Nutrition & Food Scienceat University of Missouri-Columbia
Graduates earn $40,837/yr in their first year — about 30.0% above the national Nutrition & Food Science average. Base-case 10-year earnings $559K; scenarios range from $514K to $565K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at University of Missouri
Mizzou's strong reputation as a flagship institution in Missouri likely underpins the impressive outcomes you're seeing for its Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services graduates. This program stands out nationally, often benefiting from direct pipelines into regional healthcare systems like University Hospital and Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, as well as school districts across the state for teaching and food service management roles. The "Related Services" aspect often emphasizes community health and education, fields with steady demand.
While the data points to a high AI risk for the general field, Mizzou's focus on clinical dietetics, nutritional counseling, and family and consumer sciences education cultivates essential human-centric skills that are harder to automate. These roles rely heavily on interpersonal communication, empathy, and complex problem-solving. To thrive long-term, consider specializing in an area like clinical dietetics or public health nutrition, and actively seek internships that build strong client-facing or leadership experience.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to University of Missouri's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Nutrition & Food Science
How University of Missouri stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at University of Missouri
Other highest-scoring programs offered at University of Missouri, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Consider the trade route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Nutrition & Food Science offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.
Compare Nutrition & Food Science trade programs on TradeSchoolOutlook →Frequently asked about Nutrition & Food Science at University of Missouri
How does University of Missouri-Columbia's Nutrition & Food Science program score?
This program scores 56/100, reflecting respectable but not exceptional financial outcomes for Nutrition & Food Science graduates.
How vulnerable is Nutrition & Food Science to AI automation?
AI won't 'replace' Nutrition & Food Science careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 45% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.
Why does University of Missouri-Columbia rank so high for Nutrition & Food Science?
The #4 ranking out of 38 programs is driven by strong financial outcomes — graduates earn well, debt is manageable relative to income, and the job market supports the field.