Master of Science in Nutrition
Description
Students will develop an advanced understanding of nutrition, health promotion, fitness and wellness and the expertise to assess future research in these areas. Our students seek to influence the nutritional status of the population through the advanced nutrition knowledge, leadership and problem solving skills acquired in our program. We have two concentrations, a Research concentration (formerly known as the Wellness 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. The nutrition entrepreneurship concentration provides students with the business knowledge and skills they need to develop an entrepreneurial venture in the food and nutrition field.
Our program is designed for students with backgrounds in nutrition, biology, health sciences, health education, athletic training, exercise physiology and physical education. You'll be prepared for a wide range of careers as 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:
- Students will demonstrate knowledge and skills that will prepare them for advanced practice and evidence based problem solving.
- Students will acquire the skills for collaborative and/or leadership opportunities.
- Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to evaluate and synthesize nutrition research to improve individual and community health.
- Students will be prepared for learner-centered professional development in health promotion and disease prevention.
Research Concentration Specific Learning Outcomes
This concentration (or track) is for students interested in becoming investigators of original research in nutrition and wellness. There are two learning outcomes for this track as shown below:
- Students will gain knowledge and skills that will prepare them for research applications in clinical, community, or academic settings.
- Students will conduct an original research project, resulting in a manuscript for publication.
Entrepreneurship Concentration Specific Learning Outcomes
This concentration (or track) is for students interested in developing entrepreneurial ventures in the food and nutrition field. There are two learning outcomes for this track as shown below:
- 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.
- 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, and fully online classes. Both delivery formats allow students in the Nutrition and Health Promotion Master's Program the opportunity to complete the program in one academic year, including the summer session, or two to four years of part-time study; the fully online program is for U.S. residents only.
Degree requirements
There are two concentrations or tracks available in our MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion: 1) a Research concentration (formerly known as the Wellness concentration) in which students take a greater number of research-focused courses and complete a research project, 2) an Entrepreneurship concentration in which students take graduate management courses from our School of Business to prepare to them for opening a private practice or other entrepreneurial endeavors and complete a business plan. This MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion requires 31-32 credits depending on the concentration and elective choices.
Prerequisites
The following prerequisite courses are required and may be taken at any U.S. regionally accredited colleges or universities or a higher education institution abroad which is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country within ten years prior to the application deadline. Courses may be in progress at the time of application, but, if accepted, the applicant must complete 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, MATH 118)
No pre-approval is needed in the following cases as long as they do not have online labs:
- Any course with statistics in the title
- 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.
Nutrition and Health Promotion - Research Concentration Curriculum
The curriculum for the Research concentration includes nine required graduate courses and two electives. The MS with the research concentration culminates with the completion of a MS thesis project.
| NUTR 452 | Nutrition Practice: Program, Plan, Evaluation | 3.00 |
| NUTR 453 | Advanced Topics in Preventative Nutrition | 3.00 |
| NUTR 455 | Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness | 3.00 |
| NUTR 460 | Nutritional Epidemiology | 3.00 |
| NUTR 489 | Nutrition Proposal Development | 2.00 |
| NUTR 490 | Nutrition Research Project | 3.00 |
| SNHS 410 | Research Methods | 3.00 |
| SNHS 450 | Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3.00 |
| SNHS 570 | Health Promotion | 2.00 |
| | Two elective courses | |
Nutrition and Health Promotion - Entrepreneurship Concentration Curriculum
The curriculum for entrepreneurship track includes a total of 11 courses with nine required courses. Required courses include courses from the Department of Nutrition and the Simmons School of Business and two electives. The entrepreneurship track culminates with the completion of a customized business plan.
| NUTR 452 | Nutrition Practice: Program, Plan, Evaluation | 3.00 |
| NUTR 453 | Advanced Topics in Preventative Nutrition | 3.00 |
| NUTR 455 | Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness | 3.00 |
| NUTR 462 | Consulting Nutrition Practice | 3.00 |
| NUTR 489 | Nutrition Proposal Development | 2.00 |
| MSMG 407/MGMT 238 | Financial Aspects of Business | 3 |
| MSMG 440/GSM 570 | Creativity Innovation & Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| SNHS 450 | Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3.00 |
| SNHS 410 | Research Methods | 3.00 |
| | Two elective courses | |
Affiliations with Dietetic Internship Programs
The Simmons University MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion has affiliation agreements with both the Beth Israel Deaconess Dietetic Internship Program and the Wellness Workdays Dietetic Internship Program.
Students completing the Simmons MS can apply early to the Beth Israel Deaconess Dietetic Internship Program through the pre-select option. MS students and recent graduates are eligible if they are anticipated to finish the Simmons program by internship start date. This arrangement involves a deadline earlier than the standard February 15 deadlines for the centralized internship application. However, applicants will be notified of the application decision in March before the standard decision notification (ie match) date. Applicants not pre-selected are automatically considered by BIDMC for their regular application round. For further information, see Beth Israel Deaconess (https://www.bidmc.org/medical-education/medical-education-by-department/nutrition-services/how-to-apply/preselect-option-simmons-grad-students)
Students can also be admitted to our online MS in conjunction with the distance Wellness Workdays dietetic internship. Please see the Health Sciences admission website for further details on this opportunity.
Dual (and other) degree options
Three accelerated BS/MS Nutrition programs are available to Simmons University undergraduates: the Nutrition (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS): 4 + 1 Program; the Public Health (BS)/Nutrition (MS): 4 + 1 Program, and the Exercise Science (BS)/Nutrition and Health Promotion (MS) 4+1 Program. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for admission requirements and additional information.
Other program information
The MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion is available online and face-to-face on the Simmons Boston campus.