Nutrition and Food Sciences AMP

All students must meet the Requirements for the Accelerated Master's Degree Programs

Overview

The Accelerated Nutrition and Food Sciences Master’s degree entry program (ANFSMS) is designed to offer UVM Nutrition and Food Sciences (NFS) students an opportunity to earn both the bachelor’s degree and the M.S. in Nutrition and Food Sciences in 5 years. Students entering the M.S. as  accelerated students are only eligible to complete the non-thesis option of the M.S.

This is a 30-credit M.S. degree. Following formal admission by the Graduate College to the Accelerated Master's Program, students may count up to 9 graduate-level credits toward both the B.A./B.S. and M.S.  The remaining 21 credits will be taken in the 5th year of study.  Full-time graduate student status will begin the summer after undergraduate graduation and be maintained until completion of the M.S. in NFS. 

The program is designed as a stepping stone to the pursuit of clinical or community practice opportunities in nutrition and dietetics or professional opportunities in the food industry.

Specific Requirements

Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Master of Science for Accelerated Students

Students apply for admission to the Nutrition and Food Sciences AMP program during the regular application cycle.  Admission is restricted to students that are either entering the spring term of their Junior year and or have yet to start the Fall semester of their Senior year.

Admission to the accelerated program requires the following:

  • A declared major in NFS or DNFS
  • A minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA is required; a GPA of 3.3 or higher is preferred
  • Completion of a college-level statistics course
  • Completion of the Graduate College application form and 3 letters of recommendation
  • A letter of support from a faculty member who is willing to serve as primary mentor during enrollment in the M.S. in NFS program. This may serve as the 3rd letter of recommendation
  • Completion of the UVM Accelerated Entry into Master's Degree Permission Form (attached to the online application)

Students in the accelerated M.S. program have the option of taking courses for graduate credit before all requirements for the B.S./B.A. degree have been satisfied.  However, these courses can only be double-counted if taken the semester following admittance to the ANFSMS (Students must be admitted through the Graduate College before taking any courses that will be applied toward the M.S. requirements).

A maximum of 9 credit hours may be counted for both the B.S. and M.S. degrees and courses are limited to those approved for graduate credit.  You will be asked to list at least 2 of these courses on the UVM Accelerated Entry into Master’s Degree Permission Form. The courses listed as approved for graduate credit are subject to change, and research credits, internships, independent study and practica cannot be counted toward the 9 credits.

Minimum Degree Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

Students must complete 30 credits, including a 3-6 credit final project under the direction of their graduate faculty mentor (this is a non-thesis track MS degree). At least 6 credits must be at the 6000-level or above.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Statistics course approved by faculty advisor3
NFS 6350Nutrition&Food Science Seminar1
NFS 6392Master's Project Research3-6
NFS 6362Intro to Research Methods3
Elective Courses (chosen in consultation with the student's advisor and must be approved for graduate credit)20-23

Comprehensive Examination

Non-Thesis M.S. candidates will present an oral presentation on their final project by the end of the semester for which the final project credits have been assigned. The oral presentation will be attended by the Faculty Mentor and at least 2 additional members of the NFS Graduate Program.  These 3 people form the student’s Faculty Project Review Committee.  1 Graduate College faculty member from another department can substitute for one NFS faculty member. The student must create a flyer announcing the oral presentation 2 weeks before the presentation date and send it to their committee and to the NFS administrator for distribution.  The following information should be included: project title, student’s name and degree program, presentation date, time and location, and project description. This oral presentation and the Faculty Project Review Committee meeting that follows will constitute the student’s M.S. Comprehensive Examination.

Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Science

Students in the M.S. in NFS are expected to continue the high degree of academic performance that was evident when they were admitted to the program. A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is required for continuation in the M.S. in NFS, and undergraduate students whose cumulative GPA at any time falls below this minimum for more than one semester will be removed from the program. Once students receive their bachelor's degree and are admitted to the regular M.S. degree program, academic probation matters will be dealt with in the same manner as for other M.S. students.