Human Nutrition (M.Sc., Ph.D)
Faculty Members and their ResearchBarr, Susan, Ph.D., R.D.L; Cognitive dietary restraint, women's health, bone density, vegetarianism, physical activity in association with the above, dietary intakes; susan.barr@ubc.ca Black, Jennifer, Ph.D., RD: Social determinants of health and dietary choices, neighborhoods-level food availability, health disparities, applied uses of large survey datasets, quantitative methods and geographic information systems to study nutrition and health; j.black@ubc.ca Chapman, Gwen, Ph.D., R.D.: Food habits; family food decision making; gender and food choice; qualitative research; sociology of food and eating; gwen.chapman@ubc.ca Devlin, Angela, Ph.D.: Diet, epigenetics and metabolic programming; methyl nutrient metabolism; cardiometabolic risk factors; nutrient regulation of gene expression; adevlin@cfri.ubc.ca Elango Rajavel, Ph.D.: Protein and amino acid requirements using stable isotope tracers during key stages of growth and development in human pregnancy, adolescence, and childhood malnutrition; relango@cfri.ubc.ca or relango@interchange.ubc.ca Green, Tim, Ph.D, Graduate Advisor: Vitamins with emphasis on folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin D; nutritional assessment and human intervention studies; tim.green@ubc.ca Innis, Sheila, Ph.D., R.D. : Dietary fats, diet and neural function, maternal and infant nutrition, brain neurotransmitters, clinical nutrition, nutrition and gene expression, nutrition and metabolism; SInnis@cw.bc.ca Lamers, Yvonne, Ph.D.: B vitamins with a special focus on folate/folic acid, vitamin B-12 and vitamin B-6; metabolic effects of marginal vitamin deficiencies and high-dose vitamin supplementation; linkage between nutrient inadequacy and risk of chronic disease; stable isotope tracer protocols and human intervention studies; nutrient requirements; yvonne.lamers@ubc.ca McLean, Judy, Ph.D: international nutrition and food security; maternal and child nutrition, micronutrients; judy.mclean@ubc.ca Xu, Zhaoming, Ph.D.: Nutrient-gene interactions, diet (zinc) and breast cancer, zinc and growth regulation; zhaoming.xu@ubc.ca
Collaborations and Cross-Campus LinksThe program is enriched through collaboration with colleagues in graduate programs such as Animal Science, Food Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medicine, Health Care and Epidemiology, Human Kinetics, and the Institute for Health Promotion Research.
Recent Research Thesis Topics
Career Paths of GraduatesGraduates of our program have pursued academic positions at universities or colleges, consulting, or careers in health-related fields including medicine, dentistry, and others. Those who were registered dietitians before pursuing graduate study have gone on to senior clinical or administrative positions. Admission RequirementsMaster of Science DegreeFor admission with full standing into the M.Sc. program, applicants from a Canadian or American university or college must hold a bachelor degree or its academic equivalent with a minimum overall average in the B+ range (at UBC 76% or higher) in all third and fourth year courses. Minimum academic requirements for students from other countries are specified on the Faculty of Graduate Studies web site (http://www.grad.ubc.ca/apply/how/require.asp ). For students whose degree was not completed in English, minimum TOEFL scores are 577 (paper version), or 233 (computer version), or 90 (Internet version) Students admitted to the M.Sc. program must meet the Faculty of Graduate Studies' master's degree Admission Requirements. In addition, required prerequisite courses include biochemistry, human or vertebrate physiology, and advanced nutrition. A minimum of 3 credits (three hours per week, for two academic terms or one academic year) is required in each of biochemistry and physiology, and a minimum of 12 credits is required in nutrition. These prerequisite courses must be completed at the third- or fourth-year level. Students without a background in nutrition, or with less than 12 credits of undergraduate courses in nutrition, may apply to the program. However, if admitted, they will be required to take the missing credits of third- or fourth-year nutrition courses early in the graduate program, in addition to the usual M.Sc. course requirements. Doctor of Philosophy DegreeApplicants for the Ph.D. degree must ordinarily hold a First Class Master's degree in Nutrition with a standing of "A", and a Bachelor's degree with the above academic standing in Nutrition or a related science. For students whose degree was not completed in English, minimum TOEFL scores are 577 (paper version), or 233 (computer version), or 90 (Internet version). Students are not normally admitted directly into the Ph.D. program from a bachelor's program. However, highly-qualified students may transfer to the Ph.D. program without completing a M.Sc. thesis. Click here for additional information about transferring programs. |
The graduate program in Human Nutrition offers opportunities for advanced study and original investigations in basic and applied human nutrition at both the master's and doctoral levels. The curriculum includes coursework and thesis research through laboratory or field work in a variety of areas relevant to human nutrition including nutrient metabolism, diet and disease, nutrition through the life cycle and nutrition behaviours.