Nutritional Sciences - Graduate

The Ph.D. Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences offers advanced multidisciplinary studies that serve as a springboard for nutrition-related careers in academia, industry and government. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary research opportunities in laboratories run by nationally known faculty, with nutrition-related studies ranging from molecular mechanisms to complex metabolic interactions, disease-health interactions and behavioral processes. One of the Division’s primary areas of research and training targets nutrition and chronic diseases, with a focus on obesity and associated disorders of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

Other specialty areas include nutrition and oxidative stress, nutrition and aging, clinical nutrition, animal nutrition and food science. In addition to their research activities, Ph.D. students must fulfill curriculum requirements, complete a dissertation, fulfill residency requirements and pass a thesis defense, as outlined in the PhD Handbook. The program takes four to five years to complete, and there are two ways to be admitted into the PhD program: direct admission or through the IBS Program.

The Master’s of Science Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences provides students with multidisciplinary training while enabling them to focus on areas in which they are particularly interested. The M.S. program prepares students for a number of careers in health care, academia, education, wellness and other nutrition-related fields. Students can choose either a thesis option (Plan A) or non-thesis option (Plan B) option. Students interested in the thesis option may pursue research projects with nationally known faculty active in a number of basic and clinical research areas. Both Plan A and B require satisfactory completion of all required course work and passing an oral comprehensive exam, as outlined in detail in the MS Handbook. Course work and research require two to three years to complete.