Graduate Admission Information

 

• Admission Requirements
• Deadlines
• How to Apply
• Application Status
• For International Students
• Visit
• Selecting Coursework

Preference criteria for admission to our graduate programs includes:

• Degree in foods and nutrition, food science, biology, zoology, biochemistry, chemistry, nursing, public health, or other closely related health science.
• Completion of at least two, and preferably three, of the following courses: organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physiology.  Grades should be “C” or better.
• Verbal GRE of 400 or higher
• GRE of 1,000 or higher (verbal plus quantitative) for masters and 1,100 for doctorate.
• GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) for masters and 3.4 for doctorate.
• TOEFL iBT score of 80 with a minimum score of 20 in each of the four exam sub-sections (international students).
• Work or volunteer experience in at least one of the following: laboratory research, clinical research, food industry, nutrition education, health promotion, or other area related to health, nutrition or food science.
• At least one faculty who agrees to serve as the student’s graduate advisor.  See the list of faculty advisors at: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/fdn/grad/advisors.html.

For international applicants, note that the Graduate School rejects applications with TOEFL scores less than 213 (CBT), less than 550 (PBT), or less than 80 (iBT, minimums:  Speak = 20, write = 20).   So please do not apply if you do not meet these minimum test scores.

If you do not meet our admission criteria, then please consider applying to our undergraduate program or enroll as a post-Baccalaureate student (contact: Dr. Art Grider, agrider@fcs.uga.edu, http://www.admissions.uga.edu/).

Although we review and accept applications all year round, it is best to complete your application and send all required materials by January 1st for summer or fall admission.  For full consideration, you must complete the entire application process six weeks prior to the posted graduate school deadlines (http://www.gradsch.uga.edu/Admissions/index.html).

These deadlines are:

All graduate programs are very competitive, so it is important that you prepare a competitive application that tells our department and faculty your primary interests and strengths, as well as the faculty that you would like to be your research advisor.

We only review completed applications.  Follow the instructions below to complete your application.

Complete these materials for the UGA Graduate School,  http://www.uga.edu/gradschool/admissions/requirements.html:

1. Application to UGA Graduate School (complete this online).
2. $50 application fee.
3. Two copies of official transcripts from all institutions from which a degree was obtained.
4. Official GRE scores.
5. Official TOEFL scores (international students).
6. Three letters of recommendation submitted online (we prefer that letters be submitted online, which let’s you track when the letters have been submitted). After you submit your application online and pay the application fee, the graduate school will send an email instructing your recommenders on how to submit these letters online. You should let your recommenders know that they will be receiving this email. They should write about your suitability for graduate school and a career in foods and nutrition.

When requested on the various forms and by various testing services, note that our major is "Foods and Nutrition" and our Degree Objective/Major Code is "347" and the ETS School Code is "5813".

Mail these materials to Graduate Coordinator, Department of Foods and Nutrition, Dawson Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602: 

1. Application to UGA Department of Foods and Nutrition Graduate Program: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/fdn/grad/docs/fdn_grad_application.pdf.

• If you would like to be considered for an assistantship, then check “yes” to this question on the form.
• There is no separate UGA application for our dietetic internship. However, if you are planning to apply to our dietetic internship, then check "yes" to the question "I will enter the D&D Digital Systems computer matching process for your Dietetic Internship Program." 

  2.  Resume: summary of your educational background and relevant experience.

  3.  Statement of Purpose: one to two pages that explains your purpose in pursuing graduate studies in our department and your research interests.

You may check the status of your application at http://www.gradsch.uga.edu:5080/student/

The system will require an access code and a password, which you should have received in an e-mail from admissions.  If you have problems accessing the system or need your passcode, contact Graduate Admissions at gradadm@uga.edu.

Please note that our university processes several thousand applications in January and February, so it may be a few weeks before your application is processed.  Our department processes about 100 applications at this time of year, so it takes a few weeks for us to process your application and to receive a copy of your materials from our graduate school.  Thank you for your patience.

It is particularly important that international students send all of their application materials and pay their application fees by January 1st for fall admission. We have had major delays in processing applications from international students, so be sure that ALL of your application is to UGA by January 1st for fall or summer admission ($50 fee is paid, all transcripts, all test scores, all applications, and all letters of reference).  Supplemental information for international students can be found at:  http://www.uga.edu/gradschool/admissions/int_supplements.html.  Click on "Country Specific Requirements" for the TOEFL minimums after each country.

If you would like to visit the department, please contact us and let us know what areas of foods and nutrition you are interested in, and especially if you are more interested in basic science nutrition, clinical nutrition, and/or community nutrition.  The department holds an Open House each year. Contact Dr. Johnson (mjohnson@fcs.uga.edu) or Dr. Grossman (bgrossma@fcs.uga.edu) for more information.

Once our students are enrolled, they have flexibility to take courses in a number of departments that span the basic through the applied aspects of foods, nutrition, and health. Our graduate students take courses in public health, health promotion and behavior, exercise science, food science, adult education, pharmacy, biochemistry, cell biology, animal and dairy science, gerontology, and statistics. 

Required courses for all degree programs include FDNS 6400 Advanced Macronutrients, FDNS 6100 Micronutrient Nutrition, FDNS 8900 Seminar in Foods and Nutrition, FDNS 8560 Dissertation/Thesis Proposal Writing, and either FDNS 8530 or FDNS 8550 Nutrition and Disease Process I and II. 

Our course offerings are at http://www.bulletin.uga.edu under the prefix FDNS for foods and nutrition courses.  Please see our online Graduate Manual for programs of study for our graduate degree programs http://www.fcs.uga.edu/fdn/grad/docs/graduate_manual.pdf.