Health

Dietitian or Nutritionist

Dietitians and nutritionists help people eat well to stay healthy, and plan meals that help sick people get better.

In a small clinic office, a dietitian in a face mask sits at a desk writing notes while a young man in a white shirt sits facing her and talks about what he eats.
Photo: Onwuka Glory, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Clinic's name stencilled on the chair, a handwritten wall notice and a small bottle label blurred; resized to 1000 px wide.

At a glance

Pay

No reliable figure yet

Years of study

UTech's BSc in Dietetics and Nutrition takes four years of full-time study.

University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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Jobs

Needed: in 2016 the Health Minister said Jamaica had too few dietetics and nutrition professionals

Jamaica Information Service, Health Minister Lauds Nutrition Training Programme (JIS News, 8 June 2016), checked Oct 2026

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The path

  1. Your CSEC subjects and where to study

    BSc Dietetics and Nutrition

    University of Technology, Jamaica

    You need: 5 CSEC passes, including English A and Mathematics and (CSEC Biology or CSEC Human and Social Biology) and (CSEC Chemistry or CSEC Physics or CSEC Integrated Science or CSEC Agricultural Science)

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    BSc Dietetics

    Northern Caribbean University

    You need: 5 CSEC passes, including English A, Mathematics and Chemistry and (CSEC Biology or CSEC Human and Social Biology)

    Northern Caribbean University, Undergraduate Bulletin 2020–2024, checked Oct 2026

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    Ways to add a subject later

    No CSEC Chemistry? NCU may still take you on trial if you have another science. You then do a year of Introduction to Chemistry at NCU.

    Northern Caribbean University, Undergraduate Bulletin 2020–2024, checked Oct 2026

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    BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics (in Trinidad)

    The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

    You need: 5 CSEC passes (grade III or better), including English A, Mathematics and Chemistry and (CSEC Biology or CSEC Human and Social Biology or CSEC Integrated Science) and Any two CAPE subjects (both units)

    The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics (Faculty of Food and Agriculture), checked Oct 2026

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    BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics (in Barbados)

    The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill

    You need: 5 CSEC passes (grade III or better), including English A, Mathematics and Chemistry and (CSEC Biology or CSEC Human and Social Biology)

    The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics: admission requirements, checked Oct 2026

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  2. Your licence

    Dietitians must be registered with their council before they practise in Jamaica, even for a single day.

    Ministry of Health and Wellness, Professional Registration for Short Term Volunteers (updated June 2024), checked Oct 2026

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  3. Your first job

    After the BSc, you do an internship before you can practise as a dietitian.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    UTech lists nutrition education, nutrition adviser and quality or product control manager jobs for its BSc graduates, in health care and in food and health organisations, in Jamaica and abroad.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    UTech's Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics and Nutrition is for people who have finished a BSc in dietetics and nutrition.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    UTech lists registered dietitian, food service, company wellness programmes, food businesses, private practice, public health, and research and teaching as careers after that diploma.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics & Nutrition (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    The Ministry of Health's job description for a dietetics post asks for registration with the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine.

    Ministry of Health and Wellness, Job Description and Specification: Programme Development Officer – Dietetics, checked Oct 2026

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Sources for these sections

No AI writes these facts. Each one comes from the source named under it and is checked again every year.