Purdue University in Hammond, Indiana, offers this fully online program for individuals seeking further education and training for employment in the following areas: school and community food services, business, colleges, health care, recreation clubs and vending food operations. The nine required courses can be taken over a one to two year period, depending upon the individual as the program is designed for people already working in the field. The program emphasizes supervisory and managerial skills which allow graduates promotional opportunities.
This degree program offers two options. One involves nutritional science which has an emphasis on biology and chemistry. It focuses on graduate education in nutrition or medical, dental or veterinarian school. For those students not seeking further education it prepares for entry level employment. The second option is dietetics, or the study of food, nutrition and the effects on the human diet. An example of a school offering this degree would be Boston University in Massachusetts.
Kansas State University, or K-State, in Manhatten, Kansas, offers a Masters of Science degree in Human Nutrition. A bachelor's degree from an accredited school is a requirement for admission. Besides graduate human nutrition courses, students take courses in animal science, grain science, biochemistry, chemistry, anatomy, physiology and biology. In addition, courses in statistical methods for natural and social science are mandated. A graduate seminar and master's report and thesis round out the requirements for the masters degree.
The University of Massachusetts, or UMass, offers a Doctoral Degree Program in Nutrition at its Amherst campus. Graduates receive a Ph.D. in Public Health with a Nutrition option and are able to teach in a college or university setting, seek employment in research or professional leadership positions in health agencies. Course work includes 57 credits of which 18 involve the Ph.D. dissertation. Courses include nutrition and chronic disease, public health nutrition, advanced nutrition vitamins and advanced nutrition minerals. The program can be completed within three years for those students already posessing a masters degree but actual length depends on time needed to complete dissertation.