Master of Science in Food and Nutrition Sciences Curriculum

The Master of Science in Food and Nutrition Sciences has three program deliveries with three separate curricula and criteria for graduation.

Food and Nutrition Sciences (Online) - MS6476

Graduation Requirements

Full Graduation Requirements can be found on the graduate catalog.

Students pursuing the professional project (non-thesis) option must complete a minimum of 34 credit hours. (Students wishing to pursue the thesis option may discuss this with the program coordinator Vatsala Maitin, maitin@ohio.edu)

Required Nutrition Courses

Complete the following courses:

  • NUTR 5400 - Research Design and Methods in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 5908 - Advanced Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6500 - Translational Applications to Diet and Chronic Disease
  • NUTR 6901 - Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences (min. 2 hrs.)
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences (min. 2 hrs.)
  • Approved NUTR Elective (3 hours, 5000-level or above)

Statistics Requirement

Complete one of the following courses:

  • EDRE 7200 - Educational Statistics
  • IHS 5303 - Secondary data analysis in global health and development
  • PBIO 5150 - Statistical Methods in Plant Biology
  • PSY 6111 - Advanced Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Elective Courses

Students pursuing the professional project (non-thesis) option must complete an additional 15 hours of graduate elective courses. Students have the option to stack graduate certificates with this program and some courses from those certificates may count as elective courses.

Culminating Experience

Students will produce and defend a professional project (a significant undertaking appropriate to food and nutrition sciences). The professional project will show evidence of independent thinking, an explanation of the rationale of the project, a thorough review the relevant research literature in the project topic area, and a written description of the outcome(s) of the project. Once the professional project topic is selected, it will executed in one of six domains: develop a case study, design a curriculum, evaluate a program, propose research, develop a research project, or engage a community.

Food and Nutrition Sciences (On-Campus) - MS6471

Graduation Requirements

Full Graduation Requirements can be found on the graduate catalog.

Students pursuing the thesis option must complete 31 credit hours. Students pursuing the non-thesis option must complete 34 credit hours.

Required Nutrition Courses

Complete the following courses:

  • NUTR 5400 - Research Design and Methods in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 5908 - Advanced Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6500 - Translational Applications to Diet and Chronic Disease
  • NUTR 6901 - Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences (min. 2 hrs.)
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences (min. 2 hrs.)
  • Approved NUTR Elective (3 hours, 5000-level or above)

Statistics Requirement

Complete one of the following courses:

  • EDRE 7200 - Educational Statistics
  • IHS 5303 - Secondary data analysis in global health and development
  • PBIO 5150 - Statistical Methods in Plant Biology
  • PSY 6111 - Advanced Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Additional Course Requirements

Thesis Option
  • Electives - 10 hours
  • NUTR 6950 - Thesis in Food and Nutrition Sciences (min. 2 hrs.)
    Students must register for at least one hour of NUTR 6950 in the semester during which graduation requirements are completed.
Professional Project Option

Complete 15 hours of electives.

Culminating Experience

Thesis students will produce and orally defend a written thesis that is used to identify the problem, state major assumptions, explain the significance, review the relevant research in the topic area, describe the methods of data collection and analysis, summarizes the data and its relevant findings, and offers a conclusion and recommendations.

Professional project students will produce and orally defend a written document that is used to identify the project (a significant undertaking appropriate to food and nutrition sciences), shows evidence of independent thinking, explain the rationale, review the relevant research in the project topic area, and describe the outcome of the project.

Food and Nutrition Sciences with Dietetics Internship - MS6473

Graduation Requirements

Full Graduation Requirements can be found on the graduate catalog.

This program requires completion of the the following:

  • A minimum of 1,200 supervised practice hours, with a minimum of 550 community hours, 400 clinical hours, and 250 food service management hours.
  • Successful completion and documentation of all Learning Objectives in the Learning Assessment Summary Matrix
  • Master of Science Degree requirements, which are outlined below and include a minimum of 22 credits of supervised practice and 34 didactic course credits.

Semester 1

  • NUTR 5400 - Research Design and Methods in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6700 - Advanced Nutrition Applications
  • NUTR 6901 - Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6910 - Supervised Practice for Dietetic Interns
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • Interdisciplinary Elective (or take in Summer semester)

Semester 2

  • NUTR 5908 - Advanced Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6750 - Advanced Nutrition Support
  • NUTR 6910 - Supervised Practice for Dietetic Interns
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences

Semester 3

  • EDRE 7200 - Educational Statistics
  • NUTR 6910 - Supervised Practice for Dietetic Interns
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences

Semester 4

  • NUTR 6500 - Translational Applications to Diet and Chronic Disease
  • NUTR 6710 - Advanced Nutrition Synthesis of Professional Practice
  • NUTR 6901 - Seminar in Food and Nutrition Sciences
  • NUTR 6910 - Supervised Practice for Dietetic Interns
  • NUTR 6940 - Research in Food and Nutrition Sciences

Culminating Experience

Students must complete a Graduate Project.