The PhD in Human Nutrition is a three-year, 74 credit hour program designed to align with the goals and objectives of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Our graduates obtain the skills needed to perform bench-to-bedside-to-community research that advances the field of nutrition to improve human health. Included in the curriculum are courses in translational nutrition methodologies, including laboratory analyses, metabolic assessment techniques, statistical research methodologies, and communication.

student learning objectives

1. Translational nutrition – Demonstrate collaborative techniques that translate laboratory findings to the patient/community.
2. Communication – Evaluate and interpret current research for presentation to the academic, scientific, and/or lay community.
3. Nutrition research practice – Demonstrate an understanding of laboratory analyses methodologies, metabolic assessment techniques, and statistical research methodologies. 
4. Independent research – Demonstrate the ability to support an independent research career.   
5. Effective educators – Demonstrate effective teaching skills.
   

Program curriculum

Nutrition Core	Research Methods and Statistics
NHM 601:  Research in Translational Nutrition Science	CHS 627:  Multivariate Statistical Methods
NHM 602:  Methods in Integrative Nutrition Assessment	Additional 600-level Statistics course
NHM 603:  Nutrition Intervention	NHM 625:  Nutritional Epidemiology
NHM 690:  Doctoral Studies Seminar	NHM 648:  Secondary Analysis of Survey Data
NHM 691:  Grant Writing for Translational Nutrition Research	NHM 698:  Non-dissertation Research
NHM 695:  Interpretation of Nutrition Research	NHM 699:  Dissertation Hours
Electives
NHM 610:  Nutrition and Health Disparities	NHM 692:  Special Topics in Nutrition
NHM 611:  Nutritional Neuroscience	NHM 697:  Culinary Nutrition
NHM 635:  Advanced Practicum in Post-Secondary Dietetics Education

admission requirements

A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in nutrition or a closely nutrition-related field, with a GPA ≥3.0.

Prerequisite Courses

• If an applicant does not have a previous degree in nutrition, minimum prerequisite course work would include NHM 558: Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Disease, NHM 561: Advanced Vitamins and Minerals, and NHM 562: Metabolism of Energy Nutrients. These would need to be completed prior to beginning the PhD Nutrition Core coursework and would be applied towards completion of nutrition electives. 
• Additionally, if a student is admitted without having previously completed a Master’s degree, he/she will need to complete NHM 509 – Research Methods. 
  

Before applying, please contact the Director of the PhD Program in Human Nutrition, Dr. Linda Knol at lknol@ches.ua.edu or (205) 348-8129.

Application Deadline
Applications will be accepted until February 1 for Fall admission. Admission decisions will be made in mid-March. Graduate assistantships are available and are awarded on a competitive basis.

how to apply

Visit https://graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/apply-now/ on the UA Graduate School website and follow the directions to apply. There is a $65 (domestic) and $80 (international) non-refundable application fee. The fee is waived for all current UA students.  

Other documents required for the application: 

• Statement of Purpose. Your statement of purpose should include:
  1. Intention and motivation toward the pursuit of a PhD in Human Nutrition with an emphasis in translational nutrition
  2. Research qualifications
  3. Teaching experience and expertise (Please discuss your ability to teach specific courses in our undergraduate curriculum – visit http://www.ches.ua.edu/major-course-checklists and scroll to "Food and Nutrition Major")

 

• Selected research area and potential faculty research mentor. This program is a mentored research degree. As such, potential applicants will want to select a research mentor early in the program. Research goals and objectives should be discussed in the applicant’s statement of purpose so the admissions committee may determine whether this degree program fits well with the student’s area of interest.
  • Faculty Research Mentors
    • Dr. Kristi Crowe-White
    • Dr. Joy Douglas
    • Dr. Amy Ellis
    • Dr. Seung Eun Jung
    • Dr. Linda Knol
    • Dr. Lingyan Kong
    • Dr. Jeannine Lawrence
    • Dr. Han-A Park
    • Dr. Libo Tan

 

• Current resume or curriculum vitae

 

• Three (3) letters of recommendation from faculty or other health professionals capable of judging the applicant’s ability to complete graduate work

 

• Transcripts from all academic institutions
  • You may provide unofficial transcripts during the application process. However, if admitted, you will need to submit official transcripts.

 

• Test score requirements
  • If a student has previously completed a Master’s degree prior to beginning the Doctoral program and maintained a graduate GPA ≥3.5, his/her application will be considered without the need to submit a GRE score.
  • Students who have previously completed a Master’s degree prior to beginning the Doctoral program with a graduate GPA of ≤3.49 may be considered for admission, provided they also have a GRE score of ≥300. Upon admission, these students would need to receive permission to continue after the successful completion of 12 graduate hours.
  • Students with a Bachelor’s degree will need to submit a GRE score. A score of ≥300 is required for consideration for admission. 
  • Additional requirements for international students can be found at https://graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/international-admissions/.

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distance education

The PhD in Human Nutrition is a mentored research degree; therefore, courses are only offered on campus.