Nutritional Sciences | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Fall 2024 Commencement Ceremonies

The fall 2024 Commencement ceremonies for the College of Health and Human Development will be held Sunday, Dec. 22 for graduate students at 9:30 a.m. and for undergraduate students at 4:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.

HHD Commencement Information

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Earn two degrees in five years

The Master of Public Health program prepares students for impactful careers in public health. This integrated undergraduate-graduate program allows undergraduate students to earn both a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in five years of full-time study.

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The founders of the Food Recovery Network.

Join the Food Recovery Network at Penn State

The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is the largest student-led movement working to reduce food waste and hunger at Penn State and the surrounding community. Join this organization to support their mission of increasing campus sustainability, food security, and awareness.

Learn how you can volunteer

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Explore the Nutritional Physiology and Biochemistry program option

Nutritional sciences students who want to develop a foundation in biology, chemistry, and nutrition to prepare for success in a healthcare career should consider the nutritional physiology and biochemistry program option.

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Meet Emma and Gillian!

Emma and Gillian are the NUTR Instagram Ambassadors! Follow them on Instagram @nutr.ambassadors to tag along on their journeys at Penn State and learn more about being a student in our department.

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Nutritional Sciences at Penn State examines how humans gain energy from food and how nutrition choices affect our health over time.

Solidly rooted in chemistry, biology, physiology, psychology, neuroscience, behavior, and development, our body of work covers the effects of nutrition at all levels, from the molecule to the organism, to the population at large. Our programs aim to nurture a new generation of leaders in bench and behavioral sciences who will push the limits of our understanding of nutrition as it relates to human health.

Faculty and students in a test kitchen at Penn State

Start your undergraduate journey

Explore this undergraduate degree for students interested in how the human body transforms food into usable energy that fuels our daily lives.

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Learn about graduate training

Discover how research and graduate training provides students with the knowledge needed to contribute to the field of nutritional sciences.

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Explore research areas

Understand the variety of research areas and current projects that push the boundaries of knowledge in the field.

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The Diet Assessment Center

Explore how the department collects and analyzes dietary data to help researchers understand what, how, and when people are eating.

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Faculty Spotlight

Welcome to the department, Xiangming Ji!

Nutritional Sciences welcomed Xiangming Ji as an associate professor this fall. Xiangming's research focuses on metabolic studies in the airway epithelium, from normal cells to at-risk epithelial cells, and ultimately to cancer cells. Ultimately, the goals of these projects are to identify potential metabolites that could be used as therapeutic and diagnostic biomarkers in the future.

Read his bio.

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illustration of cellphone with placenta image. baby, mother, earth in background

Placenta assessment tool aims to improve neonatal, maternal care

Child reaching his hand into jar of brightly colored candies

Children who eat when they are not hungry are more likely to gain excess body fat

a variety of healthy foods on white plates

With the new year, establish new healthy habits with Volumetrics series