Education
Dear Prospective Student,
Thank you for your interest in our Master of Science in Nutrition program. The program is over fifty-five years old, but each year is a new and exciting one for our faculty, staff and students. Our primary goals for the MS program are to help each student understand the importance of nutrition as a major modality in health prevention, and to develop the students’ writing, critical thinking, and public speaking skills to increase their expertise as a nutrition science professional.
The program is ideal for a gap year for those planning further graduate education. In this year, you will obtain strong nutrition science training and, through your elective courses and thesis work, have the option of further specializing in basic nutrition science, or delving into clinical or public health nutrition. You will complete an MS thesis under the guidance of a research mentor who you will select from over one hundred research professionals working in and around the Columbia University Medical Center, a Center that includes the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health, and Nursing.
In addition to a devoted faculty and staff, the strengths of the program include:
- Diverse, committed and accessible faculty [1]: Our faculty has diverse specialty training in nutrition and allied areas. They provide close academic advisement. You will be assigned an advisor who meets with you individually at your request, as well as in meetings with his/her entire advisory group (10-12 students), at least twice a semester.
- Academic development: Our strong curriculum [2] includes courses in biochemistry and physiology, epidemiology, clinical nutrition, readings in nutritional sciences, etc. Combined with the specific skills developed during the course of the thesis research these courses provide a strong background for employment or for further professional education.
- Professional development: In addition to academic rigor, we have a major focus on customized professional development.
- Leadership development: Students can elect to serve as a student representative to a course, as well as on any of several committees.
- Academic and career advising: The IHN offers career advising, as well as advising for students pursuing further graduate training, be it medical school, dental school, public health, etc. Faculty and staff coordinate mock interview informational sessions, personal statement writing sessions, and other workshops as requested by the students over the course of the year. Personalized and individual support is available from student advisors, faculty members, and the Director of the MS program.
- Student support: In addition to the IHN faculty, Columbia University Medical Center provides many other important resources for student support. These resources include the Center for Student Wellness [3], the Writing Center [4], access to free software such as Microsoft Office, Endnote, and training in electronic data management and literature searches at the Health Sciences Library [5].
We welcome prospective students to visit our campus and attend a few classes to gain a sense of the program.
Sincerely,
Sharon R. Akabas, PhD
Director, MS program in Nutrition
- Click here [6] to learn more.
Links:
[1] http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/ihn/faculty_/teaching_faculty
[2] http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/ihn/courses
[3] http://cumc.columbia.edu/students/wellness/
[4] http://www.columbia.edu/cu/uwp/wc/main/main-page/
[5] http://library.cpmc.columbia.edu/hsl/
[6] http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/ihn/education/ms_science_program