Online M.S. Degree
Enhance your education and career at your own pace with this fully online M.S. degree program. Explore how food systems impact diet and wellness and further your clinical nutrition knowledge through an evidence-based research project.
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
36
Credit Hours
0
GRE Requirements
12
Months
Program Courses
You will take core classes in nutrition and food systems, chronic disease management, advanced community program development, and global food diet and culture. Our online 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.
During the course of their online M.S. degree, students will complete an evidence-based practice (EBP) project that has been developed based on their professional or personal interests. The EBP project experience provides students with the research skills they need to deliver services using the highest levels of evidence-based practice. This project will take into consideration the scientific evidence, the expertise of the health professionals and the needs of the stakeholders.
Core Courses (12 Hours Total)
- Food Systems and Society
- Chronic Disease Management and Process
- Advanced Community Program Development
- Seminar in Nutrition and Food Systems
Review Core Course Descriptions
Guided Electives (6 Hours Total)
- Thesis Option: for in-person learning
- Research Methods in Nutrition and Food Systems
- Regression Analysis and Design of Experiments
- Non-Thesis Option: for online learning
- Global Foods, Diet and Culture
- Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice in Dietetics OR Research Methods in Nutrition and Food Systems
Free Electives (6-12 Hours Total)
- Based on your interests and professional goals, choose from a wide variety of courses offered in DHN and at the University of Kentucky. Make the program work for YOU.
- Elective courses can be used to earn a Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition & Culinary Medicine.
- Elective options available in DHN:
- Introduction to Culinary Medicine
- Food Related Behaviors
- Obesity and Food Insecurity Paradigm: From Cell to Society
Evidence-Based Practice Project Coursework (6 Hours Total)
Admissions Requirements
Admission to the online M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems program is selective and competitive.
- Students must have a relevant undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. A relevant degree includes nutrition science/dietetics, exercise science, biology, chemistry, nursing, public health or other health-science related degrees.
- Alternatively, the applicant may be asked to complete prerequisite courses such as nutrition, physiology or biology courses as deemed necessary by the DHN graduate program admissions committee.
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required, with conditional admittance considered.
- The GRE is not required to apply.
- 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 the online application fee: $65 for domestic applicants and $75 for international applicants.
- 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.
Learn More & Apply
Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement to be approved for eligibility for the registration examination for dietitians will change 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). Learn more.
See our Handbook
Learn more about the program and application process in our handbook.
See the HandbookOnline Graduate Certificate
In collaboration with the College of Medicine and College of Health Sciences, we offer a Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine. This 100% online, 12-credit program explores nutritional approaches to various disease states and practical culinary strategies to bridge dietary recommendations with application. Elective courses allow students to tailor their graduate certificate to the needs of their practice or discipline, while also presenting the latest research concerning drug and nutrient interactions, approaches to community program development, and the physiologic basis for (or against) various dietary supplements. You can use elective hours to fulfill the 12 credit hours required for the certificate.
Applied Nutrition & Culinary Medicine
Discover evidence-based strategies to address your patients' and clients' specific nutrition needs as well as their toughest questions. Connect with nutrition educators at UK to learn about nutritional approaches and practical culinary strategies to promote health. This graduate certificate is designed for all health professionals.
Learn MoreConnect With Us
Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
204 Funkhouser Building
Lexington, KY 40506
859-257-3800
dhn@uky.edu
