Newswise — The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University today announced a Master of Nutrition in Science and Policy (MNSP) degree program that combines intensive on-campus residencies in Boston with online learning. The “blended learning” program will enroll its first cohort of students in the fall of 2013. The Friedman School’s blended learning degree is the only master’s degree in nutrition in the United States that combines week-long residencies on campus with online learning.

“The blended learning format will allow students from around the world to continue living and working where they choose while they study at one of the premier research universities in the United States,” said Robin Kanarek Ph.D., interim dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. “Nutrition is a vitally important field, and the Friedman School is committed to educating and training future leaders who can create new knowledge and apply and disseminate evidence-based information.”

For approximately one week each semester, students and Tufts faculty will meet at the Friedman School in Boston for a residency period that includes interactive coursework, lectures, seminars and collaboration among students of diverse backgrounds. These on-campus residencies will facilitate hands-on learning and in-person meetings among students and between students and faculty. Following each residency session, the coursework continues in a highly facilitated online environment, building on the knowledge and relationships developed on campus. Students may attend the program full-time or part-time.

The combination of online and on-campus learning was first developed by the Friedman School to bring graduate-level nutrition education to students in the United Arab Emirates and surrounding countries. “The experience our faculty members have acquired in blended learning has given us a unique ability to educate students wherever they live – and advance the school’s mission of improving the wellbeing of persons, communities and populations worldwide,” said Lynne Ausman, D.Sc., R.D., MSNP program director and Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Professor in International Nutrition at the Friedman School.

The Master of Nutrition Science degree is part of the Friedman School’s fully accredited academic offerings and is taught by faculty from the school’s campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Admissions, curriculum, and tuition information, as well as a video and downloadable brochure, are available online at http://nutrition.tufts.edu/mnsp.

The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University is the only independent school of nutrition in the United States. The school’s centers, which focus on questions relating to famine, hunger, poverty, and communications, are renowned for the application of scientific research to national and international policy. The School’s web site is http://nutrition.tufts.edu