MS in Nutrition
Advance your career in this fast-growing field with a master’s in nutrition.
Nutritionists study the relationship between food and health and apply their learnings to solving pervasive public health challenges. A master’s degree in this growing field prepares you for careers in research, clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and nutrition education, or for doctoral studies in nutrition.
The MS program offers both thesis and non-thesis options, allowing students flexibility to align their studies with their career goals. The thesis option provides a foundation for students interested in research or pursuing a PhD, while the non-thesis option is designed for those who prefer to complete coursework to earn a Master's degree as preparation for various professional careers, such as registered dietitian (RD).
All students are initially admitted under the non-thesis option; however, students can switch to the thesis option based on their interests and pending graduate faculty member support for their thesis work once they are enrolled in the program.
If you are interested in receiving a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) verification, you may choose our MS non-thesis/DPD option. For DPD verification, contact our DPD director, cpnorton [at] umass [dot] edu (Claire Norton), for more information.
Benefits list
2024 Registered Dietitian Credential
As of 2024, you need a master’s to earn RDN credential. While the MS in nutrition is not accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, if you meet the established criteria certifying eligibility for dietetic internships, you’ll receive the DPD Verification Statement as part of the program.
CEPH Accreditation
Every program in the nutrition department, like every other department within the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, is fully accredited by the Council of Education for Public Health, a key benefit of attending UMass.
Research Centers and Institutes
Public health sciences faculty support and contribute to several centers and institutes within the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. We foster transdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach across basic and applied sciences and public health and clinical practice.
Featured class
The course will focus on specific vitamin and mineral functions, requirements and factors that influence them, methods for assessing vitamin status in individuals and populations, and the health consequences of deficiency or excess.
Featured faculty
Zhenhua Liu
Graduate Program Director, Nutrition
Focus on micronutrients, traditional medicine, nutritional epigenetics, obesity and inflammation, gut microbiome, gastrointestinal health, cancer prevention
Lorraine Cordeiro
Director, Center for Research on Families
Focus on food security, adolescent health and nutrition, undernutrition, refugees/immigrants
Soonkyu Chung
Focus on obesity, brown adipocytes, adipose inflammation, dietary polyphenols, epigenetics.
Application information & deadlines
Prospective students apply through the UMass Graduate School.
Application Deadline
Applications for are due by Feb. 1.
Nutrition
Offering an interdisciplinary approach to the study and application of the relationship between diet, foods, and health.