Academic Catalog

Nutrition and Food Science (Ph.D.)

Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School.  A completed Master's degree in a health/science related filed is recommended. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 and the Graduate Record Examination is option, but recommended. Three letters of reference must be submitted, along with a statement of the applicant’s goals and career objectives, and an interview will be conducted with applicants, whenever feasible. Students with a master’s degree in nutrition, food science, or related disciplines will have their transcripts evaluated to determine which courses meet the Ph.D. course requirements.

A minimum of sixty graduate credits beyond the baccalaureate is required for completion of the Ph.D. program, distributed as follows:

  1. All students must complete the core departmental courses that total seven credits.
    1. The required core courses include the following: 
      1. NFS 6000 - Nutritional Biochemistry (4 credits)
      2. NFS 7060 - Research Problems in NFS (2 credits)
      3. NFS 7850 - Seminar/Journal Club (0.5 credits), must be taken twice
  2. At least twenty-two credits in Nutrition and Food Science (not including the core courses). 
  3. Additional courses from other basic science departments including at least one 7000-level course in biochemistry and one graduate course in statistics.
  4. Six credits must be completed outside the department that support the student's course of learning as determined with their advisor. 
  5. Eighteen credits in dissertation research, involving independent research under the direction of a faculty member in the Department. The eighteen credit dissertation registration requirement is fulfilled by registering for the courses NFS 9991, NFS 9992 (Doctoral Dissertation Research and Direction I and II, respectively), in consecutive academic year semesters.
  6. Submission of a satisfactory research dissertation.

Academic Scholarship: All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Back to top