Public Health Nutrition

Better nutrition. Better health. Stronger communities.

This top public health nutrition graduate program is designed for students who are committed to health promotion and disease prevention through healthy eating. The curriculum strongly emphasizes food access, nutrition policy, community nutrition interventions/programs, health disparities, nutrition assessment, and healthy eating throughout the life course.

Our Public Health Nutrition MPH program is located in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, a Division that uniquely houses Epidemiology, Public Health Nutrition, Maternal & Child Health, and Community Health. This interdisciplinary structure provides students with access to courses and faculty across disciplines. Students also have the opportunity to specialize their training to individual interests and career goals.

Program Brochure

Advantages of the Public Health Nutrition MPH

Career and Impact Focused. Thorough, application-oriented training develops the skills necessary to create, implement, and evaluate nutrition programs and interventions.

Innovative Education. Students can focus their training on epidemiologic methods, pursue the coordinated master’s program—one of the only programs of its kind in the U.S., or customize their studies to other specialty areas.

Tailored Focus. Through concentrations, certificates, and minors such as global health, public health policy, and health equity, students can tailor the program to their interests.

Exposure. Students move through the program with one cohort group and engage with faculty, practitioners, and trainees from various backgrounds in a highly interdisciplinary environment.

Who Should Apply?

Students with career goals in public health and applied nutrition, community intervention, and nutritional epidemiology are ideal candidates for this program. The program is also a valuable prelude to other graduate and professional education, including education in applied health professions (such as medicine, nursing, or dentistry), law school, and agriculture-focused studies.

Coordinated Master’s Program — Becoming a Public Health Dietitian

Curriculum & Degree Information (PDF)

Click here to learn more about:

The program mission, goals, & objectives
ACEND accreditation of the CMP program
Requirements for becoming a registered dietitian

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

Click here to learn more about frequently asked questions, including:

CMP specific program costs & tuition
The academic calendar

Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor’s degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR’s Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement visit CDR’s website. In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited [program type] program at [Institution name] are eligible to [apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program/apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN].

In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. For more information about state licensure requirements click here.

For more information about educational pathways to become a RDN click here.

Effective for the 2020 admissions cycle, this program does not require the GRE. Applicants who have already taken the GRE may submit their scores if they choose, however it is not required.

School of Public Health

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