Admissions
Application
Purdue requires that all graduate applications be submitted online to The Graduate School. Please apply early so that all of your supporting materials arrive prior to the review date.
Letters of recommendation not submitted electronically and transcripts should be sent to:
Graduate Studies, Purdue University,
Department of Nutrition Science,
700 West State Street,
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059.
All applications will be reviewed within three weeks of the deadline.
Admissions Requirements
GRE® scores on the verbal and quantitative sections should each be greater than the 50th percentile.
TOEFL® score of 600 (paper-based) or a minimum TOEFL iBT® score of 85 (with section scores of at least 20). Preference will be given to applicants with a TOEFL iBT scores of ≥ 100 with no single subsection score lower than 22.
The TOEFL requirement is waived if you have completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree within the last 24 months from a school where English is the primary language of instruction in a country/location where English is the native language. However, proficiency in English is still expected.
The ETS institutional code for Purdue University is 1631. A department code is not necessary.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score and Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic score are also accepted. The minimum required IELTS score is 6.5, and the minimum required PTE score is 58.
Three letters of recommendation from people who know your academic strengths and can comment on your suitability for graduate studies. The letters of recommendation may be submitted online or by hard copy.
Original transcripts for academic institutions you have attended (even if you didn't receive a degree). We are also accepting electronic transcripts that are sent directly from accredited U.S. colleges or universities. Electronic transcripts must be sent directly to gradadm@purdue.edu to verify the authenticity of the documents. At this time, only electronic transcripts from accredited U.S. institutions will be accepted.
Send transcripts and hard copy recommendations to:
Graduate Studies, Purdue University
Department of Nutrition Science
700 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059
These documents must be received by the December 14 deadline.
A statement of purpose that clearly describes
(1) Why are you interested in nutrition?
(2) What type of nutrition research do you want to do?
(3) Why do you want to attend Purdue to achieve your goals?
You are also encouraged to provide other information you feel will be valuable for the review of your application. Please note that our program requires a statement of purpose that is 1500 words long. This is longer than the limit listed in the Graduate School general application instructions. You may check the status of your submitted application by logging into your online application account. The status of your application will be updated as documents are received.
Deadline for submission of the application and all supporting documents is Friday, December 14, 2018 at 5:00pm.
As part of the review process we have a “day on campus” for select applicants. This year the visit day is on Thursday, January 31 and Friday, February 1, 2019. We invite people after the application review; invitations will be made by the middle of January. Please hold this date.
Prerequisites for Coursework:
The curriculum for the first year includes a one year long core Nutrition course. The prerequisites for this course are:
- a year of general chemistry,
- a semester of organic chemistry,
- a semester of biochemistry,
- an organ-level physiology course
- a basic nutrition course.
If you do not have these requirements please contact us before applying. However, we encourage you to complete these prerequisites prior to admission.
