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Programs of Study

Why is now an exciting time to study Nutritional Sciences?

Advances in information technology and the life sciences revolution, particularly the sequencing of the human genome, will afford you, as a nutrition scientist, unique opportunities for research at the cutting edge of nutritional genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. As part of your masters or doctoral graduate studies in Nutritional Sciences, you will learn that nutritional manipulation provides the safest and most effective means to modify genome function; thus, nutrition will be a vital component in the paradigm of post-genomics interdisciplinary research.

You probably also are aware that dietary patterns are strongly linked to the development of 7 of the 10 top causes of morbidity and mortality in the U.S., namely, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Therefore, Nutritional Sciences is an excellent degree to prepare you for the wealth of opportunities in clinical practice if you wish to combine your graduate program with a medical degree or with registration in dietetics.

The focus on biochemistry and metabolism in our curriculum will help provide you with the knowledge and training that play an active role in translating observations resulting from genomic and molecular approaches to whole body metabolism. Furthermore, you can choose courses in clinical and community nutrition and epidemiology that will prepare you to integrate and extrapolate from molecular markers to metabolism and from metabolic frameworks to behaviors of individuals and groups. In the future, it will be highly likely that a person's genotype will play a greater role in how we diagnose and treat diseases. For example, Watkins et al. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2001; 74:283-286) present the case that a bioinformatic approach to the study of human metabolites (metabolomics) has the potential to identify and validate targets to improve the nutritional health of an individual, just as the comparison of an individual's genotype with a genomic database will further our ability to tailor prescription drugs to that individual. This bioinformatic approach will, in turn, guide the design of the next generation of value-added foods and crops for improved health. Few other curricula will provide you with the broad-base understanding of metabolomics that a degree in Nutritional Sciences provides.

M.D./Ph.D. through the Medical Scholars Program:

The Urbana campus of the University of Illinois College of Medicine administers the Medical Scholars Program, which is one of the top M.D./Ph.D. programs in the country. Students may apply to the Medical Scholars program prior to beginning graduate school or while in the graduate program. To be accepted into the Medical Scholars Program, students must complete all coursework and exam (e.g. MCAT) requirements necessary for acceptance by the College of Medicine. Further information on this program is available in the Director's office, in 125 Medical Sciences Building (217-333-8146) or at http://www.med.uiuc.edu/msp/mdphd.asp.

M.S. and Ph.D.:

The Division provides an interdisciplinary training program leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Nutritional Sciences.

Registration in Dietetics (R.D.) with M.S. or Ph.D.:

Nutritional Sciences graduate students can pursue Registration in Dietetics (R.D.) along with their graduate degree. The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition administers an American Dietetic Association (ADA) accredited Graduate Dietetic Internship Program, which includes defined graduate course requirements and a 6-month dietetic clinical internship. In order to be eligible for the graduate internship program, students must complete all undergraduate course competencies required for Registration in Dietetics (R.D.) by the ADA. Students are accepted into the internship by computer matching through the standard dietetic internship application process. More information on the Graduate Dietetic Internship program can be obtained at http://fshn.uiuc.edu/graduate/dieteticinternship or from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (260 Bevier Hall, 217-244-4498).