the country such as Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and so on. Christian Medical College, Vellore was ranked 3^rd by NIRF.

Study Scope after Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition in India

Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition qualified candidates, who would like to go for advanced studies, can opt for Dietetics and Nutrition programme at the UG and PG level.

The basic eligibility requirements to pursue Dietetics and Nutrition programme at the UG and PG level are:

Undergraduate: The minimum eligibility for pursuing UG in Dietetics and Nutrition is Class 10 and 12 qualifications from an approved educational board with Biology/Chemistry/Physics as the major subjects studied in Class 12, with 50 percent aggregate score. Some colleges/universities also accept Botany/Computer Science/Biochemistry/Zoology as the major subjects studied in Class 12.

Postgraduate - To pursue PG in Dietetics and Nutrition, the basic eligibility criteria is graduation or equivalent degree in a pertinent discipline completed from an approved university, with 55 percent aggregate score. Subjects learnt/studied must include Food and Home Science, Biology, Clinical Nutrition and Biochemistry, Microbiology, Physiology, and Dietetics.

 Scope for Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition Students

With increasing urbanisation and medical problems amongst working individuals rising, a need for proper nutrition is dire. Dietitians are gaining a lot of importance amongst the urban crowd as the young generation of India is realising the importance of a healthy diet and value of getting proper nutrients.

Therefore, private dietitians and nutrition consultants are earning a lot of money in Tier-I and Tier-II cities. Hospitals also hire professionals in this field. A lot of corporate companies also hire nutritionists in order to keep their employees healthy and active. Following are some of the profiles that nutritionists and dietitians can seek:

• Consultants
• Food Show Host
• Researcher
• Therapeutic Dietitian
• Sports Nutritionist
• Administrative Nutritionist
• Nutritional Sales Executive
• Nutrition Trainer

Salaries in this domain right after Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition varies from Rs 1.5 LPA - 2.5 LPA. However, private practitioners can earn good money through clinics and proper advertisement i.e. up to Rs 4.5 LPA.

 Below is the list of few top companies that recruit Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition students along with their placement ratings:

 Mode of Study

Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition courses can be pursued from various colleges through different modes such as full-time, distance-learning, online and part time classroom. Around 50 Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges offer the full-time course and rest of the colleges offer distance-learning, online and part-time classroom mode to the student for pursuing Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition courses.

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview:

Some of these colleges are tabulated below:

Full-time Mode of Study

Some of the popular colleges/ universities that offer full-time Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition courses are:

Distance/ Correspondence Mode of Study

The colleges that offer courses through distance/ correspondence mode are as follows:

Online Mode of Study

The colleges that offer online classroom mode:

The following colleges offer part time classroom:

 How affordable is studying Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition in India?

Based on the below pie chart, it can be estimated that pursuing Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition in India is quite economical and affordable as approximately 92% of the colleges have course/annual fees less than Rs 1 lakh. Some of these colleges are Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi; Symbiosis Skills & Professional University, Pune; YMCA, New Delhi; Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota; SNDT Women's University, Mumbai; School of Ayurveda, D.Y. Patil University, Mumbai; Shri Jagdishprasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala University, Rajasthan; Institute of Home Economics, Delhi; National Institute of Management and Research Studies, Mumbai and so on.

Approximately 8% of Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges fee structure ranges between Rs 1-2 lakh. Some of these colleges are Parul University, Vadodara; Medvarsity, Hyderabad and RIMT University, Punjab. 

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the break-up of Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition Course in India basis fees:

Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition Specialisations offered in India

Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition colleges in India offer diversified specialisations in Food and Nutrition, Dietetics, Public Health, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Healthcare and Hospital, Hospital / Healthcare Management, Naturopathy, Nursing and Sports. The most popular one is Food and Nutrition followed by Dietetics and Public Health. Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the top 9 Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition specialisations in India:

Which are the most popular Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition Exams in India?

The most popular entrance examinations for studying Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition course in India is MAT and CMAT. Scoring good marks in MAT and CMAT will help you land in colleges like Parul University, Vadodara.