Ph.D. in Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management

A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management with an emphasis in Nutrition, or Hotel and Restaurant Management is offered at Auburn University through the Graduate Program in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management.

Degree Requirements

     The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 60 semester hours of graduate course work beyond the bachelor's degree. Of the 60 hours, a minimum of 30 semester hours must be graded (eg. A, B, C) course work at the 7000-level and 8000-level. In addition, 21 of those 30 graded hours must be completed while registered as a doctoral student in the Ph.D. program at Auburn University. All doctoral students also must complete a minimum of 30 hours of additional course work that may include ungraded courses, 6000-level courses, research and thesis hours, and research and dissertation hours. A maximum of 4 semester hours of research and thesis from a completed master's program may be counted. All doctoral students must complete a minimum of 10 hours of research and dissertation (NUFS 8990).

     Students may earn a Ph.D. with an emphasis in Nutrition or Hotel and Restaurant Management. Core courses are required in each option. Electives may be selected to allow for specialization in a particular area.

Selection of Courses, the Major Professor and Advisory Committee, and Plan of Study

     Selection of initial courses to be taken shall be made under the direction of the temporary advisor or Graduate Program Officer. A major professor should be selected by the student during the first year of graduate work after becoming familiar with all faculty and their areas of research interest. Faculty selected as a major professor must be full (level 2) members of the Graduate Faculty. Each student should confer with his/her major professor to select courses for the degree and to select an advisory committee.

     The advisory committee should represent the academic areas required for successful completion of the student's work. The committee is responsible for developing the plan of study and conducting the doctoral general and final examinations. The committee should be selected by the graduate student and major professor. The advisory committee is to be composed of a minimum of three faculty members: the major professor, at least one other member of the department, and a third and ideally a fourth member who may be from an allied discipline or from the department. Faculty selected for the advisory committee may be associate (level 1) or full (level 2) members of the Graduate Faculty. Additional information on the advisory committee may be found in the Auburn University Bulletin under the Graduate School or at the Graduate School Web Page.

The Dissertation

     The topic of the dissertation must be approved by the student's major professor and advisory committee. The student conducts the research and prepares the dissertation under the direction of the major professor. Students are required to have a minimum of 10 credit hours of research and dissertation (NUFS 8990). Enrollment in NUFS 8990 may take place at any time the student and major professor deem appropriate. During any one semester, the number of hours of NUFS 8990 in which the student enrolls should reflect the amount of time being spent on the dissertation and the degree to which university resources are being utilized. Students may enroll during any one semester for as few as one hour or as many as 10 hours of NUFS 8990.

Time Limit

     Upon completion of the general doctoral written and oral examinations, the student becomes a candidate for the doctoral degree. Students are expected to achieve candidacy within six years. Upon admission to candidacy, a student and has four years to complete all remaining requirements for the doctoral degree.

     The student with the major professor develops a plan for the completion of the work based on student needs and Graduate School deadlines. It is the graduate student's responsibility to accomplish work according to the predetermined schedule. A "graduation check" must be scheduled with the Graduate School before the semester in which the student plans to graduate. Students must be registered in the semester of graduation.

Doctoral Degree with an Emphasis in Nutrition

Required Core Courses *

NTRI 7500 Minerals (2) NTRI 7510 Vitamins (2)
NTRI 7520 Macronutrients: Integration and Metabolism ( 4)
NTRI 7280 Lab Methods in Nutrition (3)
NTRI 7050 Methods of Research (2)
NTRI 8950 Doctoral Seminar* * (1)
BCHE 7200 Graduate Biochemistry I (3)
BCHE 7210 Graduate Biochemistry II (3)
STAT 7000 Experimental Statistics I (3)
STAT 7010 Experimental Statistics II (3)
NTRI 8970 Advanced Topics in Nutrition (1-6)
NTRI 8990 Research and Dissertation (10)

*Core courses may be substituted if equivalent courses have been taken as part of a Master's degree program

**Student is required to enroll in this class at least twice for the doctoral degree.

Doctoral Degree with an Emphasis in Hotel and Restaurant Management

Course Requirements

1) HRMT Specialization (minimum of 34 credit hours)
HRMT 6530 Science of Quality Service in Hospitality (3 credit hours)
HRMT 7000 Hospitality Enterprise (3 credit hours)
HRMT 7010 Advanced Tourism Analysis (3 credit hours)
HRMT 8860 Current Issues in Hospitality Management (3 credit hours)
HRMT 8870 Advanced Hospitality Mgt. Research & Applications (3 credit hours)
HRMT 8880 Theoretical Developments for Hospitality (3 credit hours)
Graduate-level HRMT and/or related courses (at least 16 credit hours)

2) Research Support (minimum of 16 credit hours)
NTRI 7050 Methods of Research (2 credit hours)
NTRI 8850 Doctoral Seminar (two enrollments, 1 credit hour each)
ERMA 7300 Design and Analysis in Education I (3 credit hours)
ERMA 7310 Design and Analysis in Education II (3 credit hours)
Graduate-level research/statistics courses (at least 6 credit hours)

3) Dissertation (minimum of 10 credit hours)
NTRI 8990 Research and Dissertation

Examples of HRMT Specialization Elective Courses:
HRMT 6460 Catering and Event Management (3 credit hours)
HRMT 6540 Conference Coordination (3 credit hours)
HRMT 6550 Club Management (3 credit hours)
HRMT 6570 Global Hospitality (3 credit hours)
NTRI 6380 Study Travel in NTRI (variable credit hours)
NTRI 7920 Professional Internship (1-3 credit hours)
NTRI 7960 Special Problems (1-3/5 credit hours)
NTRI 8910 Supervised Teaching in NTRI (1 credit hour)
NTRI 8970 Advanced Topics in NTRI (1-3 credit hours)

Recommended Research Support Courses:
NTRI 8970 Advanced Topics in NTRI (1 6 credit hours)
ERMA 7210 Theory and Methodology of Qualitative Research
ERMA 7210 Applied Qualitative Research
ERMA 8200 Survey Research Methods
ERMA 8320 Design and Analysis in Education III
ERMA 8330 Non-Parametric Statistics
ERMA 8340 Practical Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling

     The information presented on this web page is presumed to be accurate. However, should a discrepancy be found with current graduate school policies, the graduate school is recognized as the official source of information. Refer to the Auburn University Bulletin under the Graduate School or the Graduate School Web Page for additional information about the Ph.D. degree or graduate school policies.

Need additional information?

For further questions about the Nutrition Ph.D program, contact:
Dr. Sareen S. Gropper, R.D.
Graduate Program Officer (Nutrition)
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management
101 Poultry Science Building,
260 Lem Morrison Drive
Auburn University, AL 36849-5606
Email: groppss@auburn.edu
Ph: (334) 844-3271


For further questions about the HRMT Ph.D program, contact:
Dr. Baker Ayoun
Graduate Program Officer (HRMT)
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management
328 Spidle Hall
Auburn University, AL 36849 USA
Phone: 334-844-8196
Fax: 334-844-3279
bayoun@auburn.edu