Master of Science in Nutrition - Nutrition Science

The Nutrition Science concentration provides you with an excellent opportunity to pursue your interests in understanding the roles of nutrition in health and disease, development and aging, and in athletic performance. The objective of the Nutrition Science program is to ensure that you obtain an advanced and comprehensive education in the science of nutrition, along with research training that includes experimental design and analysis, laboratory skills, and experiences in scientific writing and presentations. Interdisciplinary opportunities exist with faculty in biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, exercise, sport and movement sciences, and psychology, as well as with faculty at other institutions within the Memphis area. You will have opportunities to study the influences of nutrition at levels of organization ranging from genes to intact organisms.

The master’s degree in Nutrition Science is a 33-credit-hour program that offers a diversity of courses for you to develop a curriculum that is matched to your specific interests. Nutrition students may choose to do a research project culminating in a formal thesis or applied project.

Admission to the Graduate School is open to anyone holding a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from an accredited college or university. In cases, where a program’s accrediting body allows alternate admissions standards, exceptions may be made. Applicants should have completed undergraduate or graduate work of sufficient quality and scope to enable them to successfully pursue graduate study. The University of Memphis offers equal educational opportunity to all persons without regard to race, religion, sex, creed, color, national origin or disability. Baccalaureate Degree: The applicant must provide an official transcript showing that a bachelor’s degree was awarded by an accredited college or university. If you are a UofM undergraduate student applying to Graduate School at UofM, you do not need to request that an official transcript be sent to Graduate Admissions. This office has access to your transcript. In addition, transcripts from any other college or university attended may be requested. Only transcripts received directly from an issuing institution are considered official. Personal copies are not acceptable as official documents. GPA: The applicant must have earned an acceptable grade point average, typically a minimum of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0, but departments may make exceptions for students whose overall GPA does not adequately reflect their ability to succeed in their chosen field. English proficiency test scores required by the University: Duolingo English Test- For students affected by test center closures due to COVID-19, the University is temporarily accepting Duolingo as an alternative. 100 or higher on the overall score, all sub scores must be at least 80. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Institution code 1459. TOEFL - 550 or higher on the paper version, 79 or higher on the internet-based test IELTS (International English Language Testing System- 6.0 or higher PTE (Pearson Test of English) - 53 or higher Prospective students must apply through the Graduate School creating a log in to fill out the application and submit transcripts , except Clinical Nutrition applicants must also follow the DICAS application process See http://www.memphis.edu/healthsciences/graduate/index.php. Additionally, as part of the application to the Graduate School for the Clinical Nutrition program, an official report of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores must be submitted. GRE score submission is not required, but optional, for Environmental Nutrition (ENVN) and Nutrition Science (NSCI) programs. An applicant, except for Clinical Nutrition, must upload the following in WebAdmit: Two letters of recommendation A 300-500 word statement of goals including identification of the intended area of concentration. Although exceptions may be considered, an applicant is normally expected to have graduated with a minimum baccalaureate GPA of 2.75, except Clinical Nutrition applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Completion of an appropriate undergraduate major and a strong background in discipline-specific courses: Clinical Nutrition: Completion of an undergraduate degree and an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)-approved Didactic Program in Dietetics Verification Statement. Environmental Nutrition: life science-oriented courses such as nutrition, biology, health sciences, public health, health promotion, food service, and anthropology Nutrition Science: science-oriented courses such as, but not limited to, nutrition, biology, biochemistry, health sciences, and chemistry Completion of undergraduate work deemed by the concentration committee as prerequisite to graduate courses