So, I’m a senior in college & I’m now questioning all of my life decisions. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE psychology. But I’m just now realizing throughout the years I’ve always had such a strong passion for nutrition & I don’t know what to do. My original plan was to go to grad school & get my masters in school psychology. I’m now realizing that that’s something I just don’t want to do anymore. If I could just start over & get a bachelors degree is nutrition & dietetics & becomes a nutritionist I 100% would. But now I feel like it’s way too late to do anything about it and I should just finish my psychology undergrad degree and apply for graduate school even though I don’t think I will get in nor do I truly want to do it. What would my possibilities be if I got a bachelor’s degree in psychology and nutrition? My parents are so set on me going to grad school that before I mention anything to them I need to have a set plan. I feel like I’ve wasted so much of their money being almost done and realizing my passion isn’t psychology. I just really don’t know what to do or where/who to turn to. Can I still succeed in life?
Would it be possible to add nutrition as a second major and finish this year? If you don’t want to stay longer to finish a nutrition degree, you should be fine. Many people don’t go into the fields they majored in during undergrad.
Would they be upset if you went to graduate school for nutrition?
Of course you can succeed in life. You are still at the beginning of your adult journey which, if you are lucky enough to get a long life, will take many twists and turns in the years to come. Things don’t have to be decided or planned in an instant. Sounds like you are not ready to commit to graduate school. That’s okay. To go to graduate school next fall means you should be starting applications now.
Why not explore your options and figure out what would be required to study nutrition? Surely you wouldn’t have to do a whole other degree, maybe an extra year of classes, or an entry level masters program? Then you can talk to your parents about your shift with a plan in mind. Psychology and nutrition bridge nicely together.
I know someone who is a food service director/dietician. At the end of the program you have to spend a year doing a dietetic internship. She says everyone should be able to do that internship earlier because so many hate it once they do it. (it isn’t an option to do it earlier) I’m sharing because you might want to spend some time shadowing someone in the work place to see what you think. She says the job isn’t what you think. Good luck.
I have a former student who got a bachelor’s degree in French (she ‘specialized’ in food studies and agriculture by taking a lot of classes in that area); she then got her master’s in nutrition and is currently a registered dietician who has a great nutrition-related job at a federal agency.
You don’t need to major in nutrition, food studies, or dietetics in undergrad to become an RD. You can get a master’s degree in a variety of fields (nutrition, dietetics, public health in some cases). It has to be accredited by ACEND. Here’s the list: https://www.nutritioned.org/registered-dietitian-schools.html. You probably want to attend a coordinated program, which includes both the coursework and the internship experience you need to become an RD; at a didactic only program, you take all the coursework but will have to complete the internship separately.
I don’t know of that list is complete, though, because the student I’m thinking of went to a program at Teachers College that’s not listed. It is listed under the Association of Faculties of Public Health Nutrition, though, so I’d check that list out too: https://nutrition.org/meetings/graduate-program-directory/
I had a couple of friends who were getting their MS in nutrition at Columbia’s Institute of Human Nutrition, and exactly zero of them had an undergraduate degree in nutrition. (Most of them were pre-meds and went onto medical school after completing the master’s degree.)
So you don’t have to start over. Find out what the prerequisites are to get into some of the nutrition master’s programs.
Also, your parents may be set on you going to grad school…but that doesn’t mean that you have to go. It’s YOUR life, and you get to decide what you want to do with it beyond college. You may decide that you don’t need a graduate degree. Or you may decide that you want to take a few years off before you go to graduate school. It’s not a waste of money to take your career in a different direction - lots of grown adults do that while actually IN their careers. It’s perfectly normal! And your psychology knowledge will still be useful to you if you become an RD or anything else.
The absolute worst thing to do, is to say “i don’t want to work in psychology”, and drop out with out completing a degree. So whatever you do, complete your degree. Yes I have seen people do this for various majors.
Next semester take whatever you have to take to graduate, but then also take some nutrition courses to get a feel for them. Talk to someone in the nutrition department about what courses could be taken for a Masters.
Also look at combining them…Nutritional Psychology…https://www.psychologyschoolguide.net/career-guides/becoming-a-nutritional-psychologist/
Don’t feel like you have wasted your time on Psychology…that background is useful in any career.
Is there any way you could even just get an internship or two in the nutrition field? Sometimes the major isn’t the most important but experience in the field is.