Message from the Head of Department

Dear Students,

Nutrition and Dietetics is described as the science of the 21st century. The way an individual eats is an important factor that determines and influences not only their physical condition but also their mental health and social status. Adequate, healthy and quality nutrition plays an important role in protecting and improving the health of society, and it also ensures the quality of life of the individual and the community. For all these reasons, the subject of nutrition and the dietitian profession attract the interest of many professional groups.

In national and international scientific studies, the effectiveness of creating and implementing individual-specific diet programs has been proven in the prevention and treatment of many diseases, from cardiovascular diseases to diabetes, from colon cancer to depression, from Alzheimer’s disease to hypertension, from metabolic syndrome to osteoporosis, and in improving quality of life.

A dietitian is not only a professional who prepares healthy nutrition programs for healthy individuals and medical nutrition programs for patients, but also an important health professional who prepares nutrition programs in collective catering facilities, manages and organizes collective catering institutions and organizations, serves as an educator in educational institutions and organizations, and takes part in the formulation of the country’s nutrition plans and policies.

Today, dietitians, with the education they receive and the skills they acquire, work not only in health institutions such as hospitals and community health centers, but also in all organizations with collective catering, such as preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools, higher education institutions, nursing homes, banks, public institutions, armed forces, factories, food factories, …, as well as in many fields such as the food industry, the tourism sector, sports centers, and nutrition and diet counseling centers.

Our Department was established in the 2011-2012 academic year as a department of the School of Health Sciences under Hasan Kalyoncu Üniversitesi, a university recognized and preferred in our region. It graduated its first students in 2014-2015.

Our Department, which initially continued its education and training within the School of Health Sciences, has been enriched since the 2015-2016 academic year with an educational staff that can be considered the strongest in our country in both quantity and quality. Our Department has physical conditions (classrooms and laboratories) and professional practice opportunities that enable effective education.

Since the 2017-2018 academic year, our Department has been conducting its educational activities within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Our Department started master’s education in the 2015-2016 academic years and doctoral education in the 2017-2018 academic years.

The aim of our Department is to train respected and superior-quality dietitians and health educators who serve to protect, sustain and develop public health in our country and region, are sensitive to social problems and have social responsibility, are innovative, scientific, humane and give priority to ethical values, and take an active role in health policies.

The vision of our Department is to become a leading, preferred and respected department that is recognized at the national and international level in its field through its research, education and services.

Wishing you all success, primarily in your studies, and in all the responsibilities you will undertake, and that you do everything you do and will do with enthusiasm, excitement and love.