Doctoral Programs

The Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences offers two Doctor of Philosophy degrees; one in Human Sciences with specialization in Nutrition & Food Science and one in Exercise Science with specialization in Exercise Physiology.

During the first year of training, doctoral students form a supervisory committee that serves to guide them through all of their work. Because the PhD program is a research intensive, competency-based program with no specific credit hour requirements, this committee, students work closely with this committee, which is headed by a major professor. In addition to advising students, the committee is charged with the responsibility of advising students research design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, the committee also helps set course work beyond the required core courses (see PDF forms below) needed for the student to become an independent scientist and researcher. The committee also conducts an annual evaluation of the each student's progress.

Requirements

Doctoral Applications Requirements

1. Because the doctoral degree is ultimately a research degree, students must have a strong interest in conducting research in their field of specialization. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the research of our faculty.
2. Your application must include a letter, addressed to the admissions committee, that describes your research interests and goals. This letter should include how your background and prior training make you a good candidate for work in this area, and should include the names of up to three professors with whom you would like to work if you joined our doctoral program.
3. Normally, admission into the doctoral program requires a Master's degree from an accredited institution. However, particularly strong master's students who show research potential during their first year may, upon recommendation of their supervisory committee and major professor, by-pass the master's degree and enter directly in the doctoral program. If this is a program that you would like to take advantage of, please discuss this option in your letter to the admissions committee.
4. An upper division undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and the same for graduate level work is required. Additionally, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores of a minimum of 600 on the Quantitative Reasoning section and a minimum of 450 on the Verbal Reasoning section using the old scoring system are strongly recommended. On the revised GRE, applicants should have a minimum of 145 on the Quantitative Reasoning section and a minimum of 150 on the Verbal Reasoning section.
5. International students must have a TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper-based) or 100 (Internet-based)
6. Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak directly to your ability to complete academic work and/or research. Letters should be sent by applicants' references directly to the department: Joseph Carroll, Assistant Graduate Coordinator, Florida State University, College of Human Sciences Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences 434 Sandels Building Tallahassee, FL, 32306-1493.
7. Any other supporting materials such as publications, abstracts, description of research or work experience, C.V., etc.
8. A visit to FSU is strongly encouraged and is required for assistantship consideration. If you decide to visit, please contact the department so that we can arrange meetings with individual faculty to discuss research interests and opportunities.

Attainment of these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to any program. Admission decisions are based on assessments of all aspects of the student's application materials. We reserve the right to increase standards if warranted by enrollment limitations and by the number and quality of applicants.

For additional graduate information email: jjcarroll@admin.fsu.edu

Departmental Application deadlines:

• Fall Graduate Admission: Encouraged to submit your online application by March 1st. The final date for submission is July 1st.
• Spring Graduate Admission: Encouraged to submit your online application by July 1st.  The final date for submission is November 1st.  Sports Sciences major only accepts applicants for the Fall term.

If you are interested in The Dietetic Internship Program or Fellowships/Assistantships, please see the note below regarding earlier deadlines:

• Students interested in the Dietetic Internship Program must first be accepted into the Nutrition and Food Sciences master's program (specialty in Clinical Nutrition) before their internship application can be evaluated.  Please submit your application for the Internship by January 31st (prior to D & D matching) and your application for admission to the Graduate Program in Nutrition and Food Science by December 15 prior to the Internship application (also prior to D & D matching).
• Fellowships and Assistantships are often determined in the early spring for the following academic year.  Students who wish to be considered for Fellowships and Assistantships are encouraged to submit their Fall Graduate Admission application by February 1st. 

Please note that all application materials must arrive by the deadline.