Admission Requirements

Students entering the Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health graduate program are expected to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Competitive applicants will have a science background appropriate for our degree programs. Recommendations concerning an applicant’s qualifications and admission are made to the dean of the Graduate School by the department. The final decision regarding admission of an applicant is made by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Admission to graduate study at Kansas State University is granted on three bases: full standing, provisional, or probational.

Admission in full standing requires a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B average) in the last 60 hours of undergraduate work in an institution whose requirements for the bachelor’s degree are equivalent to those of Kansas State University. Applicants with grade point averages below 3.0 may be considered for probational admission provided there is evidence that the applicant has the ability to do satisfactory graduate work. Provisional admission may be granted to applicants who have subject deficiencies in undergraduate preparation as mentioned above or if there is uncertainty in evaluating the transcript.

Other admission requirements include: copies of transcripts; three professional recommendations; and applicant form detailing interest, skills and experiences.

Applications are holistically reviewed to determine recommendations for admission.

A faculty member must agree to be an applicant’s advisor before a recommendation can be made to the Graduate School that the applicant be admitted. All applications will be considered for institutional or departmental awards and graduate assistantships.

Prospective students please visit https://www.hhs.k-state.edu/fndh/academics/graduate/nutrition-dietetics-sensory-sciences/ For international students, please check the Graduate School requirements for English proficiency at https://www.k-state.edu/grad/students/international.html.

A limited number of 0.5 time teaching (GTA) and research (GRA) assistantships are available. In addition, Nina Browning Fellowships, scholarships and others are awarded to outstanding students in various amounts each year.

GTAs are appointed for nine months and GRAs for 9 or 12 months. Graduate assistants may enroll in 12 credit hours per semester and 6 credit hours per summer session. Applications for admission will be considered for both fall and spring semesters and summer session.

NDSS Graduate Program Coordinator: Erika Lindshield; (785)532-0172; elbono@ksu.edu

Dietetics Program Director (Dietetic Internship): Kelly Whitehair;  (785) 532-5576; stirtz@ksu.edu

Course Requirements

The Master’s of Science requires a minimum of 30 credits inclusive of 1) thesis (6-8 credits), 2) report (2 credits) or 3) coursework-only options.

Programs of study are developed according to the interests, backgrounds, and career goals of the students. In addition to graduate FNDH courses and the requirements listed above, students often include courses from other departments such as animal sciences and industry; grain science and industry; biochemistry; chemistry; anatomy and physiology; kinesiology; psychology; biology; statistics, marketing and business.

Of the minimum 30 credit hours normally required for the master’s program of study, at least 18 hours should be at the 700 level and above, including the thesis/research and the report/problems hours required by the thesis and report options.

Concentration: Nutrition, Dietetics, and Sensory Sciences with Dietetic Internship (MSDI)

The Dietetic Internship pathway to the Master of Science in Nutrition, Dietetics, and Sensory Science (MSDI) provides supervised practice experience in conjunction with the M.S. degree to enable baccalaureate degree graduates of Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPDs) the opportunity to fulfill the experiential requirements to sit for the Registration Examination for Dietitians.  The Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, 312-899-0400, https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend

The 31-credit non-thesis MSDI includes approximately 1075 hours of supervised practice. Academic coursework and supervised practice are completed in unison throughout the program and can be completed in 12 months. Academic coursework will be completed on campus and/or by distance learning. Supervised practice will take place during summer, fall, and spring semesters. All supervised practice site placements are arranged by the MSDI Director within the state of Kansas or Kansas City Metro area. Sites include acute and critical care, outpatient, long-term care, wellness, public health, community, school foodservice, and other professional settings.

Acceptance into the 12-month MSDI program is a selective process open to students who have a minimum 3.0 GPA and completed a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) (within the last 5 years) and earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. K-State does not grant exemption from any supervised practice or alternate learning experiences based on prior education or employment experiences.  The program also does not accept transfer credit for the graduate coursework required for the MSDI.

The program is accredited to accept a maximum of 15 students each year.