In-person M.S. Degree Thesis Pathway
This in-person program allows students to explore courses covering the complexities, social implications and nutritional impacts of the food system, chronic disease management, advanced research methods and community program development.
The skills and knowledge gained from this program will prepare you for careers in a variety of settings including healthcare, private practice, community organizations, education, government, industry, nonprofit and more. You will explore evidence-based strategies to improve the health of individuals and the communities where they live and will gain knowledge and experience to support and grow your career and reach in the field of nutrition.
Fast Facts
30
Credit Hours
0
GRE Requirements
18
Months
Customizable Program Choices
You will take core classes in nutrition and food systems, chronic disease management, advanced community program development, and global food diet and culture. Our M.S. program also allows flexibility in taking elective courses offered through our department and/or from other related disciplines. In DHN, we offer graduate elective coursework in obesity, food-related behaviors, culinary medicine and more. Our students also take elective courses from departments such as kinesiology and health promotion, communications, public health, sociology and sustainable agriculture. Make your graduate degree unique to your interests and professional goals.
Plan A Thesis Pathway
Core Courses (15 credit hours total)
DHN 580: Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice in Dietetics (3CH)
This course focuses on the fundamentals used in evidence-based practice for nutrition research in multiple settings. Students explore research opportunities while developing critical thinking skills through readings, writings, and discussion. Course topics include ethics, study design, developing a problem statement, qualitative/quantitative methods, populations, intervention(s), comparison, and outcomes.
DHN 605: Food Systems and Society (3CH)
Tracks food from farm to table, including growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption and disposal. The course assesses sustainability of food systems and explores the ethical, economical, socio-ecological and environmental factors that affect local, regional, national, and global food system development.
DHN 607: Food Related Behaviors (3CH)
This team-taught course will provide background in topics and methods in food related behaviors to students. The course will follow a problem-based learning approach and will consist of 3 out of 4 modules in any given year. The four modules will be Social and Cultural Perspectives on Food, Psychological Perspectives on Food and Food Behaviors, Challenges to Community Food Security, and International Issues in Nutrition.
DHN 608: Chronic Disease Management and Process (3CH)
Focuses on the etiology and pathophysiology of nutriton-related chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The course emphasizes the biochemical and physiological mechanisms involved by which nutrients impact the prevention, nutrition care process-diagnosis, assessment, implementation of care, monitoring and evaluation, and progression of chronic diseases & conditions.
Support Elective Credit Hours (9 credit hours)
STA 674: Regression Analysis and Design of Experiments (3CH)
The course begins with an applied regression module that emphasizes analysis and interpretation of real data, and statistical computing. The second part of the course focuses on principles and implementation of experimental design for scientific research purposes. Standard designs presented along with the proper kinds of analysis for each.
500+ Level Free Electives (6CH)
Select from a wide variety of 500+ level electives, including DHN 593: Introduction to Culinary Medicine, DHN 597: The Obesity and Food Insecurity Paradigm, and many more!
Additional Requirements (6 credit hours)
DHN 768: Resident Credit for Master's Degree Written Thesis and Oral Defense (6CH)
Develop a thesis under the direction of a full or associate member of the Graduate Faculty. Select a thesis topic, collect data, write the thesis, and complete a successful oral defense.
With our traditional thesis-based option, students will work alongside their thesis chair who will guide them through the writing process in order to complete a written thesis as well as an oral defense. The topic of research will be tailored to personal interests and goals, and students will receive the support of their thesis chair every step of the way. Graduate students in this program are eligible for research and teaching assistantships, which may offset some costs of attendance. Explore the work of our program graduates in the thesis library.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the online M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems program is selective and competitive.
- Applicants with baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), public health, agriculture, social sciences and other fields are encouraged to apply. Degrees must be from a fully accredited U.S. institution of higher learning or from a recognized foreign institution. See Graduate School admissions for specifics.
- Have an overall grade point average of at least 2.75 on undergraduate work and 3.00 on all graduate work, if applicable.
- The GRE is not required to apply.
- International applicants whose native language is not English must submit either a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score. See Graduate School admissions for specifics.
- Visit The Graduate School to start the application process, and enter program code NFSY for the Master of Science in Nutrition and Food.
- Upload copies of transcripts from all higher education institutions attended and self report cumulative GPA. If you are offered admission and decide to enroll, you will be required to submit official transcripts to UK Graduate School.
- Pay for the online application.
- For applicants whose native language is not English, self-report English language test scores from one of the following testing services on the application when prompted.
- Send Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores directly to us from ETS, using UK Graduate School’s institution code R1837.
- Send International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) scores directly to us from IELTS, specifying the University of Kentucky Graduate School, Lexington, KY, as the recipient institution.
- Submit a professional writing sample. This can be a paper you have written for a previous class or for publication.
- Include three letters of recommendation.
- Upload your curriculum vitae (CV) or resume.
- Draft and submit a statement of purpose. This document should be one or two pages and can include your background, your preparation and your purpose for going to graduate school, your career goals, and your research and teaching experience.
Additional Opportunities
Graduate Research
Our program goal is to provide students with expertise in nutrition and food systems for applying practical and critical thinking skills to address nutrition-related problems in an evolving global society. Together, the student and their thesis chair discuss research interests and develop a thesis proposal, which is approved by the student’s thesis committee (a total of three members). In the last semester of the student’s program of study they will submit their written thesis to their committee, as well as the Graduate School, and defend their work during an oral defense.
Learn More about ResearchAssistantships
Gain both experience and financial assistance with a graduate assistantship. Teaching and research assistantships are available for qualified students on a competitive application basis. Assistantships include a stipend and scholarship. To be considered for an assistantship, applicants must apply to the graduate program by March 1 for admission the following fall semester and October 1 for admission the following spring semester. Each semester, current students must reapply for a graduate assistantship as they are awarded every semester based on performance.
Learn More about AssistantshipsLearn More and Apply
Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement to be approved for eligibility for the registration examination for dietitians changed from a bachelor's degree to a graduate degree. This decision was made by the Commission on Dietetic Registration based on the recommendations of the Council on Future Practice Visioning Report (2012).
See Program Details
Learn more about the program and current requirements.
Learn More about the ProgramConnect With Us
Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
204 Funkhouser Building
Lexington, KY 40506
859-257-3800
dhn@uky.edu
