Behavioral Nutrition PhD

With the increasing appreciation of the importance of nutrition for health promotion and disease prevention and the widespread interest in the sustainability and social equity of food systems, there is a need for highly qualified nutrition professionals who understand the complex interaction of biology, environment, and personal behavior. These individuals need to be skilled in conducting research as well as developing and evaluating interventions, programs, and policies in a variety of settings. 

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program prepares scholars to conduct research on critical issues related to:

• Determinants of health behaviors (biological, personal, social, and environmental) related to nutrition and to physical activity

• Relationships among food- and nutrition-related behaviors and health outcomes using techniques of behavioral epidemiology

• Design, implementation, and evaluation of theory-based behavioral nutrition and physical activity interventions

• Methodological considerations in the design and evaluation of interventions

There are three specializations:

1. Behavioral Nutrition

2. Nutritional Epidemiology

3. Nutrition and Physical Activity

The graduates from this program become leaders who assume professorial and research roles in universities and colleges within departments of nutrition epidemiology, foods and nutrition, and physical activity, as well as assume research roles in centers for research on behavioral aspects of obesity, chronic disease prevention, and health promotion. Thus, the program aims to prepare researchers with basic and applied behavioral skills within an educational context.

The general requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy include a minimum of 75 graduate credits, of which at least 45 must be taken under Teachers College registration.

The Ph.D. consists of 29 credits of core courses and 15-25 credits in courses to develop depth for each specialization. In addition, the Ph.D. has 21-27 credits of research method courses that include advanced topical seminars, research seminar and dissertation advisement, specifically devoted to research-related courses and activities. Students will also be expected to pass a certification examination. Students will conduct original research as part of their dissertation and will need to pass a proposal hearing, an advanced seminar (specifically on their data) and dissertation oral defense on their full dissertation.

The specific courses selected will depend on the student’s particular background, interests and goals. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students should develop a program plan early in their course of study to provide a rational basis for their course selection.

Degree Requirements

Total Points/Credits: 75

Core Courses (29 credits)

• HBSV 4010 Food, Nutrition, and Behavior (3 credits)

• HBSS 5110 Determinants of Health Behavior (3 credits)

• HBSV 4013 Nutritional Ecology (3 credits)

• HBSV 5010 Advanced Nutrition 1 (3 credits)

• HBSV 5011 Advanced Nutrition 2 (3 credits)

• HBSV 5013 Strategies for Nutrition Education and Health Behavior Change (3 credits)

• HBSV 5014 Analysis of Current Literature and Research in Nutrition (3 credits)

• HBSV 5015 Nutritional Epidemiology and Assessment (3 credits)

• HBSS 6145 Health Psychology or BBS 5068-9 Brain and Behavior 1 and 2 or CCPX 4035 Personality and Behavior Change or CCPX 5020 Cognition, Emotion and Culture (3 credits)

• M 8202 Obesity Etiology and Prevention (2 credits)

Specialization Courses (15-25 credits)

Courses required to develop depth for each specialization (minimally five courses selected from the offerings below; >15 credits): 

Behavioral Nutrition Specialization

• HBSS 4112 Social Policy and Prevention (3 credits)

• HBSS 4114 Competence with Multicultural Populations: Research and Practice (3 credits)

• HBSS 4118 Relapse Prevention for Problem Behaviors (3 credits)

• HBSS 5112 Social Marketing and Health Communications (3 credits)

• HBSS 6145 Health Psychology (3 credits)

• BBS 5068-9 Brain and Behavior I and II (3 credits)

• ITSF 5013 Psychological Anthropology (3 credits)

• CCPX 4035 Personality and Behavior Change (3 credits)

• CCPX 5020 Cognition, Emotion and Culture (3 credits)

• HUDK 4022-4 Developmental Psychology: Childhood; or Adolescence; or Adulthood (3 credits each)

• HUDK 5023 Cognitive Development (3 credits)

• HUDK 5029 Development and Socialization Across the Lifespan (3 credits)

• HUDK 6520 Development Over the Lifespan: Doctoral Seminar (3 credits)

• EDPS 4028 Sociology of the Life Course (3 credits)

• ITSF 5023 The Family as Educator (3 credits)

• ORL 5362 Group Dynamics: A Systems Perspective (3 credits)

• G  4006 Social Psychology (3 credits)

• G  4201 Principles & Applications of Social and Cultural Anthropology (3 credits) 

• G  4635 Social Cognition (3 credits)

• G  4670 Theories in Social and Personality Psychology (3 credits)

• G  4685 Social Cognitive Neuroscience (3 credits)

• G  4690 Social Factors and Psychopathology (3 credits)

• SOCI V2230 Food and the Social Order (3 credits)

• P  6727 Preventive Health Behavior (3 credits)

• P  8711 Women and Health (3 credits)

• P  8745 Social and Economic Determinants of Health (3 credits)

• M 8200 Growth and Development (3 credits)

• W 4285 Multidisciplinary Approaches to Human Decision-Making (3 credits)

• J  8030 Media and Contemporary Society (3 credits)  

Nutritional Epidemiology Specialization

• HBSS 4102 Principles of Epidemiology in Health Promotion (3 credits) 

• HBSS 4112 Social Policy and Prevention (3 credits)

• HBSS 5113 Community Health Analysis and Intervention (3 credits)

• P 6400 Principles of Epidemiology I (3 credits)

• P 6729 Preventive Medicine and Public Health (3)

• P 8408 Women’s Health: Epidemiology & Public Policy (3 credits)

• P 8414 Cancer Epidemiology (3)

• P 8417 Selected Problems of Measurement in Epidemiology (3)

• P 8438 Epidemiology II: Design & Conduct of Observational Epidemiology (3)

• P 8440 Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases (3) 

• P 8499 Field Methods in Epidemiology (3)

Nutrition and Physical Activity Specialization 

• HBSV 5593 Nutrition in Exercise and Sport (3 credits)

• BBSR 4070 Introduction to the Psychosocial Aspects of Sport and Exercise

• BBSR 4095 Applied Physiology I (3 credits)

• BBSR 4195 Applied Physiology Laboratory I (3 credits)

• BBS 5068-9 Brain and Behavior I and II (3 credits)

• BBSR 5060 Neuromuscular Response and Adaptation to Exercise (2 credits)

• BBSR 5095 Exercise and Health (3 credits)

• BBSR 5194 Applied Physiology Laboratory II (3 credits)

• BBSR 5195 Advanced Applied Physiology Laboratory (3 credits)

• BBSR 6540 Research seminar in Curriculum and Teaching Physical Education (3 credits)

Research Method Courses (21-27 credits)

• HBSS 5040 Research Methods in Health and Behavior Studies or HBSS 6100 Program Evaluation or BBSR 5582 Research Design in Movement Science and Education (3 credits)

• HUDM 4122 Probability & Statistical Inference (3 credits)

• HUDM 5122 Applied Regression Analysis (3 credits)

• HBSV 6550 Research Seminar in Nutrition (3 credits)

• HBSV 6551 Research Seminar in Nutrition (3 credits)

• HBSV 7502 Dissertation Seminar in Nutrition (3 credits)

• HBSV 8900 Dissertation Advisement in Nutrition (3 credits)

• One or two additional advanced courses (3-6 credits)

• Qualitative course (3 credits)

• TI 8900 Dissertation Defense

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. program involves completing the application form available online and submitting all regular admission materials, such as transcripts from all institutions attended, two letters of recommendation, and a writing sample, which can be a thesis, substantial paper, or published article.

The applicant should have a master’s degree in nutrition or a closely related discipline from an accredited institution. Admissions will be based on grades,letters of recommendation, personal statement, and an appropriate match between the applicant’s interests, the research work of the faculty, and funding availability. The student will generally be expected to be full-time and to work on ongoing research projects of the faculty.

Research Training and Apprenticeship

The primary modality for training for Ph.D. students is working with their sponsor on some ongoing research project. Students will work closely with one faculty member on a research project to gain practical experience in the development of study instruments, intervention protocols, data collection, data management and analysis, manuscript preparation and submission, and presentation of results at relevant scientific meetings. After completing basic core coursework, students will also participate in two semester-long part-time internships with other research labs, at Columbia or other academic institutions, to gain additional research perspectives as part of the HBSV 6550 & HBSV 6551 seminars. Visit the website for the Program in Nutrition for more detailed descriptions of the Ph.D. requirements.