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Graduate Program

The Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise offers several graduate programs related to nutrition, physical activity, and health promotion both on Virginia Tech's campus and online.

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Graduate Research Opportunities

Our growing list of active research areas allows our students to concentrate their research and study specific aspects of the human nutrition, foods, and exercise field and provides opportunities for students to engage in pioneering work at the intersection of multiple disciplines, as our faculty work with researchers across scientific disciplines on Virginia Tech’s campus and nationwide.

Explore our research areas

Our Graduate Programs

Embark on a journey of expertise with our graduate programs: Master of Science in HNFE, Doctor of Philosophy in HNFE, Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics (MSND), and Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences (OMALS). Current HNFE students also have the option of enrolling in our Accelerated B.S./M.S. degree program.

A quick glance at our Accelerated Bachelor's of Science and Master's of Science Program

Exceptional HNFE seniors with a GPA of 3.4 or higher may be eligible to apply for dual status and completing and double counting up to 12 course credits during their senior year to both their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Interested applicants must submit their application before the start of their senior year or before the start of their final semester of their senior year.

A quick glance at our Master's of Science in HNFE Program

The department offers a Master of Science in HNFE degree in Behavioral and Community Science, Clinical Physiology and Metabolism, and Molecular and Cellular Science.

  • Fall Application Deadline: Februray 1
  • Spring Application Deadline: October 1

A quick glance at our Master's of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics Program

Track One: for direct entry students who have an earned a baccalaureate degree and who meet program prerequisite courses* (17 months). 

  • Track One Application Deadline: Beginning Fall January 15

Track Two: for current Virginia Tech HNFE B.S. DIET option students to apply for an accelerated B.S./M.S. option in the spring of their junior year (20 months)

  • Track Two Application Deadline: Beginning Summer January 15

A quick glance at our Online Master of Agriculture and Life Sciences Program

The Applied Nutrition and Physical Activity concentration is designed for students with a science, health-related, community, or coaching/education background who wish to advance and expand their nutrition and physical activity knowledge and skills.

  • Summer Application Deadline: April 15
  • Fall Application Deadline: July 15
  • Spring Application Deadline: December 15

A quick glance at our Doctor of Philosophy in HNFE Program

The department offers a Doctor of Philosophy in HNFE degree in Behavioral and Community Science, Clinical Physiology and Metabolism, and Molecular and Cellular Science.

  • Fall Application Deadline: Februray 1
  • Spring Application Deadline: October 1

Frequently asked questions

Yes, a key requirement for admission is matching each student with an advisor before the student enters the program. The relationship between students and their faculty advisor is an important component of your graduate education, so it is expected that you and your advisor have similar research interests.

HNFE will always consider strong applicants even though they may not have all prerequisites completed. In some cases, applicants will be admitted on a provisional basis with regular acceptance dependent on completion of prerequisite courses. In other cases, applicants will be offered regular acceptance with the agreement that prerequisites be completed during the first semester of enrollment. However, a lack of prerequisites is a very common reason why many applicants are not offered admission.

Applications for graduate study are considered at any time up until the start of the semester. However, applicants should be aware that after the February 1 deadline, it may be difficult to find a faculty match.

We typically receive approximately 80 applications and select 15 - 25 from this pool. The most common reasons why students are not offered admission are: (1) Non-competitive grades (the average GPA for students entering the past five years has been 3.5);  (2) Non-competitive TOEFL/IELTS (international students only); or (3) Background: some qualified students may not have enough prerequisites or have a solid science background.

Many students study and conduct research in two program tracks. While we have three graduate options, we also provide a unique opportunity to study topics that overlap the areas of nutrition, foods, and exercise. Our faculty collaborate across options and have diverse areas of expertise.

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Graduate Course Catalog