Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School.  A completed Master's degree in a health/science related filed is recommended. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 and the Graduate Record Examination is option, but recommended. Three letters of reference must be submitted, along with a statement of the applicant’s goals and career objectives, and an interview will be conducted with applicants, whenever feasible. Students with a master’s degree in nutrition, food science, or related disciplines will have their transcripts evaluated to determine which courses meet the Ph.D. course requirements.

A minimum of ninety graduate credits beyond the baccalaureate is required for completion of the Ph.D. program, distributed as follows:

1. At least thirty credits in Nutrition and Food Science. Twenty-two of these credits are required for all students, and eight credits are selected to fill student needs and interests.
2. Additional courses from other basic science departments including at least one 7000-level course in biochemistry and one graduate course in statistics.
3. Eight credits must be completed outside the Department to form a minor. A list of required and elective courses for doctoral studies is available from the Department Office.
4. Thirty credits in dissertation research, involving independent research under the direction of a faculty member in the Department. The thirty credit dissertation registration requirement is fulfilled by registering for the courses NFS 9991, NFS 9992, NFS 9993, and NFS 9994 (Doctoral Dissertation Research and Direction I, II, III, and IV, respectively), in consecutive academic year semesters.
5. Submission of a satisfactory research dissertation.

Academic Scholarship: All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.