Admissions Requirements

Applicants interested in the MCN program must meet the following admissions requirements:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
• A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 at the undergraduate level based on a 4.0 scale
• Completion of the program prerequisites.  These do not need to be completed at the time of application, but all courses must be completed before the start of the program. 
  • Students completing an ACEND accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) from the University of Cincinnati or elsewhere will be considered having completed all program prerequisites.  A verification statement for completion of DPD requirements should be submitted prior to the start of the program.
  • UC's program has the following grade requirements:
    • No less than a B- in Medical Nutrition Therapy and Nutrition Care Planning courses
    • No less than a C- in all sciences and Advanced Nutrition courses    
  • UC's program has the following recency requirements
    • Completion of Biochemistry I & II within 7 years of starting the graduate program
    • Completion of Medical Nutrition Therapy I & II within 5 years of starting the graduate program 
• ServSafe Manager Completion Certificate

If your academic degree(s) is validated as equivalent to the bachelor's degree conferred by a US regionally accredited college or university and you can provide evidence that you have met all program pre-requisites or have a DPD verification statement from an ACEND accredited dietetics program, then you can apply directly to the MS in Nutrition Sciences - Clinical Nutrition concentration. Please review ACEND®'s Education and Credentialing Requirements for Those with Foreign Degrees, for additional information including where you can get your degree validated. 

Contact John Pantel at pantelj@ucmail.uc.edu to ensure your eligibility before applying.  

• International students need to submit a transcript evaluation from WES with a GPA conversion to a 4.0 scale and a course-by-course evaluation.  Applications without a transcript evaluation will not be considered for admission.
• If you have a DPD Verification Statement from an ACEND® accredited institution, you do not need to submit a transcript evaluation but must submit your DPD verification statement.
• International students must demonstrate English proficiency.  Most students fulfill the English requirement by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Testing System (IELTS), or the PEARSON Test of English (PTE). For IELTS, an overall band score of 6.5 is sufficient for graduate admission. For PEARSON, a score of 54 is sufficient. TOEFL requirements vary based on the type of TOEFL test taken, and scores are valid for up to two years. The minimum university requirement is:
  • 520 (paper-based test), or
  • 190 (computer-based test), or
  • 80 (internet-based test)
    • Learn more on Graduate School’s English Language Proficiency Requirements.