Admission

Our programs are designed for health care and wellness professionals, who can, within their discipline’s particular scope of practice, provide nutritional consultation/advice.

In addition to meeting the qualifications of a student of the College of Health and Wellness, applicants and non-degree or certificate seeking students must meet the following admission requirements for the Applied Clinical Nutrition Program:

• Completion of an undergraduate biology, chemistry or physiology course prior to enrolling in any of the graduate-level courses
• Completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited university prior to awarding either of the certificates or master's degree
• A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5

Selection of Candidates

The Admissions Committee seeks to matriculate students who best suit the philosophies and goals of the University. Northwestern seeks to select students who have strong academic records. The University employs a rolling admissions process. Therefore, early application could increase the applicant’s probability for acceptance. The University encourages campus visits for all applicants and reserves the right to require an interview.

Tuition Deposit Policy

Applicants will be notified in writing of the Admission Committee’s decision regarding their application following receipt of all application materials and committee review. Upon notification of acceptance, a candidate must remit a tuition deposit of $100 to reserve a position in the entering class. This tuition deposit is non-refundable but is applied toward the first trimester tuition. If the student has a loan in progress for the first trimester at Northwestern, then the first trimester tuition will be credited against this loan. It is important to note that because of the limited space available in each class, scheduling priorities and the cost of education, the institutional refund policy does not apply to the $100 tuition deposit.

Transfer Students and Transfer Policy

Requests for transfer credit will be considered based on the following criteria:

1. An official transcript must accompany any request for transfer credit;
2. The institution where the coursework was completed must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education;
3. The course(s) completed at the other institution must have similar objectives and be of similar content and length as the course(s) being substituted. A course catalog and/or syllabus may be required to demonstrate course content;
4. Students must have earned a C or better in any course being considered for transfer;
5. Any coursework submitted for transfer must have been completed within five years of the date that a transfer application is submitted to the University;
6. A maximum of 8 credits will be transferred per student in the certificate program and 15 credits per student in the Master’s Degree program;
7. Requests for transfer credit will only be considered prior to matriculation into the program;
8. The final decision regarding transfer credit rests with the Dean of the College of Health and Wellness.

Payment

All tuition and fees owed are due and payable by the end of the third week of class each academic term. After the completion of the third week of class, if tuition has not been paid or if arrangements for payment have not been made with the Accounting Office, a $100 late fee will be assessed and registration for that academic term will be canceled. In order to be reinstated, the affected student must pay tuition in full or make payment arrangements with the Accounting Office. All tuition and fees owed by a student must be paid in full before registration begins for the subsequent academic term or s/he will not be allowed to register. Any student with a balance due at the time of graduation will not receive a diploma and copies of official transcripts will be withheld until the balance is paid in full.

When you receive financial aid, you are subject to the 150 percent rule. This rule means that if you attempt more than 150 percent of the credit hours needed to graduate from the program, you will not be eligible to continue to receive financial aid. (For example, the number of credit hours needed to complete the certificate program is 16 and 150 percent of 16 credits is 24 credits.)

The Institutional Refund Policy applies to students who withdraw and students who are dismissed and in the case of cancellation of the program in which the student is enrolled.

Non-Program Students

Students not currently admitted to a program may enroll in a course for credit, if they meet the prerequisites, space is available and approval for attendance in the course has been granted by the course instructor and the Dean. Students that are granted approval to enroll in a course should contact the Office of Admissions for a special application and registration instructions.