International Health, MSPH, Human Nutrition-Dietitian
Program Coordinator: Laura Caulfield, PhD
Requirements for Admission
The Dietitian program seeks to attract and train future experts in public health nutrition across a range of professional interests and backgrounds. Entry into the Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) program in Human Nutrition requires, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree and eight prerequisite courses. For more information please go to the MSPH, Human Nutrition - Dietitian homepage.
Advising Faculty
- Laura Caulfield
Program Requirements
Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website.
For a full list of program policies, please visit the MSPH Human Nutrition - Dietitian webpage where students can find a link to our most recent Academic Guide.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Courses | ||
General Degree Requirements | ||
PH.550.860 | Academic & Research Ethics at BSPH | |
PH.222.840 | Special Studies and Research Human Nutrition | 1 - 22 |
PH.222.860 | Graduate Nutrition Seminar | 1 |
PH.220.600 | International Travel Preparation, Safety, & Wellness | 1 |
Nutrition and Health | ||
PH.222.641 | Principles of Human Nutrition in Public Health | 4 |
PH.222.657 | Food and Nutrition Policy | 2 |
PH.222.658 | Critical Thinking in Nutrition | 1 |
PH.222.642 | Assessment of Nutritional Status | 3 |
PH.222.644 | Cellular Biochemistry of Nutrients | 3 |
PH.222.655 | Nutrition and Life Stages | 3 |
PH.222.654 | Food, Culture, and Nutrition | 4 |
Biostatistics Requirement (choose one option) | ||
Option 1: | ||
PH.140.621 | Statistical Methods in Public Health I | 4 |
PH.140.622 | Statistical Methods in Public Health II | 4 |
PH.140.623 | Statistical Methods in Public Health III | 4 |
PH.140.624 | Statistical Methods in Public Health IV | 4 |
or | ||
PH.140.651 | Methods in Biostatistics I | 4 |
PH.140.652 | Methods in Biostatistics II | 4 |
PH.140.653 | Methods in Biostatistics III | 4 |
PH.140.654 | Methods in Biostatistics IV | 4 |
Epidemiology Requirement | ||
PH.340.721 | Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I | 5 |
Environmental Health | ||
PH.182.640 | Food- and Water- Borne Diseases | 3 |
Budgeting | ||
PH.552.621 | Basic Resources Management for Public Health | 1 |
Management Sciences, choose one of the following (the courses not chosen may be used as electives): | ||
PH.221.602 | Applications in Managing Health Organizations in Low and Middle income Countries | 3 |
PH.312.601 | Fundamentals of Management for Health Care Organizations | 3 |
PH.410.622 | Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health System Transformation in Developing Countries | 4 |
PH.312.600 | Managing Health Services Organizations | 4 |
PH.312.655 | Organizational Behavior and Management | 2 |
Leadership and Interprofessional Practice | ||
PH.552.623 | Principles of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals | 0.5 |
PH.552.624 | Applications of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals | 0.5 |
PH.552.625 | Building Collaborations Across Sectors to Improve Population Health | 0.5 |
Capstone and Practicum Requirement (Year 2 only) | ||
PH.222.815 | Human Nutrition - Registered Dietitian (RD) Program Practicum (students must complete a minimum of 28 credits of practicum) | 28 |
PH.222.850 | Msph Capstone Human Nutrition (students must complete a minimum of 4 credits of capstone) | 2 - 16 |
Additional Dietitian Program Required Courses | ||
PH.260.600 | Introduction to the Biomedical Sciences (taken summer before first year) | 4 |
PH.222.671 | Developing Skills in Clinical Nutrition I: Medical Terminology & Laboratory Value Assessment | 0.5 |
PH.222.672 | Developing Skills in Clinical Nutrition II: The Nutrition Care Process (NCP) and Nutrition Focused Physical Exam (NFPE) | 0.5 |
PH.222.673 | Developing Skills in Clinical Nutrition III: Nutritional Counseling Across the Life Span | 1 |
PH.222.674 | Developing Skills in Clinical Nutrition IV: Expanded Studies | 1 |
PH.222.651 | Nutrients in Biological Systems | 2 |
PH.222.652 | Nutrition in Disease Treatment and Prevention | 3 |
PH.222.661 | Designing Healthy Diets | 2 |
PH.222.664 | Food insecurity and nutrition: Partnering with community organizations to make change | 2 |
MSPH Human Nutrition - Dietitian Program Policies
For a full list of program policies, please visit the MSPH Human Nutrition – Dietitian in International Health webpage where students can find a link to our most recent Academic Guide.
MSPH Human Nutrition - Dietitian Program Learning Outcomes
According to the requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type.
Educational Objectives
The MSPH program in Human Nutrition is designed to train professionals to focus on understanding and solving public health problems in food and nutrition across a diverse societal landscape. The MSPH degree in Human Nutrition prepares students to assume professional, technical, and management positions within public health nutrition programs or government, international or non-governmental agencies, universities, hospitals, and private industry. The program also offers a broad public health nutrition component that complements dietetics skills acquired in the combined MSPH-Dietitian program (see below). The MSPH program also prepares students with a foundation of knowledge and skills for carrying out subsequent doctoral studies and research in the field of human nutrition or training in medicine.
Overall Program Goal
There are four overarching academic competencies that students are expected to master during the course of their Master's degree program. Students should:
- Demonstrate knowledge of public health nutrition problems and characterize these problems in terms of measurable indicators
- Identify nutrition problems of public health importance; analyze and synthesize relevant data; and develop and implement prevention, control, and evaluation plans
- Participate in a field, laboratory, or clinical experience related to nutrition research or programs from the conception of ideas through design, management, monitoring, data collection, and analysis
- Communicate through written reports, oral presentations, and other media nutrition information of high technical quality and program or policy relevance
PROGRAM CONCENTRATION COMPETENCIES
- Explain the roles of energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients in biological processes and functions;
- Examine the biological, social, cultural, and behavioral influences on nutrition in the different stages of human development;
- Examine appropriate measures and indicators of dietary intake, physical activity, nutritional status, and metabolic dysfunction to characterize the nutritional health or risks of individuals or populations;
- Propose policy options to address specific food and nutrition problems in a given setting or context;
- Apply cultural information to the development, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition intervention programs;
- Apply theories of behavior change and counseling techniques as part of the nutrition care process;
- Formulate dietary recommendations considering cross-cultural factors to meet the needs of individuals, communities, and populations;
- Employ multiple management tools to assess the food environment and food access landscape and to develop a project plan to enhance nutrition services for community organizations.