Medical Nutrition, MS
Are you aiming to level up your skills and knowledge in nutritional science? Build your knowledge and expertise in how nutrition and health care intersect to improve the lives of individuals and communities.
Quick facts
Locations
Credits
Additional facts
STEM-OPT extension eligible: No
International students (F1), this program is not eligible for the STEM-OPT extension.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Degree description
Medical Nutrition master's description
In the Master of Science program in medical nutrition, you learn how nutritional knowledge can be applied to health maintenance, the treatment of disease and disease prevention. Coursework and culminating experiences provide you with an overview of the components of therapeutic diets and the role of qualified health care providers in diet prescription.
This master's degree is ideal if you are a:
- current or future health care professional, including a gap-year student
- current medical student, resident, fellow or practitioner who seeks to develop a strong knowledge base in the nutritional sciences and your application in the health care field
- student who has completed a bachelor's degree but has not yet secured admission to medical, veterinary, dental, osteopathic, physician assistant or similar schools
The program emphasizes self-directed learning with immersion in current nutrition research. You develop foundational knowledge of nutritional assessment techniques used by health care providers in clinical practice and become well-versed in making recommendations grounded in evidence-based practice.
This nonthesis program supports you focusing on the health professions, particularly if you're a preprofessional student in your gap year or if you want to expand your education after completion of a didactic program in dietetics or earning registered dietitian nutritionist licensure. You take intensive, clinically oriented nutrition introductory courses, detailed courses on body systems, and courses that cover emerging health and health care topics.
Why study medical nutrition at ASU?
Study through an interdisciplinary lens that links nutrition with health care, public health and health innovation, so you can see how these fields work together. You learn from faculty investigating nutrition, metabolism, chronic disease prevention and health promotion, while building real connections to Arizona's health care, wellness and community health sectors.
Curriculum
This graduate degree includes courses focused on a specialized topic, so you can advance your skills for further professional opportunities. Explore all courses below.
30 credit hours including the required applied project course (NTR 593), or
30 credit hours including the required applied project course (NTR 593) - Dietetics Track
Required Core (15 credit hours) Other Requirements (3 or 9 credit hours) Electives or Track Coursework (3 or 9 credit hours) Culminating Experience (3 credit hours) Additional Curriculum Information To pursue the program's dietetics track, students must either be a registered dietitian nutritionist or have completed an accredited didactic program in dietetics. Students in the dietetics track complete NTR 500 for three credit hours to satisfy the other requirements. Students in this track complete nine credit hours of track coursework instead of elective coursework.
BST 501 Biostatistics for Research and Practice (3) or HCD 501 Population Health Data Analysis (3)
NTR 503 Designing Health Behavior Change Interventions or NTR 533 Food Systems, Ethics and the American Diet (3)
NTR 524 Chronic Inflammation and Metabolic Syndrome: The Common Pathway for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes (3)
NTR 525 Complementary Nutrition (3)
NTR 535 Nutrigenomics (3)
NTR 500 Research Methods (3)
NTR 510 Food and Nutrition Across the Lifespan (3)
NTR 511 Medical Nutrition in the Care and Prevention of Disease (3)
NTR 593 Topic: Medical Nutrition (3)
Students should contact the academic unit regarding course selection for the elective requirement.
What you'll learn
The following learning outcomes highlight some of the knowledge and skills you'll develop to support your future success.
- Graduates will be able to create evidence-based nutrition plans to support patient care.
- Graduates will be able to evaluate evidence to address a nutrition research question.
- Students will be able to compose written and oral presentations geared toward lay and professional audiences in the nutrition field.
Graduates will be able to create evidence-based nutrition plans to support patient care.Admission requirements
Here are the admission and application details
All students are required to meet general university admission requirements.
U.S. applicants (opens in new window) | International applicants (opens in new window) | English proficiency (opens in new window)
Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the College of Health Solutions. Applicants must have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution. A previous bachelor's or master's degree in nutrition, public health, biology, chemistry or related field is preferred. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program. All applicants must submit: Additional Application Information Before starting the program, applicants are expected to have completed courses in introductory nutrition (NTR 100 or NTR 241 or equivalent) and physiology (BIO 160 or BIO 202 or equivalent). Applicants who wish to be considered for the dietetics track must be registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN credential) or have completed an accredited didactic program in dietetics (frequently termed a DPD). Applicants interested in the dietetics track should submit their RDN credential verification or DPD verification statement through the program application process. To obtain proof of registered dietitian status, the applicant should complete the verification process on the Commission on Dietetic Registration website (cdrnet.org). The personal statement should be one to two pages (typed and double-spaced) and address the following: Contact information for one reference is required. The reference is contacted via email to respond to a series of questions about the applicant. The reference should be academic, such as a professor or instructor, or professional, such as a current or former supervisor.
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.
Application deadlines
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 07/15 | Priority* |
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 11/15 | Priority* |
| Session | Modality | Deadline | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A/C | Online | 04/15 | Priority* |
*A priority deadline means that applications submitted and completed before the priority deadline will receive priority consideration. Applications submitted after the priority deadlines will be reviewed in the order in which they were completed and on a space-available basis. An application is complete after all materials are received by Admission Services.
Explore expanded study opportunities
This program allows you to obtain both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years. As a high-achieving student, accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree programs are designed for you to share undergraduate coursework with graduate coursework to accelerate completion of your master's degree. These programs feature the same high-quality curriculum taught by ASU's world-renowned faculty.
This program is offered as an accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree with:
Approval to pursue the accelerated master's is typically granted during the junior year of your bachelor's degree program. If you are interested, you can learn more about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Paying for college
Use our calculator to estimate your full-time or part-time tuition fees for this program prior to any financial aid. Keep in mind that most of our students receive financial aid, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Get an estimateCareer opportunities
Careers this medical nutrition master's degree prepares you for
A medical nutrition degree complements a variety of pursuits across health and health care fields. Career opportunities for those who have completed this program are vast and include:
- dentist
- medical doctor
- nurse
- pharmacist
- physical therapist
- physician assistant
This program is not a pathway tobecome a registered dietitian.
Contact information
Use the contact information below to get in touch if you're a current student or have general questions.
Prospective students should fill out the Request for Information form.
School of Human Performance and Lifespan Health
|
HLTHN 401AA
chsgrad@asu.edu
602-496-3300
Frequently asked questions about degree programs
Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.
Accelerated master's
These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).
Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.
ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.
ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) provides a reduced tuition rate to non-resident graduate students who qualify. Visit the WRGP/WICHE webpage for more information: https://graduate.asu.edu/wiche.
