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Discover Your Path

Across our master's and doctoral programs, you'll have a wide variety of existing specialization options to choose from that align with our faculty and research strengths. You can also build your own specializations with your advisor. Don't know exactly how to move through the program right now? You can discover what sparks your passion after you arrive. There's no need to declare upon applying to the School!

*Indicates specializations available in our Online M.S. program

Explore Specializations

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The Agriculture, Food, and Environment specialization offers a comprehensive set of coursework that empowers you to critically analyze the linkages between the production of food, the natural environment, and the social and governance issues around both. You will learn about approaches for making agriculture and food systems more supportive of the natural environment and society they serve. This coursework will help you develop the expertise to create innovative, sustainable solutions for food production and distribution.

Featured Faculty: Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, Sean Cash, Timothy Griffin 

Featured Course: NUTR 341 - Environmental Economics of Food and Agriculture

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Sustainable Food Systems

A person in a lab filling test sample tubes with an instrument

The Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition specialization offers rigorous training in the biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of nutrition, essential for developing science-based dietary and physical activity recommendations to prevent chronic diseases and promote healthy aging globally. This specialization is especially well-suited for you if you have interest in pursuing basic and clinical research and dietetics. Through training and collaboration with expert faculty at leading research centers, you will gain critical analytical, technical, and communication skills, preparing you for leadership roles in academia, industry, and government.

Featured Faculty: Sheldon Rowan, Alice Lichtenstein

Featured Course: NUTR 0236 - Practicum in Bioresearch Techniques 

Related Research Themes: Nutritional Wellbeing

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The Climate, Sustainability, and Food specialization offers an in-depth exploration of the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food systems, emphasizing climate risk assessment, management, and adaptation strategies. You will engage with key topics such as climate-smart agriculture, food policy, and governance, that equip you to tackle the multifaceted challenges of climate change and develop innovative solutions to enhance food security and resilience. 

*This specialization is available for the Online M.S. program

Featured Faculty: Erin Coughlan de Perez, Parke Wilde

Featured Course: NUTR 0256 - Climate Change: Risk and Adaptation for Food Systems and Beyond 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Sustainable Food Systems

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The Community Interventions and Behavior Change specialization offers coursework on innovative and effective strategies to promote positive behavior change for individuals and communities across the globe. You will learn the theory of behavior change and its application in intervention design from the individual level to the systems level, and how to implement and evaluate these in real-world settings, to improve nutritional well-being in the US and across the world. 

Featured Faculty: Erin Hennessy, Helene Vilme, Larissa Calancie 

Featured Course: NUTR 211 - Theories of Behavior Change and Their Application in Nutrition and Public Health Interventions 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity

A person looks at data on a laptop

The Data Analytics and AI in Nutrition specialization offers graduate coursework focused on statistical analysis, regression modeling, and data management in the health and nutrition fields. You will develop practical skills in using R/RStudio, STATA, and SAS for data exploration, statistical testing, and complex data workflows, while also learning to create high-quality data visualizations and apply AI-based tools ethically in research.

*This specialization is available for the Online M.S. program

Featured Faculty: Elena Naumova, Jiantao Ma 

Featured Course: NUTR 390 - Introduction to AI-Based Applications for Nutrition and Health Research (AIRNH) 

Related Research Themes: Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing, Sustainable Food Systems

Global food business impacts every facet of our food system, from what we produce and consume to the laws and policies that shape our choices, to the health of our planet and our bodies. Innovators and entrepreneurs are reshaping the food business landscape every day. The Food Business and Entrepreneurship specialization offers interdisciplinary coursework in food business, production, law and regulation, and entrepreneurship, that will position you to not only understand the evolving dynamics of this field, but also be equipped to make a meaningful impact in this exciting field.

Featured Faculty:  Jimmy Edgerton, Nicole Ninteau

Featured Course: NUTR 0280 - Nutrition and Entrepreneurship

Related Research Themes: Nutrition Equity, Sustainable Food Systems

Two students hand out badges for a food policy symposium

The Food Policy and Economics specialization offers foundational coursework in food and nutrition policy and programs in the US and globally. Courses cover the economics of policies and programs, including policy analysis and the design, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition programs – a key tool of policy. You will acquire skills to develop the evidence base to support and advocate for effective policy formation and program design. The specialization is fundamentally interdisciplinary. Topics include economic development, the impact of poverty on nutrition outcomes, the economic impact of healthy diets, and determinants of nutritional outcomes in the US and across the globe, food law and regulation, and anthropology of food and nutrition, as well as practical training in quantitative and qualitative research, study design, and survey methods.

Featured Faculty: William Masters, Beatrice Rogers, Patrick Webb

Featured Course: NUTR 0304 - Nutrition, Food Security and Development 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing, Sustainable Food Systems

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The Food Systems Modeling specialization offers interdisciplinary coursework analysis of data related to agriculture and food systems, and on modeling and analysis techniques for studying food systems' sustainability and resource use. You will gain hands-on experience in GIS applications, life cycle assessment (LCA), and system dynamics modeling, equipping you with the skills to address complex agricultural, nutritional, and environmental challenges and to inform evidence-based decision-making in policy and industry. 

Featured Faculty: Alexandra Thorn, Udita Sanga 

Featured Course: NUTR 342 - Food Systems Modeling and Analysis 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Sustainable Food Systems

A researcher and a group of women sit on a blanket in the dirt, using rocks and sketches on paper to communicate about humanitarian aid

The Humanitarian Assistance specialization offers comprehensive coursework designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to address complex emergencies and humanitarian crises. Coursework includes topics such as the principles of humanitarian action, the application of international humanitarian law, gender analyses in conflict, climate change impacts, and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial analysis. You will gain practical field skills, learn to analyze research critically, develop policy proposals, and engage in simulations to improve the quality, effectiveness, and accountability of humanitarian responses. 

Featured Faculty: Daniel Maxwell, Paul Howe, Dyan Mazurana 

Featured Course: NUTR 229 - Humanitarian Action in Complex Emergencies 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity

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The Nutrition Communication specialization will equip you with the skills to communicate often complex information about food, nutrition, and health in engaging and meaningful ways to diverse audiences through a variety of channels. Courses focus on the impact of communication on behavior change, and demonstrate how simple and effective health messaging and data visualization can promote positive health and nutrition for people around the world.

Featured Faculty: May May Leung, Corby Kummer 

Featured Course: NUTR 0306 - Communicating Health Information to Diverse Audiences 

Related Research Themes: Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing

Two older adults stop by a table for nutrition information brochures

Dietary patterns and nutritional intake affect health and well-being across the lifecycle from pregnancy to infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood. The Nutrition, Diet, and Disease Across the Lifecycle specialization offers foundational coursework in nutritional and biological science that uncovers how the food we eat influences the health and well-being of individuals and populations at all life stages. Courses range from introductory to advanced and include topics like precision nutrition, physical activity and health, and clinical and medical nutrition therapy.

Featured Faculty: Edward Saltzman, Diane McKay

Featured Course: NUTR 0248 - Precision Nutrition 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutritional Wellbeing

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All people should have the opportunity to consume healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant foods that enable them to thrive. The Nutrition Equity specialization offers foundational coursework in food justice, nutritional and racial inequity, and anthropological food-systems research and advocacy, that will equip you to understand and work towards evidence-based strategies that enable all people to live their healthiest lives with proper nutrition.

Featured Faculty: Christina Economos, Sara Folta, LaPorchia Collins 

Featured Course: NUTR 285 - Food justice: critical approaches in policy and planning 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Sustainable Food Systems

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The Nutritional Epidemiology and Public Health Nutrition specialization offers foundational and advanced coursework in epidemiologic methods, with a focus on assessing dietary intake patterns and disparities in the population and understanding the complex interactions of dietary, metabolic, and genetic factors in chronic diseases. Courses include practical training in study design, dietary assessment, data management, and statistical analysis, ensuring that you are well-equipped with critical skills for clarifying the causal relationship between nutrition and health and translating the evidence into public health policies and interventions. 

Featured Faculty: Fang Fang Zhang, Dariush Mozaffarian, Mei Chung 

Featured Course: NUTR 305 - Nutritional Epidemiology 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing

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The Nutrition Science and Policy specialization offers an interdisciplinary suite of courses that provide advanced study in nutrition science, global and US food policy, global nutrition programs, and applied research skills. You will be well positioned after coursework in this specialization to thrive in a variety of industries, including healthcare, non-profit/NGO, nutrition counseling, clinical research, academia, and food business. This is perfect if you are looking to change your career, or to level-up in your current profession.

Featured Faculty: Lynne Ausman, Will Masters

Featured Course: NUTB 238 - Economics for Food and Nutrition Policy 

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing, Sustainable Food Systems

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Not seeing the specialization you're looking for? Work with an advisor to create your own path of study. Available across all degree programs.

*This option is available for all M.S. programs

Need inspiration? Browse our faculty directory and learn more about our research.

Related Research Themes: Nourished Communities, Nutrition Equity, Nutritional Wellbeing, Sustainable Food Systems

How Our Education Relates to Research