OVERVIEW
Interest in nutrition, food, and its relationship to human health and fitness has never been greater or more exciting than it is today. The graduate program in Nutritional Sciences offers a master's degree that enables students to understand the scientific basis of nutrition, its application to health and fitness, and to learn research methods that further student knowledge of how food and nutrients relate to human health
Several subject areas of concentration include: nutritional biochemistry, nutritional epidemiology, diet and cancer, obesity, mineral nutrition and toxicology, dietary and functional fiber, community and international nutrition and much more!
Cooperating programs include:
Animal Sciences, Food Sciences, Kinesiology and Leisure Science, Physiology, Public Health Sciences, the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), and the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii (CRCH).
The learning objectives of the Nutritional Sciences graduate program are that students will:
- Demonstrate mastery of fundamental knowledge in the field of nutrition
- Demonstrate advanced scholarship in their specialty area in the field of nutrition
- Communicate both orally and in writing at a high level of proficiency
- Conduct and interpret nutritional research
- Function as a professional in their chosen discipline area
Depending on the area of focus in their program of study, students are prepared for diverse careers in food and nutrition related industries, health-care and fitness facilities, nutrition education and communication enterprises, government food and nutrition agencies, or scientific research laboratories. Graduates have found employment as college instructors; nutrition educators or consultants in the private sector; nutritionists in the food industry, health-related government agencies, or fitness facilities; and as nutrition researchers in health-care industries and academic institutions. Many have gone on to pursue PhDs at major universities around the world.
Degree Credits for Completing the International Olympic Committee's Diploma in Sports Nutrition
The Nutritional Sciences Master's degree program accepts the successful completion of the IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition as fulfilling part of the requirements for its MS degree. The IOC program must have been completed within 3 years prior to entering, or can be taken concurrently with, our MS program. If completed prior to entering, the IOC program must not have been used as credit towards a previous degree. If the student fails to complete the IOC program, they can petition the graduate chairperson to evaluate their IOC transcripts and consider if any credits can be applied to their MS program.
For the Plan B, Non-thesis option, the successful completion of the IOC program can be used to replace up to 11 credits in elective courses and 3 credits in research. However, all required courses (13 credits) and a require research project (6 credits total) must be completed to the satisfaction o the student's Plan B research advisor and committee. The Plan B research project may include research initiated as part of the IOC Diploma program if approved by the student's research advisor. All other degree requirements for the MS program must also be met. For the Plan A, Thesis option, the successful completion of the IOC program can be used to replaced up to 5 credits in elective courses and 2 credits in research. however, all required courses (13 credits) and a required thesis research project (10 credits) must be completed to the satisfaction of the student's Plan A thesis research advisor and committee. The thesis research project may include research initiated as part of the IOC Diploma program. All other degree requirements for the MS program must also be met.