Apply by July 15 to our Online M.S. program for Fall 2025!
Earning your doctorate in nutrition at the Friedman School allows you to conduct innovative and high-impact research with our world-renowned faculty. The Ph.D. program is interdisciplinary and collaborative, led by experts in a wide range of research areas. From your first day, you'll be engaged in meaningful work in a collegial atmosphere, and have opportunities to publish and promote your work in journals and the media.
Enrolling in the doctoral program requires you to have completed courses equivalent to a master's degree at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy or elsewhere. Prior coursework, and research or professional experience should match your desired focus areas.
You must pass a written and oral qualifying examination, and then complete and formally defend a doctoral dissertation based on original research.
Faculty at the Friedman School are experts in their fields, world-renowned researchers, passionate teachers, and highly engaged mentors. They include biochemists, RD’s, economists, nutrition scientists, statisticians, behaviorists, international nutrition program scholars, and policy experts.
Ph.D. students work on the cutting-edge research happening all over the world, and meaningfully contribute to the global impact on people, populations, and the planet.
We host and are affiliated with multiple research centers and institutes studying global issues like famine, humanitarian affairs, Food is Medicine, innovation and food technology, sustainable farming, nutrition equity, healthy communities and more. Our students, faculty, and staff collaborate within Tufts University and beyond, to enhance our public impact and broaden our reach.
Your fellow students come from remarkably diverse backgrounds, and go on to make significant impacts in education, public relations, the government, healthcare, community-based food and nutrition programs, US and international non-governmental agencies, and the food industry. They are united by the desire and ability to ensure nutritional wellbeing for the world, from cell to society, people to planet.
Application Deadline and Starting Semester:
The application deadline is December 1 for the following fall semester for students requiring funding from the Friedman School. The School does not provide funding for spring semester starts. Students who have secured scholarship funding from outside the Friedman School may apply after the December 1 deadline, or potentially to start in the spring semester, but should first contact the admissions office at nutritionadmissions@tufts.edu to inquire.
Do I need to contact faculty about openings in the program?
Our Ph.D. application process does not initially involve applying to work specifically with a faculty member. The first step is to apply to the program generally, and all initial review of applications is done by the admissions committee. Advisor matches are made after an offer of admission is extended and accepted by the applicant. However, you are certainly welcome to contact faculty whose areas of research interest you to discuss the program.
Is the program funded, and do I need to apply separately for funding?
Our Ph.D. program is funded with full tuition scholarship and stipend. You do not need to apply separately for funding or scholarships. Initial funding generally comes from the Friedman School, and all applicants to the doctoral program will be automatically considered for any School funding sources for which they are eligible. Funding is limited, and the admissions process for students requiring funding is highly competitive.
What kind of educational background is required?
To be eligible to apply, you must have either completed, or be in the process of completing, a graduate degree. We do not offer direct entry to the Ph.D. program for students coming from undergraduate programs. Although it is not required that your graduate degree be similar to the MS program at the Friedman School, those who have completed programs with some coursework similar to our MS requirements will likely be at an advantage in the admissions process.
How long is the program?
If accepted, there will be variables that will determine program completion time. The first is the nature of your prior graduate program and how similar it is to our M.S. program. A requirement of the Ph.D. is the fulfillment of all required M.S. courses associated with your concentration for which you do not have equivalencies in your prior coursework. Please note we are not able to evaluate prior coursework until after an offer of admission is extended and accepted. Another variable is the pace at which a student meets required milestones within the program. Most students who come into the program having earned their graduate degree elsewhere will have a 4 to 5 year process.
Are there online or part-time options?
We do not have an online/distance option for the Ph.D. There is a time, after all coursework requirements are fulfilled and qualifying exams are completed, when research could be completed remotely with occasional trips to the school for committee meetings. But at least a few years would need to be spent in Boston. Part-time study is possible for those being supported by their employers. The School does not provide funding for part-time students.
Our faculty have expertise in wide-ranging specializations and pursue interdisciplinary and collaborative research at Tufts University and beyond.
Learn more about our specializations and research themes.
Large-scale study from Tufts University and Cleveland Clinic shows striking link between high blood levels of TMAO and chronic kidney disease risk over time.
Within the Commonwealth, healthcare and other academic, research, and athletics activity made significant contributions to the university’s economic impact
Study estimates at least 10% of youth worldwide consume more than 7 servings of sugary drinks weekly
