Master of Science in Nutrition and Health Promotion
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. These students take a greater number of research-focused courses. The nutrition entrepreneurship concentration provides students with the business knowledge and skills they need to open a private practice or other entrepreneurial venture in the food and nutrition field. These students take graduate management courses from Simmons School of Business and develop a business plan.
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:
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Students will demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills that will prepare them for critical assessment in practice and evidence based problem solving.
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Students will acquire the skills for collaborative and/or leadership opportunities.
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Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to evaluate and synthesize nutrition research to improve individual and community health.
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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:
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:
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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.
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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 MS Program the opportunity to complete the program in one academic year with full time study, or across two to four years with part-time study. The fully online program is for U.S. residents only.
Degree requirements
The MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion is a 30 credit program, comprised of 10 courses. Students must earn a B or better to pass each course.
Prerequisites
The courses listed below are prerequisites for many Nutrition courses. 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:
- 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 one elective. The research concentration culminates with the completion of a thesis project.
| NUTR 410 | Research Methods | 3 |
| 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 490A | Research Proposal Development | 3 |
| NUTR 490B | Nutrition Research Project | 3 |
| NUTR 570 | Health Promotion | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
| SNHS 450 | Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 |
Nutrition and Health Promotion - Entrepreneurship Concentration Curriculum
The curriculum for entrepreneurship track includes nine required graduate courses and one elective. The entrepreneurship track culminates with the completion of a customized business plan.
| NUTR 410 | Research Methods | 3 |
| 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 | Business Proposal Development | 3 |
| MSMG 407 | Financial Aspects of Business | 3 |
| MSMG 440/GSM 570 | Creativity Innovation & Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
| SNHS 450 | Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 |
Affiliations with Dietetic Internship Programs
Students completing the Simmons MS and Didactic Program in Dietetics can apply early to the Simmons University Dietetic Internship Program, 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.
Students can also be admitted to our MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion program in conjunction with one of the following internship programs: Massachusetts General Hospital Dietetic Internship, Wellness Workdays Distance Dietetic Internship, and Be Well Solutions Distance Dietetic Internship. Please see the Health Sciences admission website for further details about this opportunity.
Accelerated degree options: The 4+1 Programs
Three accelerated BS/MS Nutrition programs are available to Simmons University undergraduates. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for admission requirements and additional information.
- Nutrition (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS)
- Public Health (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS)
- Health & Exercise Science (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS)
- Biology (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS)