Students will acquire core competencies in nutrition, exercise, research design, and statistics. Most students in the master's program will be non-thesis and focus on courses individualized to their future career goals.

Master's students who are completing a research thesis, as well as doctoral students, will conduct research in faculty members' laboratories.

Students in the master's program (Non-thesis: Option B) and in the Nutrition and Exercise Specialization will be advised by:

Shinya Takahashi Associate Professor of Practice, Associate Department Chair, CEHS Academic Program Lead

Doctoral students or master’s students (Thesis: Option A) who are interested in exercise physiology and nutrition research and plan to continue through the doctoral program will be advised by: 

Terry Housh Professor

M.S., Nutrition and Exercise Specialization

Requires the following courses (13 credit hours) which are also available to doctoral students:

• NUTR 805 Research Methods (3) or other graduate-level research or statistics course (i.e., EDPS 859, STAT 801A)
• NUTR 884 Physiology of Exercise (3)*
• NUTR 886 Exercise Testing and Exercise Programming in Adult Fitness and Cardiac Rehabilitation (4)* 
• NUTR 950 Integrated Principles of Human Nutrition (3) or 900-level metabolism course 
• NUTR 960 Nutrient Function During Exercise (3)

*If you have already completed these as undergraduate courses (NUTR 484, NUTR 486, or NUTR 456), then, in consultation with your advisor after admission, you will select graduate courses within the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences appropriate to your career goals as well as graduate courses within other departments.

Total credits required: 

• M.S. Option A: 30 total credit hours, requires research thesis (NUTR 899, 6-10 credit hours) 
• M.S. Option B: 30 total credit hours, non-thesis

WORK OPPORTUNITIES AND FELLOWSHIPS

Master's Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantship with Dr. Shinya Takahashi 

• Available yearly starting in the fall.
• Teaching is in the fall and spring semesters.
• Preference is for students who have completed an undergraduate program in Kinesiology or Exercise Science and are preparing for careers in nutrition, exercise, and health sciences.
• This assistantship involves supervising students in exercise practicums, grading assignments, and teaching courses in healthy living. 
• To be considered for this assistantship, students must have completed their application to our graduate program and must plan to complete the Nutrition and Exercise specialization.

More information regarding assistantships and fellowships can be found online at: cehs.unl.edu/nhs/assistantships-hourlypositions-fellowships/. 

Doctoral Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantship with Dr. Terry Housh

• Available yearly starting in the fall.
• Only students with completed applications will be considered for this graduate assistantship.
• To be considered for this assistantship, students should remain committed to a research career and ensure completion of courses in Exercise Science: catalog.unl.edu/graduate-professional/courses/nutr/.

Preferred Courses Prior to Admission: 

To be successful in the program, the following courses are strongly preferred - consult with your advisor. 

• Two semesters of general chemistry
• CHEM 109A General Chemistry I and CHEM 110A General Chemistry II
• One semester of organic chemistry with lab
• CHEM 251/CHEM 253 Organic Chemistry
• One semester of biochemistry
• BIOC 401/BIOC 401L Elements of Biochemistry or BIOC 431 Biochemistry I: Structure and Metabolism
• Human Physiology with lab
• BIOS 213/BIOS 213L Human Physiology
  
• Human Anatomy with lab
• BIOS 214 Human Anatomy

GRE is not required.

View UNL's Undergraduate catalog online at: catalog.unl.edu/undergraduate/.