Nutritional Science
Graduate Study
The Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences (IGPNS), administered through the Graduate College, under the auspices of the Chairs of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FS HN) and Animal Science, will provide the structure for coordinating and enhancing interdisciplinary nutrition research and graduate education. M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Nutritional Sciences will be offered with three specializations: Animal Nutrition, Human Nutrition, or Biochemical & Molecular Nutrition.
The following undergraduate course work is recommended of all applicants who are applying to the IGPNS, but may be modified depending upon the student's area of emphasis. Recommended course work includes organic chemistry with laboratory, physics, analytical chemistry, a nutrition course that requires biochemistry or organic chemistry as a prerequisite, and a course in biology/physiology or anatomy. Under certain circumstances students can be admitted or provisionally admitted with course work deficiencies. Students with an undergraduate degree will be generally admitted into the M.S. program and upon completion, they can then apply for admission into the Ph.D. program. However, exceptional students with experience can apply directly to the Ph.D. program.
The general requirements of the Nutritional Sciences degree at the MS level, in addition to those of Graduate College, are:
| NUTRS 501 | Biochemical and Physiological Basis of Nutrition: Macronutrients and Micronutrients | 4 |
| BBMB 404 | Biochemistry I | 3 |
| BBMB 405 | Biochemistry II | 3 |
| or BBMB 420 | Physiological Chemistry | |
| STAT 401 | Statistical Methods for Research Workers | 4 |
| FS HN 580 | Orientation to Food Science and Nutrition Research | 1 |
| or AN S 501 | Survey of Animal Disciplines | |
| AN S 603 | Seminar in Animal Nutrition | 1 |
| or FS HN 682X Seminary Reflection (experimental course) | ||
| FS HN 581 | Seminar (or AN S equivalent) | 1 |
| FS HN 681 | Seminar (or AN S equivalent) | 1 |
| FS HN 590C | Teaching | 1-3 |
| or AN S 590L | Teaching | |
| Successful completion and defense of thesis | ||
Students are expected to complete the course work established by the Program of Study (POS) committee based on specialization with a minimum of 30 graduate-level semester credits, not less than 22 of which must be earned at Iowa State University.
The general requirements of the Nutritional Sciences degree at the PhD level, in addition to those of the Graduate College, are:
- Completion of all requirements of the MS degree in Nutritional Sciences
- 3 additional credits of graduate-level biochemistry (6 credits total including those for the M.S.), graduate-level statistics (STAT 402 Statistical Design and the Analysis of Experiments), and physiology (if not taken for the M.S.)
- Additional graduate-level courses in the field of study as deemed appropriate by the POS Committee and specialization, and additional teaching assistant requirements (FS HN 590C Teaching).
Satisfactory completion of a preliminary examination, a written dissertation, seminar presentation of dissertation research, and defense of the dissertation is also required. Overall a minimum of 72 graduate-level semester credits, no less than 36 of which must be earned at Iowa State University