Curriculum and Program Experience
One year designed to move you from student to nutrition professional.
The MS in Integrated Nutrition is an intensive, 12-month program completed across three consecutive semesters: summer, fall, and spring.
From your first semester, graduate coursework, Supervised Practice Experience, applied research, and professional development happen side by side. What you learn in class informs what you do in practice, and what you encounter in practice brings new meaning to what you discuss in class.
Integrated reflects both what you learn and how you learn it.
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Your Year in Integrated Nutrition
Summer: Build Your Foundation
Your program begins in the summer with graduate coursework and the start of your Supervised Practice Experience. This first semester establishes the foundation for the year ahead. You will begin applying graduate-level nutrition knowledge while becoming familiar with professional practice expectations, working with preceptors, and developing the skills you will build throughout the program.
You will also begin exploring ideas for your applied project and identifying the professional interests you want to pursue during your year.
Fall: Expand Your Experience
By fall, you are fully immersed in the program. Graduate coursework continues alongside Supervised Practice Experiences throughout the Memphis area. As your knowledge and confidence grow, so does the complexity of the work you are prepared to take on.
This is also an important semester for exploring the breadth of dietetics. Your experiences may take you into clinical care, community nutrition, food service and management, sports and performance nutrition, pediatrics, wellness, research, or other areas of practice. Your applied project also takes shape as you identify a meaningful question or problem and begin putting your graduate research skills to work.
Spring: Bring It All Together
Your final semester is about bringing together the knowledge, skills, and professional judgment you have developed throughout the year. You will continue completing advanced Supervised Practice Experiences, complete and present your applied project, finish required ACEND competencies and supervised practice hours, and prepare for the transition from graduate student to Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
By the end of the spring semester, you will have completed your Master of Science degree and more than 1,000 hours of Supervised Practice Experience, and be ready for the next step toward earning the RDN credential.
Graduate Coursework
The MS in Integrated Nutrition includes 36 graduate credit hours completed across summer, fall, and spring. Coursework is designed to strengthen both your scientific foundation and your ability to apply that knowledge in professional practice. The curriculum includes advanced study in nutrition assessment and intervention, research methods, counseling, food systems and management, pharmacology, and other areas essential to contemporary dietetics practice.
Online and Hybrid Coursework
Courses are delivered in a hybrid format, combining online learning with approximately one day of in-person coursework each week. That schedule allows students to spend much of the remainder of the week — roughly 32 hours — completing Supervised Practice Experiences.
Students must have regular access to a reliable internet connection and a computer capable of accessing University-supported learning platforms, videoconferencing, and other course-related technologies. Students are expected to meet the University of Memphis technology requirements for online learning and are responsible for maintaining access to the technology needed to participate fully in online and hybrid coursework.
Course Sequence
The full sequence totals 36 credit hours across three semesters.
Summer
- HMSE 7010 Research Methods (3)
- NUTR 7481 Clinical Nutrition Internship (3)
- NUTR 6112/7205 Nutrition Assessment (3)*
Fall
- NUTR 7412 Cellular Nutrition 1 (3)
- NUTR 7305 Advanced MNT (3)
- NUTR 7481 Clinical Nutrition Internship (3)
- HPRO 6400 Statistics for Health Sciences (3)*
Spring
- NUTR 7422 Cellular Nutrition 2 (3)
- HPRO 7950 Applied Project (3)
- NUTR 7481 Clinical Nutrition Internship (3)
- NUTR 6010/7522 Management in Dietetics (3)*
- NUTR 7780 Health Counseling (3)*
* These four courses (12 credit hours) are part of the ABM program and should only be taken by students who did not complete the ABM.
Program Calendar
The MS in Integrated Nutrition is a full-time program that follows the University of Memphis academic calendar. Coursework and supervised practice experiences are scheduled throughout the program, with specific rotation schedules provided to students by the program. Supervised practice schedules vary by rotation site and may differ from the University's traditional class schedule.
Already a U of M Dietetics Student? Get a Head Start.
Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's Program
If you are completing your BS in Dietetics at the University of Memphis, you may not have to wait until graduation to begin working toward your master's degree.
Through the University of Memphis Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's (ABM) program, eligible Dietetics students can begin taking approved graduate coursework while completing their bachelor's degree. These courses count toward both degrees, allowing you to make progress toward your BS in Dietetics and MS in Integrated Nutrition at the same time.
12 credit hours in the classroom, 24 hours of degree progress
Even better, graduate courses completed through ABM are taken at undergraduate tuition rates while you are an undergraduate student.
Nearly $11,000Between earning credit toward both degrees and paying undergraduate tuition for those graduate courses, participation in ABM can save a U of M Dietetics student nearly $11,000 in tuition across their undergraduate and graduate education.
Who Is Eligible?
You may be eligible to apply for the Dietetics to Integrated Nutrition ABM pathway if you:
- Are a current University of Memphis Dietetics student
- Are within 40 credit hours of completing your undergraduate degree
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher
Students must apply and be accepted into the ABM program before enrolling in courses that will count toward both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.
What Happens After Graduation?
After completing your bachelor's degree and meeting admission requirements for the MS in Integrated Nutrition, your approved ABM graduate credits become part of your graduate academic plan.
If you complete the full 12 graduate hours through ABM, you enter the 36-hour MS in Integrated Nutrition with one-third of your graduate coursework already completed. You will continue through the 12-month Integrated Nutrition program and Supervised Practice Experience, but with fewer graduate course hours remaining.
Why Consider ABM?
For U of M Dietetics students who know becoming an RDN is the goal, ABM provides a direct and affordable path forward. You can:
- Earn up to 12 graduate credit hours before completing your bachelor's degree
- Receive credit toward both degrees for the same approved coursework
- Complete graduate courses at undergraduate tuition rates
- Save nearly $11,000 in tuition
- Enter the MS in Integrated Nutrition with up to one-third of your graduate coursework already complete
- Get an early introduction to graduate-level coursework
- Build relationships with graduate faculty before entering the MS program
- Move seamlessly from the BS in Dietetics into the MS in Integrated Nutrition
Interested in ABM?
Start the conversation as you approach the final 40 credit hours of your undergraduate degree. Because graduate courses must be approved in advance to count toward both degrees, early planning is important. Talk with your Dietetics faculty advisor before registering for upper-division courses so we can help you determine whether ABM fits your academic plan.
12 hours taken. 24 hours of degree progress. Nearly $11,000 saved.
Supervised Practice Experience
You will not wait until the end of your coursework to begin practicing what you are learning. Supervised Practice Experience begins during your first semester and continues throughout the program. Students typically spend up to 32 hours each week in supervised practice while also completing graduate coursework.
Across the year, you will complete more than 1,000 hours of Supervised Practice Experience in professional settings throughout the greater Memphis area. These experiences provide the broad preparation required for entry-level dietetics practice while also giving you opportunities to explore your individual professional interests.
The program coordinates supervised practice placements and identifies appropriate practice sites and preceptors for required rotations. Students are not responsible for independently securing the supervised practice experiences required for program completion.
Supervised practice experiences are completed at a variety of healthcare, community, foodservice, and other nutrition-related sites throughout the Memphis area. Placement locations and schedules vary based on site availability and program requirements. Depending on availability and your professional goals, experiences may include:
- Clinical nutrition
- Pediatrics
- Community and public health
- Sports and performance nutrition
- Collegiate nutrition
- Food service and management
- Corporate and employee wellness
- Culinary nutrition
- Research
- Other specialty areas of practice
Your experiences will not necessarily look exactly like those of the student sitting next to you. That is intentional. Every student develops the knowledge and skills required for entry-level RDN practice, but Integrated Nutrition also gives you room to explore where you might fit within the profession.
Students are responsible for reliable transportation to and from assigned supervised practice sites, and travel distances vary by placement. All required supervised practice experiences are completed through the University of Memphis program; prior supervised practice or professional experience does not substitute for required rotations.
Memphis Is Your Classroom
One of the strengths of completing your graduate education in Memphis is the range of professional experiences available within one metropolitan area. Our students learn in hospitals, healthcare organizations, community programs, universities, athletics, wellness settings, food service operations, and other organizations throughout Memphis and the surrounding region.
These experiences introduce you to different populations, different approaches to care, and different ways nutrition professionals can make an impact. You are not simply completing supervised practice hours — you are learning alongside practicing RDNs and other professionals, building relationships throughout the Memphis nutrition community, and developing your own professional network.
By the time you graduate, Memphis will have given you much more than a place to complete your degree. It will have given you a community in which to begin your career.
Your Applied Project
Every MS in Integrated Nutrition student completes an outcomes-based applied project. This is your opportunity to take something that interests you and examine it more closely through the lens of evidence-based nutrition practice.
Working with faculty mentorship, you will identify a meaningful question or problem, develop an appropriate approach, evaluate outcomes, and communicate what you learned. Applied projects build skills in research, program evaluation, data interpretation, professional writing, and presentation while allowing you to work on questions with relevance to real nutrition practice.
Whenever possible, we encourage students to connect their project to their professional interests, Supervised Practice Experiences, and future goals.
Learn From Faculty Who Know the Field
The faculty teaching in the MS in Integrated Nutrition bring experience from across nutrition practice, research, education, and professional leadership. Just as important, you will know them, and they will know you.
With a cohort of no more than 16 students, faculty have the opportunity to learn about your interests, recognize your strengths, challenge you when needed, and help you make connections between graduate education and the career you are building.
Our faculty bring expertise in areas including clinical nutrition, nutrition support, sports and performance nutrition, culinary nutrition and teaching kitchens, community nutrition, research, food systems, counseling, and other areas of dietetics practice.
What Will You Leave With?
A lot happens in 12 months. By graduation, you will have:
- Earned 36 graduate credit hours and your Master of Science in Integrated Nutrition
- Completed more than 1,000 hours of Supervised Practice Experience
- Completed all required ACEND competencies
- Gained experience across multiple areas of nutrition practice
- Completed and presented an outcomes-based applied project
- Built relationships with faculty, preceptors, and nutrition professionals throughout the Memphis community
- Explored areas of practice that reflect your professional interests
- Met the educational and supervised practice requirements needed to pursue the RDN credential
You will leave with more than a graduate degree and a collection of supervised practice hours. You will leave knowing more about nutrition, more about the profession, and more about where you want to take your career.