Students in our Certificate Programs come from a variety of backgrounds, but are all interested in learning more about the intricate impacts food and nutrition make on every part of life. From business to communications and health care to farming, understanding the complexities of topics in the world of food and nutrition creates new connections and perspectives. Click on the links below for more in-depth stories from our students or learn more about all of the programs we offer!

“Every new recruit that comes in now gets some sort of nutritional guidance” says Marcus Jackson.

"My work was focused on discovering disruptive food solutions and I wanted to be better informed about areas that were critical to the future of food." - Ian Lopez

“A lot of the students in the program were working professionals and they had this really unique, real-life experience they could bring to the classroom" - Justin Hackett

"Now I can pick up a scientific paper about sustainable diets and quickly come to grips with the advantages and limitations of the research.” - Jan Hales

“I appreciated the support that was offered to face challenges among underserved populations.”" - Nichele Salazar

"In addition to the satisfaction of accomplishing the certification, Tufts inspired me to start a business and become an entrepreneur." - Kerry Gould

“This program has given me the foundation to focus my communications career on nutrition science,” says Stephanie Bittner

Arleen Anderson started her career as a prosecutor, then public defender. Her interest in working with underserved populations led her to our online certificate programs in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, followed by Nutrition for Industry Professionals and Entrepreneurs.

As Morgan Brod began her professional career as a Registered Dietitian, her far-ranging interests compelled her to research continuing education programs to learn more about how to elevate herself and to explore the career possibilities in her field. Morgan chose our Build Your Own Certificate program.

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Megan Dankovich understands that sleep, diet, and exercise are critical to mental health. As a path toward taking a holistic approach with her patients, Dr. Dankovich decided to explore our Nutrition for Health Professionals Certificate program.

Over the course of Karen Pereira de Andrade's 15+ year career working with at-risk youth, she noticed a recurring theme: Nutrition's impact on behavior. Our Global Nutrition Programming Certificate played a big role in her career transition to policy and advocacy at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Gurdeep Prewal wanted to start a venture capital business and come up to speed on nutrition labels and claims. Our Nutrition for Industry Professionals and Entrepreneurs program was the perfect choice.

Emma Anderson decided to enroll in the Tufts Graduate Certificate program to explore her interests in nutrition and public health while remaining employed full-time.

Julie Graham's experiences with Celiac Disease and subsequent life and body transformation inspired her to learn more about the underlying science behind "food as medicine." She sought out our certificate programs as a way to supplement her self-made expertise.

As a radio personality, Sari Lazarnick wanted to turn her interest in fitness and nutrition towards helping other people. Sari hit the ground running with our Nutrition Science for Communications Professionals program.

Shaari Unger is a life-long learner who has completed two graduate certificate programs at the Friedman School, and is working on her third. Considering retirement in 2014, her varied interests compelled her to continue her educational journey.

While serving in AmeriCorps, Andrew Lupton became interested more about food systems with a focus on environmentalism. Our online graduate certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems was the perfect match.

After working for a decade at an international healthcare non-profit, Sara Malakoff saw the potential for nutrition to be integrated as a vital additional component of her work in sexual and reproductive health. Sara chose to pursue our certificate in global nutrition programming.
The process of obtaining a Master's degree in public health, and a master's level certification in health education gave Rachel Lendner the skills to motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors. However, she never had to take a basic nutrition science class. Lendner wanted to feel more confident in the material she was presenting as a health educator, and answer questions that came her way on a deeper level.