Doctor of Philosophy in Nutrition
Website: https://twu.edu/nutrition-food-sciences/graduate-programs/phd-in-nutrition/
The Ph.D. in Nutrition program offers graduate-level courses in nutrition and human metabolism, clinical nutrition, and applied nutrition or nutrition in the life cycle. A dissertation is required.
The program is offered on our Denton and Houston campuses.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Understanding the integration of nutrition into specific health benefits or disease conditions.
- Understanding of experimental methods used to expand knowledge.
- Apply knowledge in the development of written and verbal communications.
- Interpret scientific literature in the field, and author-written and verbal communications on findings.
- Author-written and verbal communications for various audience levels.
- Listen to and interpret scientific presentations and publications.
- The ability to lead a team.
Admissions
All students must meet the University requirements as outlined in the Admission to the TWU Graduate School section of the catalog.
The academic program may have additional admission criteria that must also be completed as outlined on the program's website.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours Required
A minimum of 90 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree including 6 semester credit hours for dissertation. The degree plan must be approved by all members of the advisory committee.
Required Courses
The NFS required courses (13 semester credit hours) for all doctoral degrees include the following:
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| NFS 5213 | Human Nutrition and Metabolism: Macronutrients (Usually this requirement is met during the master’s degree by taking a 3-6 hour course in metabolism, macronutrients, or micronutrients.) | 3 |
| NFS 5223 | Human Nutrition and Metabolism: Micronutrients (Usually this requirement is met during the master’s degree by taking a 3-6 hour course in metabolism, macronutrients, or micronutrients.) | 3 |
| NFS 6123 | Micronutrients in Human Nutrition | 3 |
| NFS 6124 | Macronutrients in Human Nutrition | 4 |
| NFS 6983 | Dissertation | 3 |
| NFS 6993 | Dissertation | 3 |
| Total SCHs | 19 | |
Research Tools
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | 6 | |
| HSC 6803 | Grant Writing | 3 |
| Other research tools may include foreign language, computer applications, research design, grant writing, laboratory techniques, or electronic information resources | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 12 | |
Additional Courses for the Doctor of Philosophy in Nutrition
Additional courses may include:
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Upper-Level Nutrition Electives | 6 | |
| Select 4 SCH from the following: | 4 | |
| Seminar in Nutrition | ||
| Advanced Seminar in Nutrition | ||
| Courses in Minor or Emphasis | 9 | |
No minor or emphasis - 9 graduate credit hours in a focused area, to be decided in consultation with the advisory committee. | ||
Minor or emphasis in Food Science - 9 graduate credit hours in Flavor Chemistry, to be decided in consultation with the advisory committee | ||
| Research in Nutrition and Food Sciences (as needed) | ||
| NFS 6921 | Advanced Research in Nutrition and Food Science | 1 |
| NFS 6923 | Advanced Research in Nutrition and Food Science | 3 |
| NFS 6931 | Advanced Research in Nutrition | 1 |
| NFS 6933 | Advanced Research in Nutrition | 3 |
| NFS 6941 | Advanced Research in Food Science | 1 |
| NFS 6943 | Advanced Research in Food Science | 3 |
Note: Total minimum semester credit hours needed for graduation is 90 semester credit hours. Additional information can be found at the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences website.
Note: A maximum number of 30 credits will be permitted to transfer from an MS degree and a maximum number of 15 credits from another PhD program can transfer pending approval by Academic Advisory Committee
Research Tools
A doctoral student must complete two research tools. Each research tool must have a minimum of six credit hours. One research tool must be six hours of graduate-level statistics. The other six hours of research tools will be HSC 6803 and an approved course as determined appropriate by the academic advisory committee. This may include, for example, research design courses, research methods courses in qualitative or quantitative methods, or other tools as appropriate.
Residency Requirement
Although there is no residency requirement, at least 50% of all the required semester credit hours for graduation must be earned at Texas Woman’s University.
Qualifying Examination
Current information can be found in the Ph.D. Handbook on the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences website.
Final Examination
The final examination is oral and includes defense of the dissertation and the research on which it is based. The final examination should not exceed three hours, and it may not be taken more than twice. Current information can be found in the Ph.D. Handbook on the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences website.
