(PNFS)
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 hours1
- NFS 7071 Seminar in Nutrition and Food Sciences 3 hours2
- EXST 7013, 7014, or 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.