BA and MS 4PLUS Program in Sustainability Studies and Nutrition

The Biology department and the School of Behavioral Health and Sciences offers a dual degree (B.A./M.S.) for motivated, academically talented students with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 in the Sustainability Studies major. Students will accelerate completion of the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts major in Sustainability Studies and the Master of Science in Nutrition, Sustainability Studies and Applied Nutrition track. Due to the condensed nature of the 4Plus program path, interested students are strongly encouraged to plan their coursework with their faculty advisor during their first semester at the College.

 

4Plus approved students must meet the M.S. in Nutrition science admission course requirements, which includes:

• 2 Chemistry courses (e.g. CHEM 101 and BIOL 412)

• 2 Biology courses (e.g. BIOL 201 and BIOL 411)

• 1 Principles of Nutrition course

Total = 11 credits

 

The 4Plus pathway offers an opportunity to apply up to 9 credits of graduate coursework to apply to both the B.A. and M.S. degrees.  In addition, students may request to complete graduate coursework as undergraduate students, for graduate credit only, to help accelerate the progress towards the M.S. completion.  Students should plan on taking graduate level coursework during their junior and senior years. The exact trajectory of each student, including whether both degrees can be accomplished within 5 years, will depend on course availability, need for developmental coursework, timeline to graduation, and student preference.

 

Courses that are cross-listed and may apply towards both degrees are:

• ENSP 403/ENV 503 Pollution Biology

• SUS 410/NUTR 510 Bioengineering for Sustainability

• SUS 415/NUTR 515 Urban Agriculture

**Note – students should enroll in the graduate level courses (500-level) to count towards both degrees; students must have submitted the 4Plus Dual Degree Request form and have been approved to pursue this 4Plus pathway to enroll in graduate coursework that will apply to both degrees.

 

Some graduate level courses that students may take as undergraduates, but for graduate credit only are:

• NUTR 500 Sustainable Food Systems & Food Security

• NUTR 505 Leadership, Management & Advocacy Seminar

• NUTR 509 Program Planning, Management & Eval

• ENV 505 Biostatistics

**Note - students should not expect to be able to take additional graduate coursework for graduate credit only due to the undergraduate coursework that is required, however, in some rare circumstances, some high achieving students who have processed through their undergraduate requirements quickly, may be able to.

 

Approval to pursue the 4Plus program path for the M.S. in Nutrition does not guarantee admission to the degree program; students must officially apply to the Nutrition program through the graduate school office (www.hood.edu/gradapply).