Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health

Graduate Program Details

Application

There are no formal coursework requirements for admission to our graduate programs.

  • Competitive applications show success in basic science courses such as biology and chemistry.
  • Applicants with a non-nutrition background are encouraged to apply. If the graduate faculty recommend admission, those students would be required to take one to two nutrition courses (specified by graduate faculty in admission letter) in addition to graduate coursework to address the subject deficiency that may be present prior to starting in the program.
  • The NDSS program can be completed either on-campus or entirely online. The doctoral program cannot be completed entirely online.

The university has formal deadlines for international applicants.

  • January 8: fall (August) enrollment
  • August 1: spring (January) enrollment
  • December 1: summer (June) enrollment

The department has set priority deadlines for domestic applications.

  • March 1: summer (June) enrollment and priority deadline for fall (August) enrollment
  • May 1: general deadline for fall (August) enrollment
  • November 1: spring (January) enrollment and MSDI application deadline

Graduate application reviews are held after each of the above deadlines.

Required graduate application materials consist of:

  • Unofficial transcripts from every institution you have earned college credit from
  • Three professional references willing to submit an electronic survey via Qualtrics to be added to your application
  • Personal statement (include only the following):
    • One or two examples of specific topics you are interested in learning more about or researching in the graduate program
    • Relevant work or experiences that speak to your potential success in a graduate program
    • Relavant research, scholarly/creative activities or discovery that speak to your potential success in a graduate program
    • Describe 1-3 skills you have that are relavant to you pursuing a graduate degree in our department
    • Why do you want to pursue a graduate degree?
    • Why do you want to pursue a graduate degree through Kansas State University?
  • International applicants must also submit financial paperwork and language competency exam scores
  • Start an online application

Holistic application review:

  • Our graduate faculty meet after each priority deadline has passed to review any completed applications that have been received. Depending on where in this cycle your application is determines how long it will spend at the department level. Then your application is reviewed by the university Graduate School, which may take a couple of weeks. Thus our working goal for turnaround is 6-8 weeks.

Graduate program options

There are three options for MS completion: thesis, report or coursework only. Please indicate your interest in one of these three options in your application.

Thesis

      • Student plans and conducts a full research project, or a portion of an existing/ongoing project (enrollment in FNDH 899)
      • Student will submit a written work (thesis) using ETDR format and submit it to K-State Research Exchange upon graduation (K-REx)
      • Student presents a public presentation followed by a closed defense with graduate committee members to determine graduation/pass status

Report

      • Similar to a thesis, however, not as in depth (enrollment in FNDH 898)
      • Student will submit a written work (report) using ETDR format and submit it to K-State Research Exchange upon graduation (K-REx)
      • Student presents a public presentation followed by a closed defense with graduate committee members to determine graduation/pass status

Coursework-only

Culminating experience

        • Student completes a critical application project (enrollment in FNDH 897)
        • Written work expectations set by graduate committee members with no ETDR requirements
        • Student to present a public presentation followed by a closed defense with graduate committee members to determine graduation/pass status

Non-culminating experience

        • Student completes a critical application project (enrollment in FNDH 897)
        • Work expectations set by instructor of FNDH 897
        • Student not expected to present a public presentation outside of expectations in FNDH 897

Graduate Faculty

  • It is encouraged to take a look at the expertise and research areas of our research faculty and perhaps indicate who you may be interested in working with during your graduate studies in your personal statement.
  • Application fee waivers need to be purchased from the Graduate School and paid for by the department. If a graduate faculty member would like to purchase one from the department to support you, that is acceptable, however very rare. This can be discussed by directly reaching out to one of our graduate faculty members you are interested in working with.
  • Only a graduate committee can approve the application of graduate credits earned prior to the NDSS degree program. Thus, there is no guarantee graduate credits previously taken will apply to the NDSS program prior to application.
  • Our Graduate Program Director is Dr. Weiqun Wang. Our interim department head is Dr. Brian Lindshield.

Tuition, Fees, and Funding Opportunities

Estimated tuition and fees:

Funding:

  • Assistantships: assistantships are traditionally are held by full-time (6 credits or more per semester), campus students. Those on assistantship are compensated and have tuition assistance.
    • Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA): Formal application process occurring each spring where current and accepted FNDH graduate students can apply for the coming academic year (August-May). Availability of positions are based on current budget.
    • Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA): Faculty within the FNDH department and outside of it may have funding to support GRAs graduate research assistantships. Opportunities are determined by the specific faculty member who is funding the assistantship.
    • Graduate Assistantship (GA): various opportunities around campus. See our list of current opportunities.
  • Scholarships and Fellowships:
    • Late winter/early spring future and current students are prompted to complete an application for all K-State scholarship opportunities (which includes our department's graduate scholarships) for the coming academic year in one place called the K-State Scholarship Network (KSN).
    • The Graduate School maintains web page with information that may be useful in this regard.
  • Financial aid:

It is strongly recommended to watch one of our archived webinars before reaching out with quesitons!

Questions? Please email fndhgrad@k-state.edu