BS Human Nutrition & Dietetics

Program Information

Realizing the growing importance of nutrition in improving human health and overall well-being, the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Central Punjab (UCP), Lahore, has launched a comprehensive four-year undergraduate degree program: BS Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND).

This program is designed to equip students with the scientific knowledge and practical skills necessary to assess food composition and under stand its impact on human health. The BS-HND program will empower students to evaluate the nutritional status of populations, raise awareness about the importance of nutrition, and develop innovative and health-enhancing food products that contribute to societal well-being.

Through a knowledge-based and scientific approach to nutrition, students will gain a deep understanding of how nutrition influences health and lifestyle. The program emphasizes the application of advanced, research-based knowledge in promoting a healthy lifestyle, preventing disease, and managing health conditions. It also prepares students to work actively toward the improvement of community health.

Graduates of the BS-HND program will be well-positioned to deliver high-quality, research-driven, and innovative nutritional interventions. They will be capable of influencing meal patterns and food choices with the ultimate goal of enhancing the health of individuals, families, and entire communities.

Outline

Course Category	No. of Courses	No. of Credit Hours
Compulsory Major	25	70
Electives Major	6	18
General	14	35
Interdisciplinary	4	12
Internship/Field Experience	1	3
Capstone Project	1	3
Grand Total	51	141

Eligibility Criteria

At least 50% marks in F.Sc. Pre-Medical/A levels with (Biology, Physics & Chemistry) or equivalent.

Applicants are required to pass the UCP Admission Test.

Selection Criteria

Matric	Intermediate	Admission Test
10%	45%	45%

Fee Structure with Scholarship

Program Name: BS Human Nutrition & Dietetics

Admission Fee: 28,000

Per Credit Hour Fee	1st Sem Total Fee	1st Installment	1st Installment with 25% Scholarship	1st Installment with 30% Scholarship	1st Installment with 50% Scholarship	1st Installment with 75% Scholarship	Total Credit Hours	Total Fees (Incl Admission Fees)
9,550	199,900	113,950	92,463	88,165	70,975	49,488	141	1,374,550

Disclaimer

The above-mentioned fee structure is for illustration purpose only. UCP reserves the rights to make changes in the Fee Structure whenever deemed necessary or appropriate.

Tentative Study Road Map

Semester-I (18 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	QR101	Quantitative Reasoning-I	General	3
2	ENG110	Functional English	General	3
3	ICT102	Applications of Information and Communication Technologies	General	2
4	ICT101	Applications of Information and Communication Technologies-Lab	General	1
5	FST110	Introduction to Food Science and Technology	Major	2
6	FST-L110	Introduction to Food Science and Technology-Lab	Major	1
7	HND110	Fundamentals of Human Nutrition and Dietetics	Major	3
8	HND260	Human Anatomy	Interdisciplinary	2
9	HND-L260	Human Anatomy-Lab	Interdisciplinary	1

Semester-II (19 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	QR 201	Quantitative Reasoning-II	General	3
2	PSY101	Introduction to Psychology	General	3
3	ENG211	Expository Writing	General	3
4	NS101	Environmental Science	General	3
5	-	Fehm-e-Quran – I	General	1
6	HND112	Macro and Micro Nutrients	Major	3
7	3 FST130	Food Microbiology and Biotechnology	Major	2
8	FST-L130	Food Microbiology and Biotechnology-Lab	Major	1

Semester-III (18 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	FLN101	Foreign Language	General	2
2	ISL110	Islamic Studies	General	2
3	PAK101	Pakistan Studies	General	2
4	-	Fehm-e-Quran – II	General	1
5	HND321	Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals	Major	2
6	FST211	Food Safety & Quality Management	Major	3
7	HND261	Human Physiology	Interdisciplinary	2
8	HND-L261	Human Physiology-Lab	Interdisciplinary	1
9	-	Elective-I	Major	3

Semester-IV (17 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	CCE201	Civics and Community Engagement	General	2
2	PAK102	Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan	General	2
3	ENT102	Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship	General	2
4	FST260	Fundamentals of Food Systems	Major	3
5	FST170	Food Service Management	Major	1
6	FST-L170	Food Service Management-Lab	Major	1
7	HND451	Clinical Biochemistry	Interdisciplinary	2
8	HND-L451	Clinical Biochemistry	Interdisciplinary	1
9	HND363	General Pathology	Interdisciplinary	2
10	HND-L363	General Pathology-Lab	Interdisciplinary	1

Semester-V (18 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	FST341	Analytical Techniques in Food and Nutrition	Major	1
2	FST-L341	Analytical Techniques in Food and Nutrition-Lab	Major	2
3	FST-342	Community and Public Health Nutrition	Major	3
4	HND313	Nutrition through life cycle	Major	3
5	HND324	Meal planning and Management	Major	2
6	HND-L324	Meal planning and Management-Lab	Major	1
7	HND342	Nutritional Assessment	Major	2
8	HND-L342	Nutritional Assessment-Lab	Major	1
9	HND221	Dietetics-I	Major	2
10	HND-L221	Dietetics-I Lab	Major	1

Semester-VI (17 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	FST360	Food & Drug Laws and Regulations	Major	2
2	FST380	Food Product Development	Major	1
3	FST-L380	Food Product Development-Lab	Major	2
4	HND322	Dietetics-II	Major	2
5	HND-L322	Dietetics-II	Major	1
6	FST444	Food and Nutrition Policies	Major	3
7	-	Elective-II	Major	-
8	-	Major Elective-III	Major	-

Semester-VII (19 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	FST240	AI in Food and Nutrition	Major	1
2	FST-L240	AI in Food and Nutrition-Lab	Major	1
3	FST343	Research Methods in Food and Nutrition	Major	1
4	FST-L343	Research Methods in Food and Nutrition-Lab	Major	1
5	HND415	Nutritional Epidemiology	Major	3
6	HND416	Nutrition Education & Counseling	Major	2
7	HND-L416	Nutrition Education & Counseling-Lab	Major	1
8	-	Elective-IV	Major	-
9	-	Elective-V	Major	-
10	-	Elective-VI	Major	-

Semester-VIII (15 Cr. Hrs.)

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Credit Hours
1	HND-L443	Supervised Practicum-I-Lab	Major	3
2	HND-L444	Supervised Practicum-II-Lab	Major	3
3	FST447	Food and Nutrition Certifications	Major	3
4	CSP499	Capstone Project	Major	3
5	INT498	Field Experience/Internship	Major	3

General Courses

S No	GE Course Category	No. of Courses	Credit Hours
1	Arts & Humanities *	1	02
2	Natural Sciences *	1	03 (2+1)
3	Social Sciences *	1	02
4	Functional English, Expository Writing	2	06
5	Quantitative Reasoning	2	06
6	Islamic Studies / Ethics	1	02
7	Ideology & Constitution of Pakistan	1	02
8	Application of ICT	1	03= 2+1
9	Entrepreneurship	1	02
10	Civics and Community Engagement	1	02
11	Pakistan Studies	1	02
12	Fehm e Quran	1	02
	Total	14	34

Major Courses

S. No	Courses	Credit hours
1.	Introduction to Food Science and Technology	3 (2-1)
2.	Food Microbiology and Biotechnology	3 (2-1)
3.	Analytical Techniques in Food and Nutrition	3 (1-2)
4.	Food Safety & Quality Management	3 (3-0)
5.	Food & Drug Laws and Regulations	2 (2-0)
6.	Food Product Development	3 (1-2)
7.	Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals	2 (2-0)
8.	Research Methods in Food and Nutrition	2 (1-1)
9.	Fundamentals of Human Nutrition and Dietetics	3 (3-0)
10.	Community and Public Health Nutrition	3 (3-0)
11.	Food Service Management	2 (1-1)
12.	Fundamentals of Food Systems	3 (3-0)
13.	AI in Food and Nutrition	2 (1-1)
14.	Food and Nutrition Policies	3 (3-0)
15.	Food and Nutrition Certifications	3 (3-0)
16.	Macro and Micro Nutrients	3 (3-0)
17.	Nutrition through life cycle	3 (3-0)
18.	Meal planning and Management	3( 2-1)
19.	Nutritional Assessment	3 (2-1)
20.	Dietetics-I	3 (2-1)
21.	Dietetics-II	3 (2-1)
22.	Supervised Practicum-I	3 (0-3)
23.	Supervised Practicum-II	3 (0-3)
24.	Nutrition Education & Counseling	3 (2-1)
25.	Nutritional Epidemiology	3 (3-0)
	Total	70

Interdisciplinary Courses

S. No	Interdisciplinary / Allied Courses	Credit hours
1.	Human Anatomy	3 (2-1)
2.	Human Physiology	3 (2-1)
3.	General Pathology	3 (2-1)
4.	Clinical Biochemistry	3 (2-1)

List of Elective Courses:

Sr. No.	Course Code	Course Title	Category	Cr. Hrs.
1.	HND444	Early Childhood Development	Major	3
2.	HND443	Nutrition in Emergencies	Major	3
3.	HND340	Diet Therapy for Individuals with Special Needs	Major	2
4.	HND-L340	Diet Therapy for Individuals with Special Needs-Lab	Major	1
5.	HND316	Nutritional Practices in Clinical Care	Major	2
6.	HND-L316	Nutritional Practices in Clinical Care-Lab	Major	1
7.	HND441	Nutrition in Inborn Errors of Metabolism	Major	2
8.	HND-L441	Nutrition in Inborn Errors of Metabolism-Lab	Major	1
9.	HND442	Nutrition Metabolism & Endocrinology	Major	3

Career Opportunities

The program is structured to develop competent professionals who can contribute meaningfully to both academia and the growing nutrition and health sector in Pakistan. Graduates will be prepared for diverse roles such as university lecturer, clinical nutritionist and dietitian, nutrition researcher, public health nutritionist, therapeutic diet planner, weight management specialist, and nutrition supervisor in hospitals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutions, teaching sectors, and government health departments. They will be well-suited for employment in leading national organizations such as the Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society (PNDS), Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), National Institute of Health (NIH), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination and various public and private hospitals and wellness centres. The program also encourages entrepreneurship, enabling graduates to establish and manage their own nutrition and wellness clinics to serve the community’s dietary and health needs.

Criteria for Award of Degree

Each candidate of BS degree is required to complete 141 Cr. Hrs. with the CGPA of 2.0 on the scale of 4.0. This is a four-year degree program comprising of 8 semesters. There is a Fall and a Spring semester in each year. The summer semester is utilized for deficiency or improvement courses. The maximum duration to complete the BS Human Nutrition & Dietetics program is 7 years.