Nutrition Graduate Program Requirements

Students have the option of two plans in order to complete the graduate program:

Plan A students must complete 32 credits, including 6 credits for thesis (NUTR 797 or equivalent). A thesis is a scientific document that describes the background, methods, results and conclusions of an original research activity.

Plan B students must complete 35 credits, including 3 credits for professional paper (NUTR 796 or equivalent). A professional paper here refers to a critical analysis of existing knowledge on a specified nutrition topic/problem that is written in a style suitable for a science journal.

Students enrolled in both Plan A and B, must complete and earn a “B” or better (i.e., 3.0) in each of the following core nutrition courses (total of 15 credits):

1. Micronutrients (NUTR 735; 3 credits)
2. Macronutrients (NUTR 730; 3 credits)
3. Nutrition and Health (NUTR 725; 3 credits)
4. Nutrition Assessment Techniques (NUTR 732; 3 credits)
5. Seminar in Nutrition (NUTR 726; 1 credit)

Students who fail to earn a “B” or better in one or more of the core nutrition courses have the option of re-enrolling in the course(s) the next time it is offered. There are no substitutions available for regularly scheduled classes.

 Other required courses for both Plans include:

1. Graduate-level research methods course (3 credits). Students may select a research course among the following approved courses:
   • CEP 700 Introduction to Educational Research
   • EECB 750 Research Design in Ecology (same as BIO 750)
   • EL 785 Survey Research in Education
   • NUTR 680 Nutrition Research and Contemporary Issues
   • SOC 737 Survey Research Methods
        
2. Graduate-level statistics course (3 credits). Students may select a statistics course among the following approved courses:
   • APST 663, Design and Analysis of Experiments
   • CEP 640 Educational Measurements and Statistics
   • CEP 740 Advanced Educational Measurements and Statistics
   • PUBH 780 Research Methods and Applied Biostatistics
        
3. Graduate-level seminar course (1 credit). In addition to NUTR 726 (1 credit) listed previously, all students must complete a second graduate seminar course. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing an additional semester of NUTR 726 or by enrolling in a graduate seminar related to their area of specialization/interest.
      
4. To fulfill the remaining credit hours, students may complete other elective courses that are directed toward developing proficiency in the students’ selected area of specialization/interest.