The American Dietetic Association (ADA) officially approved San José State University (SJSU) Dietetics Curriculum in 1956, even though a dietetics curriculum had been taught for two decades prior to that year. Dr. Clara Ruth Darby is credited for pushing for ADA approval. Dietetics was housed under the umbrella of the Home Economics Department at that time.

The first curriculum in Home Economics at California Normal School (San José State) was offered in 1911, in the household arts department supervised by Maude Murchie, and took one year to complete. It included one course in dietetics, one in sanitation, and one in home nursing, among others. By 1923, a four-year program was developed.

In 1917-1918, dietetics curriculum efforts at SJSU were directed toward assisting with nutrition concerns of World War I. In 1917, the American Dietetic Association was founded, although the term dietitian began to be used in hospitals as early as 1902. The first masters work in dietetics or food and nutrition at SJSU was completed in 1961. The title of the first thesis in dietetics at SJSU was Lipids in Relation to Atherosclerosis by Velma Young. Since 1986, all graduate students are required to complete a Masters Project or Thesis to graduate.

The Home Economics Department was the organizational home for dietetics until 1977, when the Dietetics Program split off and was housed in the Division of Health Professions. A bachelor of science degree in dietetics was offered. In 1979, the Dietetics Program achieved departmental status and was named Nutrition, Foods, and Dietetics and offered a minor by that name as well as the bachelors degree in dietetics. In 1981, the Master of Science degree curriculum in Nutritional Science was approved.

In 1982, the name of the department was changed to Nutrition and Food Science. The title of the B.S. degree was changed from B.S. in Dietetics to B.S. in Nutritional Science. An official concentration in Dietetics and Food Science Technology was approved in 1982.

To become a registered dietitian, one needs to complete a minimum bachelors degree and the ADA Knowledge Requirements (translated into specific coursework requirements), supervised practice program (accredited dietetic internship or a previous program called AP4 - Approved Pre-professional Practice Program), and pass the National Registration Examination for dietitians. SJSU had a Masters Practicum in Dietetics from 1981-86.

SJSU was one of three programs participating in a Pilot Study of Approved Pre-Professional Practice Programs (AP4's) in 1985, based on our experience with our Masters Practicum Program. ADA approval was granted to our AP4 in 1986, and in 1987 our first AP4 students began their supervised professional experience program in various hospitals and school districts, etc. in the Bay Area. In 1991, the program was one of eight AP4's offered in California and one of 92 in the nation. Since 2004 all AP4 programs have been converted to Dietetic Internships. There are over 250 Dietetic Internship (DI) programs in the United States today. Since inception of the DI/AP4, nearly all students have passed the Registration Examination and have become RDs.

Currently, we have approximately 260 students enrolled in the NUFS Department: 150 undergraduates and 110 graduate students. We offer two other concentrations besides dietetics under the Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Science: Food Science and Technology and Packaging. We also offer a minor in Nutrition and Food Science as well as in Physical Performance which includes a Sports Nutrition course as a core. A minor in Food Science and a minor in Packaging is also available. There are separate advisory boards for each concentration.

The Nutrition and Food Science Department graduates about 35 to 40 students per year, the majority of which are in dietetics (20 to 25) with about one-half with bachelor's degrees and one-half with Master's degrees.

San José State University History