From launching entrepreneurial ventures and pursuing clinical pathways, to engaging in food systems and agriculture work, students emerge with clarity, confidence, and practical skills to drive meaningful change in nutrition and public health.
Why Are Undergraduates Choosing an Accelerated Master’s Path in Nutrition?
What if you could get a head start on earning your master’s before you even finish your undergraduate degree? The Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy is paving the way for ambitious undergraduates with two Accelerated Master of Science program options—one online and one on campus—designed to help students move seamlessly toward a master’s degree while completing their bachelor’s.
Our new Accelerated Master of Science program allows you to concentrate your studies in specializations based on your career goals. The Friedman News Team spoke with two undergraduate students who have taken very different pathways within the program, resulting in transformative journeys that have reaffirmed their passion for the role of nutrition in improving lives. We’re ready to help you achieve your goals, too— and on a timeline that reflects the urgency of the change needed in the world today.
Hungry for more?
Isabelle Garcia-Fischer
My experience in the accelerated master’s program has expanded my thinking about nutrition far beyond individual food choices or behavior change. Before the program, I already appreciated nutrition as a powerful tool for health, especially after my own medical journey, where I experienced its impact firsthand. But the Friedman School helped me see much more clearly how deeply food is connected to healthcare, agriculture, public policy, access, culture, education, socioeconomic inequality, and much more. I now think about nutrition not only as something that shapes personal well-being, but also as something that reflects the structure of society itself.
My favorite class I took was “Nutrition and Entrepreneurship: Idea to Impact.” You basically get a mini-MBA in one semester while building your own nutrition-related business. I was able to combine the nutrition knowledge I had with newfound business knowledge to bring an idea to life. There is something truly exhilarating about working tirelessly on an idea, building a minimum viable product (MVP), and pitching to a crowd. Because of this class, I was able to co-found and continue to grow my AI health app.
"The thing I loved the most about Friedman was the faculty. They truly care about their students. They want every student to understand the material, share their thoughts, feel included, and learn more about themselves."
Beyond the incredible education, there is an amazing group of extremely knowledgeable, down-to-earth, caring individuals who make up the Friedman School faculty and staff. Jimmy Edgerton and Dr. Ed Saltzman will forever be two of my favorite professors who profoundly shaped my career path and personal growth.
The Accelerated Master’s program has prepared me in several important ways. Academically, it has strengthened my ability to think critically, interpret research, translate research findings to real-world applications, and communicate nutrition science with greater clarity and depth. I feel much more equipped to go into the world and make a real impact on individual, societal, and policy levels.
As my interests evolved during the program, I realized that my passion lies in helping people, specifically individuals with chronic illnesses, and athletes. I want to help people become the healthiest versions of themselves— to transform someone's life so profoundly that they are able to defy the odds because they prioritized their health. This realization was why I pivoted toward becoming a Registered Dietitian. I now feel more confident in my voice and in the direction I want to pursue. It challenged me to rethink my career choices, which I believe every good education system and mentor will do. Professionally, the program has helped me refine the kind of impact I want to have in the field. It has given me a stronger foundation for pursuing work that integrates clinical understanding, behavior change, and a more whole-person view of health, all of which I hope to instill in my entrepreneurial endeavors and private clinical practice as a future RD.
Nancy Chi
As an undergraduate at Tufts, I didn’t have access to a full nutrition major, but I was able to take nutrition-related courses that sparked my interest, such as Food for All, Food Systems, Human Nutrition, Sociology of Food, and others. Those classes helped me see how deeply food is tied to issues like equity, access, and policy. As a result, I wanted to better understand what nutrition challenges exist and why they persist. Through the Accelerated Master’s pathway, I had the chance to take graduate-level courses at the Friedman School earlier and begin to think about food and nutrition in a much more systematic and evidence-based way.
One class that really stood out was Diane McKay’s Human Nutrition course, where I started seeing nutrition through a scientific lens. Understanding mechanisms, evidence, and how we build nutrition knowledge from research helped me connect science to real-world questions. I learned about how scientific understanding translates into guidance, public health priorities, and sometimes policy decisions. Another meaningful course has been Nicole Tichenor Blackstone’s Fundamentals of U.S. Agriculture, which helped me apply what I was learning in a more U.S.-specific context. It made the food system feel less abstract because it allowed me to see how the system works—production, incentives, and structural constraints.
"The Accelerated Master’s program expanded my scope by giving me a broader, more integrated view of the nutrition world. It helped me see how nutrition science intersects with agriculture, economics, policy, and equity."
Starting my studies earlier opened more opportunities to explore specific intersections of nutrition that I’m genuinely interested in—and made me feel more confident in how I connect the pieces. One of the most surprising and meaningful things I’ve learned so far is how often nutrition problems aren’t just about knowing what is “healthy,” but about the real-world constraints that shape people’s options—especially cost, access, and systems-level tradeoffs.
A course activity that really stuck with me was the least-cost diet exercise in Economics of Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition. I expected it to be technical—I didn’t expect it to change how I think. Trying to model a diet that meets nutrient needs at the lowest cost made nutrition feel extremely practical—and it highlighted how economic forces can shape health outcomes in ways that aren’t always visible when we talk about nutrition purely in terms of individual choice. That exercise helped me see the importance of considering economics when making connections between nutrition and public health.
Each course I took added a different perspective and helped me see nutrition as an inherently interdisciplinary field. The more lenses I gain—economics, agriculture, modeling, public health—the better I can understand the whole system and where interventions can actually make a difference.
This program has prepared me to move forward in nutrition and food systems work in a way that is both grounded and flexible. Academically, I’ve gained tools that help me think about the food system at multiple levels—zooming out to understand the full system and zooming in to analyze specific components and mechanisms. I’ve also developed practical skills, including exposure to different analytical approaches and software/tools that are commonly used in the field.
One of the most important parts of my experience has been connecting learning to real-world work. My internship with the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project has been especially influential. It gave me hands-on experience on a farm, allowing me to work on materials and projects that connect classroom skills to real challenges. The work of supporting new and beginning farmers as they build livelihoods in the U.S. felt tangible and meaningful, and it helped me understand how training, technical support, and food system structures affect farmer success and broader food access.
The Friedman School offers many opportunities for students to gain experience beyond the classroom—through internships, applied projects, and field learning. One part I really appreciate is that no matter which direction within food and nutrition you want to explore—research, policy, program implementation, agriculture, or systems modeling—there are courses and opportunities to help you build that pathway. The Accelerated Master’s program has helped me feel more confident that I can contribute to the nutrition field—because I’m not only learning concepts, but also building the practical skills and real-world perspective to apply them.
