Combined and Dual Degrees

Earn your M.S. in a Combined or Dual Degree Program

Degree Types:
Master's
Modality:
On Campus
Schedule:
Full Time, Part Time
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What degree works well with a Master of Science in Nutrition? With our interdisciplinary strengths and our breadth of research, almost any degree would complement your studies at the Friedman School. The Master of Public Health and Master of Science program is a popular combination given nutrition and food's important and complex role in population-level health, communication, policy, and behavior change. The Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Planning and Master of Science program ties together the full health ecosystem of built environment, urban policy, and nutrition equity, while the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy combined degree program with the Fletcher School works in harmony with our strengths at the intersection of humanitarian assistance and evidence-based policy. We also work closely with Simmons University to provide a unique combined degree program with a Didactic Program in Dietetics.

Combining degrees provides even more ways for you to create your unique experience at the Friedman School.

Combined Degree Options

You can learn more about expertise and research at the School on our specializations page. Our faculty and research align with specializations, and most of our work happens at the intersection of multiple areas.

  • Agriculture, Food, Environment
  • Climate, Sustainability, and Food
  • Food Systems Modeling
  • Food Policy and Economics
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Food Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition
  • Nutrition, Diet, and Disease across the lifecycle
  • Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health Nutrition
  • Data Analytics & AI in Nutrition
  • Community Interventions and Behavior Change
  • Nutrition Communication
  • Nutrition Equity
  • Build Your Own

The M.S. + M.P.H. is a combined degree program offered in conjunction with Public Health at the School of Medicine that offers you the chance to earn a combined Master of Science in Nutrition and Master of Public Health degree. The program is offered in two years (6 semesters) time providing students the opportunity to pursue complementary programs and concentrations within public health and nutrition.

You can fit this unique combined program into your schedule and complete the program either full-time or part-time. Degree candidates can choose an M.S. with two specializations and combine it with one of five concentrations within the M.P.H. program based on your interests and goals.

Admissions and financial aid decisions are made separately by each program. Please consult the Tufts School of Medicine’s M.S.-Nutrition/M.P.H. program for more information, and read more on our site about the Friedman School's application process.

Are you a Master of Science student at the Friedman School who is interested in ways that food policy fits into broader areas of public policy, especially community development? Are you a student in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning who wants to apply your policy skills to important issues in agriculture, food systems, and the environment? This program is perfect for you if your interest lay at the intersection of urban planning and food systems.  The M.S. and M.A. program requires three years of full-time study (or the equivalent if taken part-time). On completion, you will earn a Master of Arts degree from UEP and a Master of Science degree from the Friedman School.

You must complete all course requirements of both degrees, plus a field internship and a thesis (as required by UEP). A minimum of 23 credits is required. This is 7 credits fewer than what would be required if the two degrees were pursued separately (16 for FSNSP and 14 for UEP). This is possible because certain courses can fulfill a requirement of each program. For example, UEP 207 (Environmental Law) serves as a UEP elective and also meets the Environmental Policy requirement for the Friedman School's program. The thesis is supervised by a UEP faculty member and counts as two (2) credits. As a dual-degree candidate, you will be assigned an academic advisor from each program.

If you are interested in the combined degree, you must submit and complete two separate application packets for the UEP program and the Friedman School. Transcripts, letters of reference and any required test scores should be sent to both programs. If you are already in one program and decide to pursue the combined degree, then you must apply to the second program by the beginning of the third full-time semester of study.

The Friedman School is part of a cooperative program with Simmons College which allows you to to concurrently enroll in the Didactic Program in Dietetics Certificate program at Simmons if you are enrolled in any Master of Science in Nutrition concentration .

Upon completion of both programs, you will have earned a graduate degree in Nutrition and completed the dietetics coursework required to apply for ACEND-accredited dietetic internships. This process can be completed in as few as two years, although you may require additional time to complete the dietetics coursework, depending on your previous academic experience.

This combined degree program, offered in conjunction with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, provides an opportunity for a limited number of highly qualified students like you to earn both the M.A.L.D. degree and the Master of Science in Nutrition in three years. Normally, each program takes two years to complete.

You will emerge prepared for careers in international food and nutrition policy, economic development, government agencies, and business and trade as they relate to public health and nutrition, food availability, and human welfare.

Curriculum

The first full year in residence is at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; the second full year at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; and the third year split, with one full semester in residence at each school. To facilitate an integrated plan of study over the three years, you will be expected to take one course each semester at the other school.

Prerequisites

Students must apply to both degree programs separately. Each school reviews applications of interested candidates based on its own requirements and criteria. Requisites for financial aid are made separately to each degree program and processed according to each program's particular aid policy.

How to Apply

Applicants to the combined MS/MALD must apply separately to both the Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.