Functional Foods, Nutrition, and Health Graduate Studies
A PhD option in Functional Foods, Nutrition, and Health is available to those interested in foods or nutrition and health. This is an exciting emerging field in both food science, health and nutritional sciences. Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. Whether you are a food scientist or a health professional or dietitian, the study of the properties of foods that protect the body and promote health is possible through laboratory science or in the applied form for those wanting to emphasize it in a clinical setting. A master of science student may also take courses in this area as a part of their curriculum in nutrition, food science, or health promotion.
The PhD concentration requires the basic core of our doctoral degree plus, Principles of Functional Foods and Nutrition; The Gut, Microbiome in Health and Disease; Functional Nutrition in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management; Plants and Nutraceuticals-Food as Medicine; Molecular Nutrition; and Nutritional Genomics.
Admission Criteria
For regular admission into the Ph.D. program in Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, an applicant must have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 (undergraduate) if accrued over a four-year average. If accrued over a two-year period, a 3.00 grade point average is required. An applicant must have a minimum grade point average of 3.00 on M.S. work. In addition, the applicant must submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal, quantitative, and writing scores. International students are required to have a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 PBT (79 iBT) or an IELTS (International English Language Testing Systems) score of 6.5.