The program is offered entirely online.

The deadline for fall (Sept.) is June 1 and for spring (Jan.) is November 1.

Due to the time needed to review applications, receive deposits, and register for classes, you will not be considered for the start term you wish. If we have not received all the required information by the deadline date, you will be contacted to determine if you wish us to carry over your application to the next term.

Students may enter the C.S.N. program only in September and January.

You will need to complete 12 credits (4 courses) of coursework. This usually requires one or two years of course completion. Courses are taken during the fall or spring semesters of each year. You do not need to take courses in consecutive semesters; however, you must finish within 3 years.

Due to the time and effort involved in reviewing transcripts and other components of the applications, we are not able to review your transcripts before you submit your application. However, prerequisites to apply to this program include an Introductory Nutrition course and two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology with labs. If you have successfully completed (grade of B or better) these courses, you may apply.

Students may apply to the M.S. and C.S.N. programs simultaneously (and in fact this is preferred). If accepted, two courses in the C.S.N. program are required for the M.S. degree and one additional course can be used as an elective for the M.S. degree. A student will need to earn 34 credits to complete both the M.S. and C.S.N. simultaneously. However, completing both programs will lengthen your duration of studies. If the C.S.N. program is completed on its own, these courses may not be counted towards the M.S. degree in subsequent years.

If you originally apply only to the M.S. program and decide at a later date to pursue the C.S.N., you cannot automatically take these classes and receive an official Simmons Certificate. You must formally apply for admission, submitting a new application fee and other information. Contact directly the Office of Admission at 617-521-2605.

No. All of the required courses are available online.

Students are NOT required to take a course every semester, but you are expected to complete the certificate in three years or less. We usually advise students who are working full-time to take only one course a semester. However, two courses are offered each semester.

You need to be able to find documents on the web,search through a database, send and receive emailand use attachments. You should be comfortable in using a word processing program such as MicrosoftWord and presentation software such as PowerPoint. Some courses may ask you to use data base programs such as Excel.