The Department of Food and Nutrition was established in the first 4-year College of Human Ecology in Korea in 1963. Graduate level courses have been offered since 1972 and doctoral courses have been offered since 1979. The research institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences (RIFNS) was founded in 1992 in response to the growing need for advanced research and for integrated knowledge in the field of Food and Nutrition.

Food and Nutrition emphasizes food and nutritional sciences, food service management, nutrition education, and diet therapy. The objective of the department is to raise the quality of life by improving the level of human health and nutrition through research and practical application. The curriculum is focused on the basic and applied sciences relating to Food Sciences, Nutrition Science, and Foodservice Management. Possible career choices for Food and Nutrition graduates include that of nutritionists (in hospitals, companies, schools, health centers, or food service firms), food company researchers (in fields of product development, product evaluation, or promotion and marketing), or food service administrators (fast-food franchises, hotels, promotion and publicity departments).

Since March 2006, the second stage of Brain Korea 21 project for functional foods and nutrigenomics, the team supported by the Korea Ministry of Education and Human Resources Develpoment, has been developing new courses, conducting joint research with specialized international research institutes and prominent universities, supporting short-term, long-term overseas studies and participation in international societies, and organizing and holding international conferences, contests, and workshops. Team's goal is to advance the scholastic achievements of graduate school students and produce international level research results in order to realize world-class functional foods and nutrigenomics research with the support of the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development. The team also supports participation in workshops inside and outside the country, as well as full scholarships for the participating students. The effort of the team to improve research capabilities through mutual exchanges between the functional foods and nutrigenomics project laboratories contributes to the improvement of education and research abilities of the graduate students who join the research team. Currently, English lecture courses on the latest functional foods and nutrigenomics research information are being conducted by the visiting professors from Tufts University, USA.