Nutrition

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Nutrition website

Dhiraj Vattem, Head
Katie Kavanagh, Director of Graduate Studies

Professors
Hansen-Petrik, M., PhD – Tennessee
Raynor, H., PhD – State University of New York (Buffalo)
Spence, M., PhD – Tennessee
Vattem, D., PhD – University of Massachusetts (Amherst)
Zhao, L., PhD – California (Berkeley)

Associate Professors
Colby, S., PhD – North Carolina (Greensboro)
Donohoe, D., PhD – Louisiana State Health Sciences Center (Shreveport)
Kavanagh, K., PhD – California (Davis)

Assistant Professor
Bettaieb, A., PhD – University of Quebec (Montreal)

Distinguished Lecturer
Murphy, L., MS-MPH – Tennessee

Clinical Instructor
Antonelli, S., MS – Meredith College (Raleigh)

Lecturer
Martin, J., MS – University of Memphis

Emeriti Faculty
Haughton, B., EdD – Columbia
Whelan, J., PhD – Penn State
 

Nutrition and dietetics education leading to credentialing as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Department of Nutrition within the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences is the administrative base for the university’s preparation of credentialed Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs). The University of Tennessee currently is home to two nutrition and dietetics education programs leading to RDN credentialing, both of which are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995, (312)899-0040 ext. 5400. The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) is completed through successful completion of the nutrition major with a dietetics concentration and culminates in a bachelor’s degree. Students in this program are eligible to pursue the RDN credential through one of two routes. They may apply to the ACEND-accredited Future Education Model Graduate Program (Master of Science in Nutrition with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics), which allows students to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years and be eligible to take the national credentialing examination (Registration Examination for Dietitians). Alternatively, bachelor’s degree graduates in dietetics may apply for ACEND-accredited supervised practice programs across the country to gain the supervised practice experience required to take the national credentialing examination and become RDNs. Students admitted to Master of Science in Nutrition with a Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics concentration do not enroll in graduate coursework during the four years of the bachelor’s degree program, but graduate study commences with the summer term immediately following graduation.

Admission to MS in Nutrition with concentrations in biomedical nutrition science, community nutrition, or public health nutrition, MS-MPH, and PhD degree programs.
A complete file for review includes the Graduate Application for Admission, completed departmental application form, and three Graduate Rating Forms completed by individuals who can attest to the applicant’s potential for graduate education. A link to the Graduate School’s electronic application process, along with application due dates, can be found on the department website. Admission into the graduate program in the department is dependent on completion of undergraduate courses that give the necessary background for success in the graduate program, and may include: general and organic chemistry, physiological chemistry/biochemistry, physiology, statistics and introductory* nutrition. Details regarding the minimum semester credit hours expected for each prerequisite are available in the Graduate Student Handbook on the department’s website. Applicants to all programs with related research interests and experience will be given preference.

*For those lacking only the introductory nutrition prerequisite, the student will be required to complete this or a similar class upon admission to our program.
 

Admission to MS in Nutrition with a concentration in clinical nutrition and dietetics.
A student intending to enter the Master of Science program in Nutrition with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics is required to complete coursework in the Nutrition-Dietetics concentration for the first three years of undergraduate study. At this point, students must apply for the Master of Science program and be accepted into the Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics concentration in order to enroll in specific prerequisite upper-division courses that will establish the knowledge and skill set necessary for the transition to graduate study and for meeting of ACEND-required competencies. Students who do not enroll in the Master of Science program may still complete the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition-Dietetics and the Didactic Program in Dietetics. Admission requirements for the Master of Science program with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics can be found on the departmental website.

Admission is competitive and students accepted to the Master of Science program in Nutrition with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics are required to follow the Nutrition-Dietetics concentration curriculum during the fourth year of the undergraduate program with the addition of HRT 445 and NUTR 426 Clinical Nutrition II Practicum and complete the Bachelor of Science degree.

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