Acceptance into the Combined Ph.D. /Dietetic Internship (PhD/DI) program requires acceptance into the University of Georgia graduate school. A minimum of a Baccalaureate degree, granted by a U.S. regionally accredited college or university is required. For international applicants, the foreign degree equivalency statement must be obtained from one of the following non-for-profit agencies that provide this service (for a listing of these agencies, see http://www.cdrnet.org).
In addition, applicants must have completed, or be in the process of completing, all of the requirements of an ACEND- accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics and have a Verification Statement before entering our Ph.D./DI program. When completing the Graduate School application, students should submit the Intent-to-Complete Form or Verification Statement along with their transcripts, CV, and Statement of Purpose. Also applicants must be successfully computer matched to our program. Coursework must have been completed within the last 6 years. If you have not completed the required undergraduate dietetics coursework required by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, you are not eligible for the combined Dietetic Internship Program and Ph.D. program.
Required for admission:
- A faculty member who agrees to serve as your graduate advisor. Applicants should identify faculty members with shared interests during the application process by reading faculty biographical information and possibly connecting with faculty members before submitting applications. Applicants should list these faculty members on departmental applications and discuss how interests align or any related experiences in the application statement. Advisors are selected by the department after your application is submitted and complete.
Preference for admission includes:
- Effective beginning the Spring 2024 admission cycle, GRE scores are no longer required. However, we do encourage students to take the exam and submit scores.
- Degree in Nutritional Sciences, Dietetics, Food Science, Biology, Zoology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Nursing, Public Health, or other closely related health science
- The following undergraduate courses with grades of "B" or better on your transcript: 2 semesters of Inorganic (general) Chemistry, 1 semester of Organic Chemistry, 1 semester of Biochemistry, and 1 semester of Physiology (NOTE: If you have/will have a verification statement from an ACEND accredited DPD program, this will qualify as meeting our entrance requirements)
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Work or volunteer experience in at least one of the following: laboratory research, clinical research, food industry, nutrition education, health promotion, or other areas related to health, nutrition or food science.
- Resume/CV
- Statement of purpose detailing why you are pursuing a degree in Nutritional Sciences at UGA.
Please note that these are preferences, not requirements. Although these are highly preferred, we ask that you please address any preference deficiencies in your statement of purpose.
You can complete the UGA Graduate School application online. Once the department has received your completed application, the graduate committee will perform an initial screening. If the application passes the initial screening, it will be circulated to faculty to determine if a faculty member agrees to serve as your major professor. At least one faculty member must agree to serve as the major professor before the applicant is fully accepted for admission to the graduate program by the department. There is a possibility of being accepted into the graduate program and not the dietetic internship, so please read communications from our department and UGA's Graduate School carefully.
International Applicants
For International students, a TOEFL iBT score of 80 with a minimum score of 20 in each of the four exam sub-sections or IELTS score of overall band-width of 6.5, with no single band (score) below 6.0 is required for admission.
Please refer to the UGA Graduate School website for additional International Application Information.
Note: As of the Fall 2024 admissions cycle, Duolingo English Test scores are no longer accepted as a language proficiency exam (effective July 1, 2023).