Help people and communities live healthier lives through better nutrition guidance, advocacy or policy.

Our M.S. program in nutritional science is recognized for its multidisciplinary approach and the breadth of our faculty. Your course of study, depending on your interests, might cover anything from maternal and child nutrition, to obesity, chronic disease or nutritional genomics.

Nutrition

This program is offered through the graduate field of Nutrition.

nutrition graduate student working in a lab
two college students stand next to a whiteboard
close up of purple cabbage

Program details

This research-based master's degree is offered through the Cornell Graduate School in the Graduate Field of Nutrition. As a student, you'll have access to all the resources of the graduate school in addition to direct connections to the faculty in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS).

Master's students are required to complete 60 credits, typically 15 credits a semester for four semesters. The summer between first and second year is dedicated to research.

Visit the Graduate School website to learn more
man working in a lab
microscopic view of pink and red blood cells

Choose your track

The program is flexible. You can choose between two defined tracks, or create your own course of study.

If you’d prefer to structure your own program based on your specific interests and ambitions, the individualized track is for you.

Drawing on a wealth of expertise from the largest faculty in the country devoted to the study of human nutrition, you will discover your opportunity to make an impact.

Included among our faculty are specialists in biochemical, metabolic, epidemiological and socio-cultural research, with expertise in:

  • nutrition for maternal and child health 
  • nutrition for metabolic health 
  • nutrition for precision health 

This track will prepare you for work that focuses on global and public health issues both domestically and internationally.

Our faculty work on community-based programs and interventions, epidemiology, food and nutrition security, poverty and malnutrition, and economic factors related to nutrition.   

Courses build off of foundational nutrition metabolism and include public health nutrition, nutrition and health equity, maternal and child nutrition, epidemiology and translational research and evidence.  
 

The M.S. + Dietetics track will prepare you for evidence-based practice as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) in community, clinical and management settings — or for leadership or research roles within a practice.

This track incorporates the Cornell Dietetic Internship (DI) into the two-year M.S. program. To be eligible for the M.S. + Dietetics track, applicants must have completed or be completing (by the start of the internship) an ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). Find application instructions, accreditation information, and eligibility details on the DI website. 

Faculty you'll work with

Tolunay Beker Aydemir
Tolunay Beker Aydemir
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Micronutrient-gene, Micronutrient-macronutrient, Micronutrient-disease
woman smiling at the camera with a background of artwork made up of bright green squares
Joeva Barrow
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Mitochondrial disease, Metabolic disease, Obesity
Laura Bellows
Laura Bellows
Associate Professor
Focus areas behavioral nutrition, physical activity, community-based interventions
man wearing glasses and a button down shirt
Daniel Berry
Andre Bensadoun Associate Professor
Focus areas Adipose tissue biology, Systemic metabolism
paige
Paige Cunningham
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Eating behavior, Sensory science, Obesity, Satiation and energy intake
portrait of a woman in a black blouse
Martha Field
Associate Professor
Focus areas Mitochondrial one-carbon metabolism, Erythritol as a biomarker
man in a blue button down shirt
Roger Figueroa
Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Science in Nutrition
Focus areas Community-based interventions to promote nutrition security, Local agriculture and food insecurity, Urban food environments
woman in a black shirt with an iridescent mobile hanging behind her
Julia Finkelstein
Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
Focus areas Epidemiology, One-carbon metabolism, Maternal and child nutrition
Shibani Ghosh
Associate Professor
Focus areas Global nutrition (maternal and infant), Food systems, Nutritional and environmental determinants, Public health interventions and policy
man sitting in a bright blue chair
John Hoddinott
H.E. Babcock Professor of Food & Nutrition Economics and Policy
Focus areas Food security, Early life nutrition, Poverty
portrait of a woman wearing a dark coat standing in a garden
Elizabeth Johnson
Associate Professor
Focus areas Host-microbe interactions, Infant nutrition, Sphingolipids
portrait of a man in a blue button down shirt standing in front of a colorful outdoor sculpture
Sander Kersten
Division Director; Schleifer Family Professor
Focus areas Lipid metabolism, Molecular response to fasting, Precision nutrition
woman wearing a checked top
Tashara Leak
Associate Professor
Associate Dean for CHE in NYC
Focus areas Nutrition and health equity, Adolescents, Community-based interventions
portrait of a person in a blue button down shirt and dark jacket
Xingen Lei
Joint Professor
Focus areas Sustainable animal agriculture, Food security, Environmental protection
Marla Lujan
Associate Professor
Focus areas Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Ovarian morphology and follicle development, Nutritional and metabolic regulation of ovulation
woman outside
Yarden Golan Maor
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Molecular regulation of human milk production, Human milk composition
portrait of a man with a colorful hanging sculpture behind him
Saurabh Mehta
Janet and Gordon Lankton Professor
Focus areas Precision nutrition, Global health, Point-of-care diagnostics
portrait of a woman with long brown hair
Kimberly O'Brien
Professor
Focus areas Maternal/fetal nutrition, Vitamin D + iron, Gut microbiome
portrait of a woman in black framed glasses looking at the camera
Angela Odoms-Young
The Nancy Schlegel Meinig Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition
Focus areas Health equity/racism, Food and nutrition security, Social and structural determinants
smiling woman wearing an off-shoulder top
Angela Poole
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Precision nutrition, Gut microbiota and metabolic health, Oral microbiota and pathologies
man wearing glasses standing in a lab with shelves of glass bottles behind him
Shu-Bing Qian
James Jamison Professor
Focus areas Translational reprogramming, Nutrient stress response, mRNA epigenetics
portrait of a man wearing glasses sitting in a bright blue upholstered chair
Nathaniel Vacanti
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Molecular nutrition, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
man in a blue sweater and glasses
Meng Wang
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Nutrition and metabolism in DNA damage, Cancer and aging, Targeted treatments for DNA damage
portrait of a woman in a black shirt
Yuhan Wang
Assistant Professor
Focus areas Brain-body interactions that govern metabolic regulation
Learn more about faculty research
large outdoor metal and colored glass sculpture

Contact us

Email DNS graduate student services with questions or for further information.
 

close up of metal sculpture with geometric shapes