Nutritional Sciences, PhD

Admission Requirements

There are two ways to be admitted into the PhD program: direct admission or through the IBS Program. If accepted into the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBS) Program, you will have the opportunity to rotate through 4 research labs during your first year of study; these could be with Nutritional Sciences faculty or with other faculty in the College of Medicine.

Direct Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the following requirements for admission to the University of Kentucky Graduate School and the Nutritional Sciences Ph.D. program:

A baccalaureate degree from a fully accredited institution of higher learning.

An M.S. degree with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 or above on a 4.0 scale, or a B.S. degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale.

For international applicants, a minimum score of 550 out 667 maximum possible is required on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a minimum 213 score on the computer-based TOEFL (maximum 300), or 79 on the internet-based TOEFL. The minimum International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) score is 6.5. All applicants must demonstrate proficiency in verbal and written English.

Course Prerequisites: an undergraduate physiology course (PGY 206 at UK), 1 year of general chemistry (CHE 105 and 107 at UK), and 1 semester of organic chemistry (CHE 236 at UK).

Degree Requirements

Program Website:

https://pharmns.med.uky.edu/pharmns-phd-program

Core Courses for Ph.D. Total credits required for degree = 36

Academic Course Prerequisites to Program:

Biology (2 semesters)

General Chemistry (2 semesters)

Organic Chemistry (1 semester)

Undergraduate Biochemistry and Physiology

CORE CURRICULUM FOR PHD PROGRAM IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES

NS 601 INTEGRATED NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES I (3)
NS 602 INTEGRATED NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES II (3)
CNU 603 /NS 603 INTEGRATED NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES III (2)
CNU 609 /NS 609 ETHICS IN CLINICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH (1) or TOX 600 ETHICS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (1) or PHS 711 RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH (2)
NS 704 CURRENT TOPICS IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES (1)
NS 771 GRADUATE SEMINAR IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES ** (1+)**
IBS 611 PRACTICAL STATISTICS (2) or STA 570 BASIC STATISTICAL ANALYSIS (3)
IBS 601 /BCH 607 BIOMOLECULES AND METABOLISM (3)
IBS 602 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS (3)
IBS 606 PHYSIOLOGICAL COMMUNICATION (3) or PGY 412G PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY (4) or PGY 502 SYSTEMS, CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY (5)

Two or more credit hours of elective courses that are recommended by the student’s advisor and approved by the advisory committee. Electives include the following courses:

IBS 603 CELL BIOLOGY & CELL SIGNALING (3)

NS 550 DRUG AND NUTRIENT INTERACTIONS (2)

NS 606 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN NUTRITION (2)

NS 689 NUTRITION AND CHRONIC DISEASES (3)

CNU 501 NUTRACEUTICALS AND FUNCTIONAL FOODS (2)

CNU 502 OBESITY C2C: CELL TO COMMUNITY (2)

CNU 605 ADVANCED SPORTS NUTRITION (3)

Additional Electives (7-12)

Total Credits 36

**Students are to register in NS 771 for 1 credit every semester after entering the program, until the semester that they take the qualifying exam. In addition, all GCNS doctoral candidates must register for 0 credit hours every semester starting the semester that the qualifying exam is taken, and present a seminar once/year post-qualifying exam.