Master of Science in Nutrition

Description

Our master’s program is designed for students with backgrounds in nutrition, biology, health sciences, health education, athletic training, exercise physiology and physical education.Students will develop an advanced understanding of nutrition, health promotion, fitness and wellness and the expertise to assess future research in these areas. It fulfills the MS requirement to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist RDN). Our students seek to influence the nutritional status of individuals and populations through the advanced nutrition knowledge, leadership, and problem-solving skills acquired in our program.

We have two concentrations, a research concentration and a nutrition entrepreneurship concentration. The research concentration provides students with the knowledge and skills to conduct research and the opportunity to complete an original research project under the mentorship of a faculty member. The nutrition entrepreneurship concentration provides students with the business knowledge and skills they need to develop an entrepreneurial venture in the food and nutrition field.

Students will be prepared for a wide range of careers as clinicians, health educators, researchers, and more.

Requirements for Entry

Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree (BS or BA) from a regionally accredited US college or university or an overseas institution of higher learning recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country. An overall GPA of 3.0 or better is required in the prerequisite courses and the cumulative GPA.

MS Nutrition and Health Promotion Outcomes:

Students will demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills that will prepare them for critical assessment in practice and evidence based problem solving.
Students will acquire the skills for collaborative and/or leadership opportunities.
Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to evaluate and synthesize nutrition research to improve individual and community health.
Students will develop skills in effective oral and written professional communications.

Research Concentration Specific Learning Outcomes

This concentration (or track) is for students interested in better understanding, evaluating and/or collaborating in original research in nutrition and wellness. In addition to the aforementioned MS program outcomes, there are two additional learning outcomes for this track as shown below:

Students will gain knowledge and skills that will prepare them for research applications in clinical, community, or academic settings.

Students will conduct an original research project, resulting in a manuscript for publication.

Entrepreneurship Concentration Specific Learning Outcomes

This concentration (or track) is for students interested in developing entrepreneurial ventures in the food and nutrition field. In addition to the aforementioned MS program outcomes,there are two additional learning outcomes for this track as shown below:

Students will gain knowledge and skills that will prepare them to formulate a new creative venture or innovation for the for-profit, not-for-profit, or government sector.
Students will develop a business plan aligned with their career goals.

Delivery Modes Offered

The MS program is offered both as an on-the-ground program and a fully online program. The on-the-ground option includes face-to-face courses at Simmons, typically held in the evenings. Both delivery formats allow students in the Nutrition and Health Promotion Master's Program the opportunity to complete the program in one academic year, or two to four years of part-time study; the fully online program is for U.S. residents only.

Degree requirements

There are two concentrations or tracks available in our MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion: 1) a Research concentration (formerly known as the Wellness concentration) in which students take a greater number of research-focused courses and complete a research project, 2) an Entrepreneurship concentration in which students take graduate management courses from our School of Business to prepare to them for opening a private practice or other entrepreneurial endeavors and complete a business plan. This MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion requires 31-32 credits depending on the concentration and elective choices.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisite courses are required. Equivalent coursework may be taken at any U.S. regionally accredited colleges or universities or a higher education institution abroad that is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country within ten years before the application deadline. Courses may be in progress at the time of application, but, if accepted, the applicant must have completed all prerequisites before the start of the program. F-1 visa applicants must have completed all prerequisites before applying. These prerequisite courses must be graded and may not be completed on a pass/fail basis or audited. CLEP or IB scores are not accepted for such required courses. An overall GPA of 3.0 or better is required in the prerequisite courses; the expectation is that applicants have earned a grade of B or better in each course.

Inorganic Chemistry with a lab (at Simmons, CHEM 111 or CHEM 113)
Organic Chemistry with a lab (at Simmons, CHEM 112)
Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs (at Simmons, BIOL 231 and BIOL 232)
Introductory Nutrition (at Simmons, NUTR 111* or NUTR 112)
Introduction to Community Nutrition (at Simmons, NUTR 237)
Introductory Biochemistry (at Simmons, CHEM 223)
Introductory Statistics (at Simmons, STAT 118)

No pre-approval is needed in the following cases as long as they do not have online labs:

Any course with 'statistics' in the title
One separate semester/term of human anatomy and one separate semester/term (sometimes 3 quarters are needed) of human physiology at one or more institutions. Animal physiology will not meet this requirement.
AP (Anatomy & Physiology) I & II (with lab) at the same institution.

Pre-approval via submission of a syllabus is always needed in the following cases:

All online prerequisite courses (provide the online syllabus for both the course and lab, not the on-site syllabus)

All accelerated courses
A/P I & II taken at more than one institution
All nutrition courses

Concentrations, specializations, etc.

MS Nutrition and Health Promotion - Research Concentration Curriculum

The curriculum for the Research concentration includes nine required graduate courses and two electives. The MS with the research concentration culminates with the completion of an MS thesis project.

NUTR 452	Nutrition Practice: Program, Plan, Evaluation	3
NUTR 453	Advanced Topics in Preventative Nutrition	3
NUTR 455	Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness	3
NUTR 460	Nutritional Epidemiology	3
NUTR 489	Nutrition Proposal Development	2
NUTR 490	Nutrition Research Project	3
SNHS 410	Research Methods	3
SNHS 450	Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives	3
SNHS 570	Health Promotion	2
	Two elective courses

Nutrition and Health Promotion - Entrepreneurship Concentration Curriculum

The curriculum for entrepreneurship track includes nine required graduate courses and two electives. The entrepreneurship track culminates with the completion of a customized business plan.

NUTR 452	Nutrition Practice: Program, Plan, Evaluation	3
NUTR 453	Advanced Topics in Preventative Nutrition	3
NUTR 455	Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness	3
NUTR 462	Consulting Nutrition Practice	3
NUTR 489	Nutrition Proposal Development	2
MSMG 407	Financial Aspects of Business	3
MSMG 440/GSM 570	Creativity Innovation & Entrepreneurship	3
SNHS 450	Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives	3
SNHS 410	Research Methods	3
	Two elective courses

Affiliations with Dietetic Internship Programs

Simmons University has affiliation agreements with several prestigious dietetic internship programs that allow students to apply early prior to the normal mid-February deadline. These include the Beth Israel Deaconess Dietetic Internship Program, the Massachusetts General Hospital Dietetic Internship Program, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dietetic Internship Program, the Hebrew Rehab Dietetic Internship Program, the Wellness Workdays Dietetic Internship Program and the Be Well Solutions Dietetic Internship Program..

Students completing the Simmons MS and Didactic Program in Dietetics can apply early to the Simmons University Dietetic Internship Program, the Beth Israel Deaconess, BWH, MGH, Hebrew Rehab, Be Well Solutions Dietetic Internship Programs through the pre-select option. MS students and recent graduates are eligible if their anticipated graduation date from Simmons is prior to the internship start date. This arrangement involves a deadline earlier than the standard February 15 deadline for the centralized internship application. However, applicants will be notified of the application decision early before the standard decision notification (ie match) date. Applicants not pre-selected are automatically considered by these Dietetic Internships for their regular application round. Students can also be admitted to our online MS in conjunction with the distance Wellness Workdays and Be Well Solutions dietetic internships. Please see the Health Sciences admission website for further details on this opportunity.

Dual (and other) degree options

Three accelerated BS/MS Nutrition programs are available to Simmons University undergraduates: the Nutrition (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS): 4 + 1 Program; the Public Health (BS)/Nutrition (MS): 4 + 1 Program, and the Exercise Science (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS) 4+1 Program. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for admission requirements and additional information.