PhD program 

Overview

The School of Nutrition and Food Sciences offers advanced studies in food chemistry, food quality, product development, byproduct utilization, food safety, foods for health and combating effects of obesity, food microbiology, sensory analysis and consumer research, and nutrition and food biotechnology. Students may also study specific foods such as seafood, rice, dairy products, sweet potato, peppers, meat, or others. Training and research in the basic sciences of biology, physics, and chemistry, and the natural sciences of biochemistry, microbiology, toxicology, and engineering are incorporated into graduate studies which allow specialization in specific areas of student interest.

The department is well equipped with research laboratories for food chemistry, food microbiology, food analysis, tissue culture/hybridoma, food engineering, nutrition and processing, and computerized sensory analysis. Pilot food processing facilities have freezing, mixing, forming, mince recovery, batter and breading, packaging, and other processing equipment. Other LSU units such as the Schools of Animal Sciences; Human Ecology; Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences; Veterinary Medicine; and Renewable Natural Resources; the Departments of Biological & Agricultural Engineering and Oceanography & Coastal Sciences; Audubon Sugar Institute; and Pennington Biomedical Research Center also provide faculty expertise and laboratories for analysis and pilot processing activities for food.

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Nutrition and Food Sciences, Ph.D.

The school-level academic course plan for each student will be developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. The committee will include the student’s major advisor and at least three additional members of the graduate faculty such that the LSU Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied.

The PhD degree is a research degree requiring a dissertation. A minimum of 30 hours of credit at the graduate level for students with an MS degree or 60 hours of credit at the graduate level for students with a BS degree must be earned, with a minimum of nine hours of credit for the dissertation project (NFS 9000). The curricular requirements include:

Demonstration of competency in core areas of food science, including food chemistry, food preservation, food composition and analysis, and food microbiology through previous course credits in these areas or through passing of a comprehensive examination given by the instructor in each area.

Three hours of NFS 7071 Seminar in Nutrition and Food Sciences (1), nine hours of NFS 9000 Dissertation Research (1-12 per sem.), and a minimum of 18 hours of electives in 7000 level courses in addition to the 30 hours of coursework required for MS students in food science
All coursework including electives approved on the departmental-level academic course plan by the student’s advisory committee

The minimum requirement for the Ph.D. degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences is 48 semester hours of graduate credit (exclusive of credits in NFS 9000) plus 9 credits for dissertation research (NFS 9000). At least one-third of credits toward a graduate or a post-baccalaureate professional degree must be earned through instruction offered by the institution awarding the degree. Graduate credit is not allowed for courses numbered below 4000 or for correspondence courses. The following courses or evidence of their equivalency determined by the full advisory committee must be completed for the doctoral degree in

Nutrition and Food Sciences:

 

Core Courses (to be taken by all Ph.D. students):

• NFS 7022 Current Controversies in Food and Nutrition (3) 1
• NFS 7071 Seminar in Nutrition and Food Sciences (1) 2
• EXST 7013, EXST 7014, or EXST 7015 4 hours
• NFS 9000 9 hours
• Concentration Courses or Electives 35 hours
• 54 hours

Other degree requirements are submission of an oral and written research proposal to the advisory committee. The advisory committee and school-level academic course plan that lists the proposed coursework must be approved by the school head, graduate coordinator, and the Graduate School by the end of the first year of enrollment in the PhD program. The first graduate seminar for credit should be an oral presentation that gives an introduction and brief literature review on the proposed research area and an outline of the proposed research to be conducted for the PhD. Students must have one manuscript accepted for publication by a scientific journal, submitted an additional manuscript to a scientific journal, and presented their research at two national meetings before graduation. Students are expected to attend all school seminars (graduate, faculty, and invited speakers) whether enrolled for credit or not. Students are required to assist professors in course(s) of interest for at least two semesters. Doctoral students are encouraged to choose a minor degree area and an industry or governmental internship.

Students in the PhD program must pass a rigorous general exam at the culmination of the coursework to demonstrate adequate academic and professional aptitudes to the advisory committee. The exam on coursework, general knowledge, and critical thinking ability must be taken within three years of enrollment in the PhD program. The committee may determine that additional coursework is necessary to correct deficiencies exhibited by the student in the examination. The Graduate School reviews the program of study to ensure all departmental course requirements are met.

After completion of research and writing of the dissertation, students must present a public oral seminar on the dissertation research before the advisory committee administers the final examination. The student must pass a final comprehensive oral examination from the advisory committee on the completed research topic and have met all other degree requirements to receive the doctoral degree.

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Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the school for each semester (fall, spring, summer). Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, have a minimum of 150 verbal GRE score and 150 quantitative GRE score, three letters of recommendation that describe the student’s ability to pursue graduate studies in food or nutrition science, and a statement of purpose or interest in the desired specific area of food or nutrition science. The statement of purpose satisfies the writing sample requirement for admission. International students whose native language is not English must also submit TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE scores that meet the Graduate School minimum requirements.

When all admission requirements are met and documents have been submitted, full admission will be considered by the school’s graduate faculty members. Final admittance to the program must be supported by a member of the school’s graduate faculty, who serves as the student’s major advisor. If a student does not meet all requirements, he or she may be admitted provisionally (e.g., on probation if the GPA is not 3.0 or higher or if the GRE is not 1000 or higher). Students are admitted for fall, spring, and summer semesters, but admission depends upon the availability of space in the program of each individual professor. The lack of space in a program is sufficient justification to deny admission of an applicant.

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Financial Assistance

Financial assistance may be available for students. Support may be available through the school or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. Financial assistance is on a competitive basis so early applications are encouraged. Each professor determines the availability of space and financial assistance for the graduate students in his/her program. Students on assistantship receive full tuition waivers but are responsible for university fees, insurance, and other costs. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted as early as possible before the actual admitting semester. The deadlines for admission are in March for the fall semester and in October of the previous year for the spring and summer semesters.