Sports Nutrition is a specialized branch of nutrition that studies food as it relates to athletic performance. The field of Sports Nutrition is experiencing tremendous growth at the community, collegiate, and professional levels. Areas of focus include nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, intervention, monitoring/evaluation, nutrition education, sports nutrition related food services management, communication, and application of knowledge and ethics and professionalism.
Once students complete their prerequisite course work, they are eligible to register in a three (3) credit practicum to gain hands-on experience in Sports Nutrition. The practicum can be completed at a local site in the student’s geographical area. Potential practicum sites could be collegiate athletics, professional teams, fitness centers, high school/youth athletic programs, workplace wellness, research/academic settings, and many more.
The Sports Nutrition curriculum provides advanced education based on the content areas of the Board Certification Exam for Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). Completion of the certificate program does not lead to eligibility for the CSSD exam. Additional requirements are needed to be eligible and can be found here.
Admission Requirements
- Application and non-refundable $50 application fee
- Sealed transcript of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and any additional graduate course work
- Transcripts from all colleges or institutions attended
- Overall GPA of 3.0
- A letter of intent explaining your interest and pursuit of the Graduate Certificate in Sports Nutrition
- No GRE or other exam required
Program Prerequisites
Students interested in the Graduate Certificate in Sports Nutrition must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S institution and must also have completed an undergraduate basic nutrition course and/or sports nutrition course with a grade of “C” or higher. Students may enroll in the USJ undergraduate online sports nutrition course to fulfill this prerequisite course requirement.
Program Requirements
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all required courses and a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. Students will have the opportunity to repeat any course one time if they are not successful in obtaining the minimum “C” grade.
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