Graduate Study
MPH Curriculum
The Master of Public Health (MPH) in Public Health Nutrition curriculum involves public health coursework, practicum, fieldwork, and culminates in a capstone project or thesis.
If completing the MPH with RDN training, you will take an additional 30 credits of RDN practice experience.
Autumn 2024
Course requirements listed on this page apply to students entering the Master of Public Health (MPH) or MPH with RDN training in autumn 2024. Refer to curriculum archives if you entered the program in a previous year.
Year 1 Autumn (17 credits)
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHI 511 | Foundations of Public Health | 3 | All MPH |
| PHI 512 | Analytic Skills for Public Health | 7 | All MPH |
| NUTR 500 | Food Systems Seminar | 1 | All MPH |
| NUTR 513 | Food and Society | 2 | All MPH |
| NUTR 520 | Nutrition and Metabolism I | 4 | All MPH |
Year 1 Winter (13-16 credits)
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHI 513 | Analytic Skills for Public Health II | 3 | All MPH |
| PHI 514 | Determinants of Health | 3 | All MPH |
| NUTR 512 | United States Food Systems Policy | 3 | All MPH |
| NUTR 521 | Nutrition and Metabolism II | 4 | All MPH |
| NUTR 536 | Nutrition Education Principles & Practice | 2 | GCPD only |
| NUTR 558 | Foundations of Dietetics | 1 | GCPD only |
Year 1 Spring (14-16 credits)
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHI 515 | Implementing Public Health Interventions | 4 | All MPH |
| PHI 516 | Public Health Practice | 3 | All MPH |
| NUTR 526 | Maternal and Pediatric Nutrition | 3 | All MPH |
| NUTR 560 | Nutritional Counseling for Chronic Disease | 2 | GCPD Only |
| NUTR 562 | Nutrition and Chronic Disease | 4 | All MPH |
Year 2 Autumn (8-15 credits)
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUTR 531 | Public Health Nutrition | 3 | All MPH |
| NUTR 532 | Fieldwork in Public Health Nutrition | 1 | All MPH |
| NUTR 559 | Orientation to Clinical Dietetics Practice | 3 | GCPD only |
| NUTR 563 | Nutrition in Acute Care | 4 | GCPD only |
| NUTR 596 | Nutrition Practice Capstone | 4 | All MPH |
Year 2 Winter/Spring/Summer (30 credits)
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUTR 561 | GCPD Practice Experience | 10 credits each quarter | GCPD only |
Credits Not Tied to a Specific Quarter
| Course | Name | Credits | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUTR 595 | Master's Practicum | 6 | Non-GCPD |
| NUTR 700 | Master's Thesis | 9 | Optional |
| Various | Electives | 5 | All MPH |
- Courses and timing are subject to change.
- Use these tables in conjunction with your official degree audit and guidance from NSP Student and Academic Services.
- MPH students must complete a minimum 63 credits.
- GCPD courses satisfy the elective credits required for the MPH degree.
- GCPD student complete the required MPH Practicum, NUTR 595, by way of the NUTR 561 Practice Experience.
- All graduate students complete either a practice-based capstone with mentorship from a faculty instructor and a community partner or a research-based thesis under the direction of a faculty thesis chair and committee. The curriculum above presumes you will be completing NUTR 596 Nutrition Practice Capstone as your culminating experience requirement. Decisions to pursue the capstone or thesis are typically made in winter and spring of year 1.
Upon satisfactory completion of a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Public Health Nutrition, graduates will be able to:
- Apply knowledge of human nutrient requirements in relation to genetics, metabolic pathways, and physiological function across the life course.
- Assess nutritional status of individuals and groups.
- Appraise how nutritional factors across the lifespan are linked to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and quality of life.
- Apply appropriate public health frameworks and methodologies to address a public health nutrition problem.
- Critique public health practice decisions and nutrition policy development.
- Describe the basic components and determinants of the US food and nutrition systems.
- Recognize the means by which social inequities and racism, generated by power and privilege, undermine nutritional health.
You’ll work with our practicum faculty adviser to be matched with a practicum site that incorporates your special interests, desired professional skills set, and MPH core competencies.
Learn more about MPH practicum
You’ll complete one fieldwork experience by enrolling in NUTR 532.
Read about fieldwork
MPH students complete either a practice-based capstone with mentorship from a faculty adviser and a community partner or a research-based thesis under the direction of a faculty thesis chair and committee.
See past student projects
Through the MPH coursework and hands-on fieldwork and practicum experiences, you’ll achieve competencies established for all MPH graduates by the Council on Education for Public Health, the accrediting body for schools and programs of public health.
These foundational competencies include areas such as evidence-based approaches to public health, planning and management to promote health, policy, leadership, and systems thinking.
Additionally, the FSNH MPH program is a member of the Association of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition which aims to promote excellence in graduate education for public health nutritionists who will design and manage population-based community nutrition programs and services.
