HUMAN NUTRITION (MSc, PhD)
You want to move the needle on global knowledge surrounding human nutrition — and move human wellbeing forward while you’re at it. UBC’s graduate programs in Human Nutrition offer opportunities for you to conduct advanced study and original investigations in basic and applied human nutrition. From bone loss in men who are being treated for prostate cancer to reexamining vitamin D supplementation in newborns, UBC’s original research pushes the planet’s understanding of human nutrition to new levels.
PhD: Human Nutrition – Doctor of Philosophy – Postgraduate / Graduate Degree Program – UBC Grad School
MSc: Human Nutrition – Master of Science – Postgraduate / Graduate Degree Program – UBC Grad School
What you need to know
In the lab and in the field, you’ll be deepening your contribution to current knowledge and practice, studying nutrient metabolism, diet and disease, nutrition through the life cycle and human nutrition behaviours.
Our graduate degree programs in Human Nutrition are enriched through collaboration with colleagues in other UBC graduate programs, including Animal Science, Food Science, Pediatrics, Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The graduate program in Human Nutrition offers opportunities for advanced study and original investigations in basic and applied human nutrition at both the master’s and doctoral levels. The curriculum includes coursework and thesis research through laboratory or field work in a variety of areas relevant to human nutrition including nutrient metabolism, diet and disease, nutrition through the life cycle and nutrition behaviours.
Research projects also examine environmental, social, and individual determinants of food choices and eating patterns; this includes better understanding of sociocultural effects on diet, and the impact living in “food deserts” can have on good health.
International nutrition projects in Cambodia, Zambia, Rwanda and other countries seek to improve maternal, infant and child nutrition.
MSc
For admission with full standing into the MSc program, applicants from a Canadian or American university or college must hold a bachelor degree or its academic equivalent with a minimum overall average in the B+ range (at UBC 76% or higher) in all third- and fourth-year courses. Minimum academic requirements for students from other countries are specified on the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies web site.
For students whose degree was not completed in English, minimum TOEFL scores are 577 (paper version), 233 (computer version), or 90 (Internet version); or IELTS score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.
Students admitted to the MSc program must meet the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ master’s degree admission requirements.
In addition, required prerequisite courses include biochemistry, human or vertebrate physiology and advanced nutrition. A minimum of 3 credits (three hours per week, for two academic terms or one academic year) is required in each of biochemistry and physiology, and a minimum of 12 credits is required in nutrition. These prerequisite courses must be completed at the third- or fourth-year level. Students without a background in nutrition, or with fewer than 12 credits of undergraduate courses in nutrition, may apply to the program. However, if admitted, they will be required to take the missing credits of third- or fourth-year nutrition courses early in the graduate program, in addition to the usual MSc course requirements.
PhD
Applicants for the PhD degree must ordinarily hold a first-class master’s degree in nutrition with a standing of “A”, and a bachelor’s degree with the above academic standing in nutrition or a related science. For students whose degree was not completed in English, minimum TOEFL scores are 577 (paper version), 233 (computer version), or 90 (Internet version); or IELTS score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.
Students are not normally admitted directly into the PhD program from a bachelor’s program. However, highly qualified students may transfer to the PhD program without completing a MSc thesis. Click here for additional information about transferring programs.
MSc
The MSc program requires completion of a minimum of 30 credits, including an 18-credit research thesis and at least 12 credits of coursework. With an 18-credit thesis, students can include a maximum of 3 credits of senior undergraduate courses.
HUNU 500, 531 and at least one other 500-level HUNU graduate course are required of all students in the MSc program.
A student’s supervisory committee may require more than the minimum credits.
PhD
The PhD program requires completion of HUNU 500 and HUNU 631. Additional coursework will be selected in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee. All doctoral students are required to successfully complete a comprehensive examination. The major requirement for the PhD is completion of a research dissertation that meets the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements.
Faculty Members
Dr. Tamara Cohen
Director of Dietetics
Assistant Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
My broad research interests lie in understanding the interplay between different lifestyle behaviours, in particular eating behaviours, as they relate to weight management. My research is patient-oriented and always involves dietitians in the forefront of lifestyle interventions. I work with different populations, including adults living with an overweight condition or obesity and adolescents living with severe obesity. I am also interested in studying different methods of dietary assessment that include mobile applications.
Dr. Rajavel Elango
Associate Member, Human Nutrition
Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health
My research interests are to identify protein and amino acid requirements during key life stages of growth and development, and in disease. With the use of stable isotope tracers, my research focuses on measuring requirements and tracing amino acid metabolic pathways in the human body. The goal is to make dietary recommendations to improve long-term health for vulnerable populations including pregnancy, lactation, childhood and in children with in-born errors of metabolism.
Dr. Annalijn Conklin
Associate Member, Human Nutrition
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
In general, my research interests include the social determinants of health, chronic disease prevention and management and gender. I am particularly interested in how economic and socio-cultural factors shape women’s and men’s ability to achieve healthy eating practices and overall physical and mental wellbeing. My research program is centred on diet-related outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and depression and my goal is to embed a gendered perspective on diet-related health inequities.
Dr. Angela Devlin
Associate Member, Human Nutrition
Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics
My research program encompasses discovery and clinical studies focused on determining roles for prenatal and childhood dietary and metabolic factors on the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A particular focus is on identifying dietary targets to prevent cardiometabolic complications in high-risk children, such as those with mental health conditions and type 1 diabetes.
Dr. Rachel Murphy
Associate Member, Human Nutrition
Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health
My research aims to reduce the risk of cancer through modifiable lifestyle factors, with a focus on healthy eating and body weight using a population health approach. Additional interests include knowledge translation of nutrition evidence, and metabolomics; the study of small molecules in biological systems that may provide insight on pathways linking lifestyle factors and disease.
Dr. Mahsa Jessri
Assistant Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
Faculty, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR)
Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Nutritional Epidemiology for Population Health
Dr. Barbara Stefanska
Assistant Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
My research aims to understand how diet can impact health outcomes through epigenetic modifications, as well as how the epigenome can serve as a readout of dietary exposures. I investigate the link between bioactive food components, epigenetic alterations and carcinogenesis. I hope to discover strategies to prevent and manage chronic diseases.
Dr. Yvonne Lamers
Associate Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
I am interested in the physiology and biochemistry of nutrition-related diseases and in targeted and population-based prevention strategies of chronic diseases. My research specifically focuses on B-vitamins and their kinetics and functions in human metabolism.
Dr. Crystal Karakochuk
Assistant Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
My broad research interests include: maternal and child health, micronutrients, and global health. I am specifically interested in hemoglobin, iron and zinc biomarkers, the effect of inflammation on nutrition biomarkers, and genetic hemoglobinopathies and blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell, thalassemia).
Dr. Jennifer Black
Associate Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
My research focuses broadly on the social determinants of health and dietary choices. I am interested in how attitudes and behaviours related to eating, cooking, food selection, body image and body weight status are shaped by socio-cultural and neighbourhood-level factors.
Dr. Zhaoming Xu
Nutrition plays a pivotal role in health promotion and disease prevention. My overall research interest is to understand how nutrients act at the cellular and molecular levels with an emphasis on nutrient-gene interactions and their subsequent impact on metabolic functions.
Facilities
Clinical Nutrition Lab
Clinical Research Facility
Vij’s Kitchen Culinary Lab
Sensory Labs
Collaborations
The program is enriched through collaboration with colleagues in graduate programs such as Applied Animal Biology, Food Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medicine, Health Care and Epidemiology, Human Kinetics, and the Institute for Health Promotion Research.Got Questions?
Whether you’ve got questions about your program, your experience or your next steps, Graduate Student Services is here to help. Get in touch.Where Can a Graduate Degree in Human Nutrition Take You?
Graduates of the MSc and PhD in Human Nutrition have gone on to pursue:- academic positions at universities or colleges;
- work in consulting;
- careers in health-related fields including medicine and dentistry.
- Students who were registered dietitians before pursuing graduate study have gone on to senior clinical or administrative positions.