You do not need to possess a degree in nutrition to apply to the Master's program.  For the online Certificate of Sports Nutrition, you must have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in nutrition, exercise physiology, kinesiology, or sports medicine or related fields such as biology, physical therapy, and nursing.  For both programs, you must have a Bachelor's degree and have completed the prerequisites and received grades for these courses within the past ten consecutive years at an accredited U.S. or overseas higher education institution accredited by the Ministry of Education in the home country. For the Dietetic Internship program, you must complete the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) curriculum as mandated by the American Dietetic Association before applying. This curriculum is offered by the Nutrition Department in the School for Health Studies at Simmons College.

To decide what program would be right for you, you must consider what path you would like to take in the nutrition field.

If you would like to be a nutritionist, then you would complete the Master's degree in Nutrition. The Certificate in Sports Nutrition would also qualify you to work with clients in the area of wellness and fitness. This certificate does require a certain foundation (see previous information).

If you want to be a registered dietitian (which is required to work in clinical settings such as hospitals), then you would need to complete the coursework for the Certificate in Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and the Dietetic Internship, and take the registered dietitian exam mandated by the American Dietetic Association (ADA). The DPD program is offered through the School for Health Studies (SHS). You can complete the DPD requirements and earn a certificate to verify completion of these courses by applying through the School for Health Studies Office of Admission at 617-521-2605.

For information about the different curriculum options and career options available to registered dietitians, please see the American Dietetic Association website at http://www.eatright.org/

The registered dietitian is a qualified nutrition expert who has obtained a bachelor of science or master of science degree in nutrition or a B.S. and all the DPD requirements, has completed a 6-12 month internship, and has passed the registered dietitian exam.  The RD is the mark of excellence in the dietetic profession.

In contrast, anyone can call oneself a nutritionist without any specific academic credentials. However, some RDs call themselves nutritionists if they are working in the community, public health or private practice.

The prerequisite courses for the MS in Nutrition and Health Promotion Program can be found here. Grades of B or better are required in these courses. Science courses must include a lab with the exception of Biochemistry. All courses must have been completed within the past 10 consecutive years;CLEP or AP(Advanced Placement) scores are not acceptable for these prerequisites. Please note: In order to apply to our Master's in Nutrition and Health Promotion program, All prerequisite courses must be completed or near completion at the time of application. For example, you may apply while currently enrolled in three remaining required courses. This would allow the faculty admission committee to review/render a decision based on a majority of completed prerequisites.

The prerequisite courses for the Certificate of Sports Nutrition are one semester of Introductory Nutrition (at Simmons, NUTR 111 or NUTR 112) and two semesters of human anatomy and physiology (with labs) (at Simmons, BIOL 231 and BIOL 232). Grades of B or better are required in these courses. You must also have a bachelor's or Master's degree, preferably in nutrition, exercise physiology, kinesiology or sports medicine or related fields such as biology, physical therapy, and nursing. These courses must be completed before applying to the program.

The Didactic Program in Dietetics is the prerequisite for the Dietetic Internship;interested students must apply through the Office of Admission of the School for Health Studies.

There are two methods to complete prerequisites:

• take classes at Simmons through the Dorothea Lynde Dix Scholars program before applying;
• complete courses elsewhere and then apply (call the Nutrition program directly at 617-521-2718 prior to enrolling in the course to determine if the specific class will fulfill our requirement)

The prerequisites courses are offered through the Dix Scholars Program. These are undergraduate level courses which are offered mostly during the day, although a few are offered during the evening. Please contact the Dix Scholars Program Office at 617-521-2051 or dix@simmons.edu to inquire about these courses at Simmons. To see what courses are available for the semester, see the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) registration bulletin.

The Master's program can be completed full time in two academic semesters plus one summer session. Part-time enrollment can take two or three years. For sample curricula, click here

NOTE: All international students requiring a student visa must attend full time.

The Certificate of Sports Nutrition consists of four courses, two of which are offered in the fall (September) term and two of which are offered in the spring (January) term. Therefore, the program may take from one to two years to complete. Federal regulations stipulate that international students may take only one online course per semester in combination with other campus courses to be considered fulltime.

The Dietetic Internship is a 30-week program, beginning in September.

All programs except the Dietetic Internship are available on a part-time basis. Most classes are held in the evenings or on weekends. International students must attend full-time and generally are not allowed to work off campus.

 Master's and/or Certificate of Sports Nutrition applicants may apply for the fall (September) and spring (January) semesters. You may also apply to the Master's program for the summer (May) start term. Dietetic Internship applicants may apply only for the fall (September) term. International applicants are eligible to apply only for the fall (September) semester.

For the Master's program, you must complete the standard application. For the Certificate of Sports Nutrition the same application is required; however only two recommendations are necessary and no GREs are required. For the Dietetic Internship program, no GREs are required. Please also submit pages A,B, and N of the Simmons graduate Nutrition application. If your first language is not English, submit official TOEFL scores and Page C of the Simmons graduate Nutrition application.

The deadline for Master's and/or Certificate of Sports Nutrition for spring (January) is November 1 and for fall (September) is June 1. You may also apply to the Master's program for summer (May) by the application deadline of March 1. The national application deadline for the Dietetic Internship (both program-arranged and student-proposed) is February 15, 2007 for the fall 2007 semester. Application information and materials for the Dietetic Internship can be found here: http://www.depdpg.org/

All admission decisions for each program will be mailed as a group after the application deadline date. Accepted students will be required to submit a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 by the date indicated in the letter offering admission. No extensions to the enrollment deposit due date will be granted. Deposits will be applied to the first semester bill.

The Master's program is 31 credits in length; and the Certificate of Sports Nutrition and the Dietetic Internship are 12 credits. You can find the current cost per credit hour on our Tuition and Financial Aid page.

There are a limited number of merit scholarships and assistantships available each year for students enrolled in the master's program. These stipends do not cover the full cost of tuition. All applicants are automatically considered for scholarships at the time of application review. Students do not need to submit a special application for scholarships. Accepted students will be notified of such scholarships and assistantships in the letter of admission or shortly thereafter.

• Complete the course work which meets the requirements for the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) as shown here: from a college program approved by CADE (Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education);
• Upon completion of these courses obtain a "Verification Statement" (completion of academic/practice requirements in dietetics) signed by the dietetics program director of an approved nutrition program at a college or university;
• Apply to an accredited/approved Dietetic Internship Program and successfully complete the program;
• Apply to take the national registration examination for dietitians; and
• Pass the registration examination

Yes, you may complete the requisite courses needed to meet the Didactic Program in Dietetics. These courses are needed to apply to a Dietetic Internships Program. The internship is a prerequisite for the national dietetic registration exam. When the exam is passed, the individual uses "RD" to indicate he/she is a registered dietitian.

Yes, submit the Dietetic Internship Program (or ADA Supervised Practice) application and Pages A to C of the Simmons Application for Admission for Graduate Nutrition. Please remember that you must also submit GREs for consideration to the MS program but not for the internship program. Only one application fee is required.

Yes, if you meet all the necessary requirements for all programs. Indicate on Page A of the Simmons application that you would like to apply to all three programs. Only one application fee is required.

It is possible to be accepted and enrolled in ALL programs. However, since the 30-week dietetic internship program is a full-time commitment, the M.S. and/or Certificate of Sports Nutrition programs must be started on a part-time basis during that time. The graduate program courses are offered in the evening. Students have found it feasible to take one or two courses a semester while enrolled in the Dietetic Internship Program. Once the Dietetic Internship Program is completed, the student has the option of completing the master's degree and/or Certificate of Sports Nutrition on either a full- or part-time basis (non-U.S. students must be enrolled full-time).

The Simmons Dietetic Internship Program awards 9 credits for the fieldwork component and 3 credits for the didactic graduate course. Simmons accepts the 3 credits for the didactic course work towards the M.S. degree.

Two Certificate in Sports Nutrition courses are required as part of the Master's nutrition program. Students enrolled in or considering the Master's program can also use one Certificate of Sports Nutrition course as an elective in the Master's program. All courses in the Certificate in Sports Nutrition program are online. However, to receive the certificate, you must formally apply and be accepted into the program before completing any courses.

Simmons offers 6 program-arranged dietetic internships and 2 student-proposed, distance placements. The distance placement requires that you live in an area where you can commute to class at Simmons once per week. It is the student's responsibility to identify a dietetic rotation site and obtain approval in advance by the Simmons Nutrition Department Chair.

Yes, students are required to take a graduate-level course that meets once a week from September through the beginning of December, and a Dietetic internship class that meets for the entire internship. This class is held on the same day as the graduate course.

 No, you must apply to one or the other.

International students who are interested in the master's program must complete the required prerequisites like all other applicants. However, you must be enrolled full-time to be eligible for a visa.

International students in the U.S. who are interested in the online Certificate of Sports Nutrition program are allowed to enroll in online distance courses but, due to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rules, for no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per semester. This class may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, exams, or other purposes. The course may be an elective or required course. Students may take other online courses but only in future terms, and only one course per semester.

Yes, Brigham and Women's and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Dietetic Interns are eligible to apply to the Master's program at Simmons and are eligible to waive certain requirements. Interns must submit Pages A-C and N of the Simmons application and all official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended (whether or not a degree was awarded). The application fee and the GRE scores are waived. Contact your individual internship supervisor regarding recommendations to our program. All application deadlines apply to such students

It is possible to enroll in some SHS courses before applying for admission. Certain courses require prerequisites and written approval from the respective Department Chairperson. Contact the appropriate department to determine which courses require approval. Generally, individuals may register for up to two graduate SHS courses as a non-degree student before being required to formally apply for admission. The following programs do not allow any courses to be taken as non degree: D.P.T. (doctorate in physical therapy program) all CAGS (Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study) programs and the CSN (Certificate in Sports Nutrition) program. Non-degree registration is not allowed for students who need a student visa (F-1) to study in the U.S. since enrollment must be full not part-time. To register, please fill out our registration form. For information about course offerings, see AARC (Academic and Administrative Resource Center)