The nutrition department application is available and completed through the online graduate application. Applicants are responsible for uploading all required materials to the appropriate place within the online applications. Questions regarding any technical difficulties should be initially addressed through the Graduate Admissions Office.

To begin the application process, you will need to submit an electronic application to the University of Tennessee Graduate Admissions Office.

Application deadline is January 15

If you miss the priority deadline of January 15^th, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. However to be considered for an assistantship position, you must have your complete application submitted by the January 15^th deadline.

Recommendations-
You will need 3 professional recommendations pertinent to the program for which you are applying. Recommendations may be submitted as a letter of recommendation on official letterhead and/or a graduate rating form. The graduate rating form is available from the Graduate School.

GRE Scores–
GRE scores are not required by the department. You can self-report your scores by entering the scores in the Nutrition application. The GRE score is good for 5 years. If you self-report your GRE scores, upon acceptance you must have your official scores sent directly to the University of Tennessee Graduate Admissions Office.

GPA–

A GPA of 3.0 or higher is preferred.

Faculty Research Match-
When you complete your application, you will be asked to list three faculty members in order of preference, which you would like to work with during your graduate studies. You are encouraged to contact the faculty members who you are interested in working with prior to submitting your online application.

Statements you will possibly be asked to submit with your application*

• Professional goals
• Research interest
• Research experience
• Professional experience
• Teaching experience
• Membership and awards

*Statements should be in narrative form and are uploaded as separate word documents.

Students applying to the Master of Science with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics

The requirements for entry and application process to the M.S. concentration in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics leading to the registered dietitian nutritionist credential differs from other departmental graduate programs. If this is what you’re interested in, please see the Admission and Application Requirements for Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics.

Nutrition prerequisite courses:

For most of our programs, nutrition prerequisites are determined on an individual basis at the time of admissions to the graduate program.

The Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics concentration is an exception and has very specific requirements, which can be found on the Admission and Application Requirements for Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics page.

If you have further questions, please contact nutrition@utk.edu.

Applications to the University of Tennessee and general admissions and expense information are available through the Graduate School.

Detailed costs associated with the Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics concentration can be found here.

The department has several types of assistantships available. These include positions as Graduate Teaching Assistants/Associates, Graduate Research Assistants, and Graduate Assistants. General information about graduate assistantships is available from the Graduate School website. Specific information about the department’s assistantships is available from its Graduate Handbook.

Graduate Assistantships may be 0.25 or 0.50 time over nine months or twelve months. Assistantships are renewed based upon students’ performance and availability of the assistantship.

Graduate Teaching Assistants/Associates assist in teaching classes, predominantly undergraduate, in the Nutrition Department. Teaching assistantships are more appropriate for graduate students with Nutrition degrees and who have previous teaching experience.

Graduate Research Assistants aid with implementing research that is being conducted in the Nutrition department. Graduate students with research interests matching with that of current research, or specific skills that complement ongoing research, are more appropriate for research assistantships.

Substantial scholarship funding opportunities are available to Nutrition graduate students through the college and university. The application deadline is February 1 each year for upcoming academic year. For details and a link to the application, see CEHHS Graduate Scholarships.

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Other Information

Official acceptance letters for the Nutrition program will come from the Graduate School.

Financial assistantships are considered as they become available and you will be contacted via email if you are awarded an assistantship.

If your email address changes, please send your new email address or contact information to the Department of Nutrition at nutrition@utk.edu.

Nutrition Graduate Handbook 2024-2025

Graduate student research is an important part of our graduate program. Explore our various faculty labs and the work they are doing.