Transdisciplinary Childhood Obesity Prevention

Description

The Transdisciplinary Childhood Obesity Prevention (T.O.P.) graduate certificate program by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and South Dakota State University (SDSU) is a graduate certificate program with experiential research training opportunities addressing childhood obesity. The program will prepare students with the technical and functional competencies needed to conduct research on the behavioral, social, biological, and environmental causes of childhood obesity, as well as skills to develop and implement evidence based transdisciplinary approaches to prevention. Students will expand their understanding of the complex and interacting influences associated with excessive weight gain in children and will be prepared to develop and empirically evaluate intervention programs intended to prevent childhood obesity. This transdisciplinary graduate certificate program will focus on strategies geared toward addressing childhood obesity prevention in underserved minority youth and will train students to engage schools, families, and communities to work together to address this challenge. Nutrition and Health Science; Child, Youth, and Family Studies; Nursing; and Sociology faculty are collaborating to implement the T.O.P. graduate certificate program. Students will graduate with a Masters or Doctoral degree from their respective college/department and will obtain a T.O.P. program certificate upon completion of their degree, course, and research requirements, and culminating experience exam or project.

Required by the Department for this Certificate

• Admission to a graduate program (MS or PhD) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Proposed research statement
• Two recommendation letters in regards to the T.O.P. program
• Submission of a letter on why you are interested in pursuing a graduate certificate in Childhood Obesity Prevention and participating in transdisciplinary research