Online Certificate in
Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness, and Sports



Register for this Certificate Here!

The Online Professional Certificate in Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness, and Sports has been designed to meet the growing demand of allied health/medical professionals, Registered Dietitians, fitness professionals, personal trainers, and the general public who want to learn about developing individualized nutritional programs for clients, patients, or for personal improvement. This Certificate program provides an in-depth examination of contemporary nutritional topics such as meal plan analysis, functional food implementation, antioxidants, public nutrition, sports nutrition, vitamin supplementation, and weight management.

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) has approved the Certificate in Nutrition program for 40 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs) or 10 (CPEUs) per course for both the Registered Dietitian (RDs) and Dietetic Technician-Registered (DTRs).

For open enrollment, students can register at any time, and once logged into the course(s) they registered for, they are allowed 8 weeks to complete the course(s).

Click here to review a detailed Certificate Program Fact Sheet.
Click here for a list of CECs/CEUs.

Certificate Course Descriptions

Course 1: Nutrition and You: Functional Foods
Instructor: Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE
Heard about the health benefits of cocoa on cardiovascular health? What do garlic, tomato sauce, and tofu have in common? Which spices and herbs need to be consumed in your daily diet? In this course you will learn what to eat and how to decrease the incidence of many common diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. 

Course 2: Weight Management and Nutrition in the Lifecycle
Instructor: Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE
Applying the principles of good nutrition starts at Day 1, whether working with clients or designing a personal healthy eating program. This course teaches students the principles behind helping a client in any stage of their lifecycle to set and achieve weight goals while working in conjunction with a registered dietitian in a team approach.Discover how the right nutrition can help you feel young while growing older and what specific nutrients need to be increased in your diet as you age. Dispel the myths of fad diets as you learn how to personalize your own meal plan and those of your clients. 

Course 3: Introduction to Sports Nutrition and Performance
Instructor: Jane Burrell Uzcategui, M.S., RD
Learn what to eat before competing, understand the principles of healthy meal planning for athletes and be able to identify safe sport supplements such as protein powders/bars, creatine, and sport drinks. Find out if you’re providing the best fuel for your body in the short or long term and gain insights into how proper nutrition can provide optimal muscle recovery and sports performance. 

Course 4: Public Nutrition and Wellness Education
Instructor: Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE
This course delves more deeply into nutrition and disease prevention. Master the tools needed to provide educated answers on how to stay healthy, become healthier, reduce the risk of chronic disease, prevent disease, and improve the overall well-being of your clients or yourself. Students will: learn how to navigate through the media’s mixed messages on nutrition and diets, effectively interpret nutrition news, understand critical information on the truth behind vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.