Application deadline for the MS program is Feb. 15.

The Nutritional Sciences Emphasis provides training in the distinct core nutrition knowledge described by the Graduate Nutrition Education Committee of the American Society for Nutrition: general research skills; structure and biochemical and metabolic functions of nutrients and other dietary constituents; food, diets, and supplements; nutritional status assessment; nutrition and disease; nutrition interventions and policies; and, analytical skills. Graduate students also receive training in laboratory research, seminar preparation and delivery, scientific writing, problem solving and research grant writing.

The Nutritional Science Masters does not provide a route to become a Registered Dietitian, however the department does offer the only Coordinated Program in Dietetics within the state of Missouri, which does include a Master’s degree.

Graduate study in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Missouri offers the advantage of interdisciplinary nutrition research that is facilitated via the many research centers at MU, including the Botanical Center and the Life Sciences Center. The graduate program is administered by the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology in association with the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the School of Medicine.

Teaching and research assistantships are available to MS degree candidates on a competitive basis.

Requirements

Entering graduate students are expected to have undergraduate training in chemistry and biology, including a two-semester course in biochemistry and an upper-level nutrition course. Some prerequisites can be met during the first year of graduate school.

Program Faculty

Graduate faculty members who teach in this program hold appointments in the departments of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, Child Health, and Food Science.

This rich environment offers a wide range of interdisciplinary research opportunities for the degree candidate.

Faculty within the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology include:

Research

Nutrition is, by definition, an applied and multi-disciplinary science that integrates other disciplines such as biochemistry, physiology, biology, psychology, sociology, and economics. A primary research focus in the department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is the role of diet in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases that are prevalent in the United States today: obesity, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, immune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and osteoporosis. Specific dietary components being studied for their role in human health include protein, calcium, vitamin D, copper, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and nutraceuticals.

Another important research area is the determinants of eating behavior, including neuro-psychological, sociologic, and economic factors. Investigative approaches include epidemiology, clinical trials, human studies, experimental and transgenic animal models, and cultured cell models.