The registered dietitian is the nutrition and food expert. To become a part of the growing and vital profession of dietetics, take the following steps:

1. Earn a minimum of a graduate degree from an accredited dietetics program. A baccalaureate didactic degree program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) provides a foundation for a graduate degree and supervised practice program.  Tarleton’s dietetics concentration in the Bachelors of Science in Nutrition Science has accreditation candidacy status from ACEND as a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). Students completing a DPD will receive a verification statement which makes graduates eligible for a variety of graduate programs and supervised practice pathways.  A master’s degree is required to be eligible for the RDN exam. Some accredited programs include a master’s degree, while other students complete their undergraduate in dietetics and earn a master’s degree in another field (public health, communications, etc.).
2. Complete a supervised practice requirement. In addition to the graduate degree, individuals must complete at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice to gain real-world experience and apply knowledge learned in the classroom to the context of a variety of work settings.
3. Pass a national exam for RDNs. Once you complete your degrees and supervised practice, you may schedule to take CDR’s Registration Examination for Registered Dietitians to become a credentialed as registered dietetics nutritionist. This is called “RDN eligibility,” meaning you have completed the requirements to become eligible to take the national exam.
4. Meet requirements to practice in your state. Many states have regulatory laws licensure for food and nutrition practitioners. All states accept the RDN credential for state licensure purposes.  For more information about licensure/certification requirements in all states visit the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
5. Stay up-to-date in dietetics through continuing education. After successfully passing the national exam and earning the credential, RDNs maintain ongoing professional development in order to stay up to date on the latest research, recommendations and best practices.

There are several kinds of accredited dietetics education programs — each offering a different experience and “pathway” to RDN eligibility.

Meet requirements to practice in your state. Meet requirements to practice in your state. Many states have regulatory laws (i.e., licensure) for food and nutrition practitioners. All states accept the RDN credential for state licensure purposes.  For more information about licensure/certification requirements in all states visit the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).

There are several kinds of accredited dietetics education programs — each offering a different experience and “pathway” to RDN eligibility.

Pathway: Coordinated Programs (CP)

Coordinated programs combine classroom learning with supervised practice experiences within one program. When you graduate from a coordinated program, you satisfy both the graduate degree and supervised practice requirements and are eligible to take the national RDN exam.

Pathway: Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPD) + Dietetic Internships (DI)

This pathway consists of two education programs: First you complete a Didactic Program in Dietetics, which is your classroom coursework. Then you enroll in an accredited Dietetic Internship for supervised practice in real work settings. A master’s degree must be completed prior to entering a DI program or during the DI program, concurrently with supervised practice. The majority of students who choose this pathway apply for a DI position through a competitive online matching process. However, some DPDs have placement agreements with DIs to ensure their graduates secure dietetic internship positions. If you are considering applying to a Didactic Programs in Dietetics, ask whether the program includes “pre-select matching.”

Students who graduate from both a DPD and a DI and have completed a master’s degree meet both the degree and supervised practice requirements to take the national RDN exam. Most DPDs offer bachelor’s degrees, while others satisfy the minimum graduate degree requirement. DI programs will either offer a master’s degree as part of their program, require interns to complete a master’s degree of their choosing while they complete the DI, or require interns to complete a master’s degree prior to entering the DI program.

Pathway: Future Education Model (FEM) Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GP)

This pathway consists of graduate-level coursework and supervised experiential learning incorporated into one graduate degree program. When you graduate from a GP, you satisfy both the degree and supervised practice requirements to be eligible to take the national RDN exam.

Note: It’s important to differentiate accredited GPs from other master’s or doctorate programs that may not include the specific coursework or supervised practice required RDN eligibility. Examples are advanced degrees in disciplines that existing RDNs might pursue to complement their credential but that are not accredited by ACEND for their graduates to be eligible to take the national RDN credentialing exam.

For students new to TSU who are transferring in credit, the DPD at TSU follows the university policy related to transfer credits. https://www.tarleton.edu/admissions/transfer/

Policy:

In addition to course credit, the DPD is required to track completion of specific knowledge assessments, known as KRDNs. Each DPD student must receive a 70% or better on all KRDN assessments to receive a verification statement (See
“Verification Statement Requirements and KRDN Remediation Policy”).  The verification statement, along with a B.S. degree from our accredited program, is what enables you to go on to apply for a dietetic internship, a specific type of supervised practice program.

KRDN assessments are embedded into upper-level nutrition and food science courses.  If you are transferring in any upper-level (-3000 or -4000) nutrition (NUTR) or food science courses (FDSC), the DPD director is required to confirm completion of KRDN assessments before issuing a verification statement. 

Procedure:

You will need to provide the following to the DPD Director in order for the assessment of prior learning to be completed:

• Transcript(s) verifying the completion of the course(s).  If the course is finished, the expectation is that you provide an official transcript.  If you are currently enrolled in the transfer course, an unofficial transcript is fine (to verify enrollment), but note that you will need to provide an official transcript before receiving a verification statement.
• A syllabus for each upper-level NUTR course you are transferring.  This should be done the semester following completion of the course, or at least 6 weeks prior to graduation. 

The DPD director will review both the transcripts and syllabus, and complete a form known as the “Knowledge (KRDN) Assessment for Transfer Credits.”  If it is determined that you did not meet the KRDNs with the transfer credits, you will be asked to complete KRDN assessments outside of your coursework. You must complete all KRDN assessments with a 70% or better prior to graduation and, if you do not, you will not be issued a verification statement of completion

The most common pathway to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, is the completion of a specific program of study called the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD).  If your degree is NOT in Dietetics and Nutrition Science or a similar degree and you do NOT have a DPD verification statement, you will have to take some “leveling courses” to get DPD verification BEFORE you can apply for specific types of supervised practice programs requiring a verification statement. The Tarleton DPD Director can review your undergraduate transcript from other universities and make recommendations for your specific “leveling” needs. To inquire about the courses you needed to meet the competencies outlined by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), please contact the DPD director. Courses are also listed in Appendix D of the DPD Student Handbook. 

Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree have the option to complete a second undergraduate degree. Once accepted to Tarleton, select Dietetics Track under concentration in Nutrition Science as a second degree, to complete the required coursework and to obtain financial aid. Contact the Financial Aid office for specific benefit information. You can also complete the program as a non-degree seeking undergraduate student to earn a verification statement; however, financial aid will not be an option. All post-baccalaureate students should complete a matriculation form for enrollment into the DPD. 

Students with an undergraduate nutrition degree from another university seeking a verification statement.

If you have a degree in Dietetics and Nutrition Science or something similar from another university and are seeking a verification statement from TSU, a further assessment of prior learning will take place to confirm prior learning outcomes were met in the courses already completed. You may be asked to provide syllabi and may be required to complete assignments outside of the courses you are taking at TSU to meet specific competencies.

The DPD Director will provide you with a copy of the required courses, retain a copy in their records, and send a copy to the academic advisor. It typically takes two years for students who do not have a science degree to complete the undergraduate coursework. A student must submit the DPD Program Matriculation Form and receive approval from the program director in order to be enrolled in the DPD as a non-degree seeking student. Once completed, the DPD Director will issue you a verification statement which gives you eligibility to apply for a dietetic internship or other type of supervised practice program that requires a verification statement.

Students have completed the Tarleton DPD when:

 1. They have completed the 120-hour BS Degree Curriculum in Nutrition Science with a concentration in Dietetics.

2. Students have completed all KRDN assessments with a grade of 70% or greater. (See Remediation Protocol)

3. Students have received a verification statement of completion.

Beginning in Fall 2022, DPD faculty will start to track student grades on all assessments associated with KRDNs. The criterion for demonstrating satisfactory performance is a 70% or greater on all assignments associated with KRDNs. This must be met for all DPD KRDNs for the student to receive a verification statement, and students will be made aware of this in NUTR 1307, as well as by the policy in DPD handbook and a statement on the DPD website. If a student receives less than a 70%, remediation will be required. Below is a step-by-step description of the protocol for remediation:

1. A DPD student receives a grade less than 70% on an assignment associated with a KRDN. Instructor of record contacts the student, letting the student know that they must re-submit the assignment in Canvas or Qualtrics University and must receive a grade of 70% or better on the re-submission. With this email from the instructor, students will also receive a link to the remediation policy in the DPD Student Handbook. The instructor of record will indicate the name of the student, KRDN requiring remediation, and date of first remediation submission attempt in an Excel spreadsheet housed within the DPD Microsoft Teams folder. In the aforementioned excel, the instructor of record will indicate whether the student successfully or unsuccessfully completed remediation.

If a student is unsuccessful at completing remediation, that student will be contacted by the DPD Director. The DPD Director will then work with the student on further remediation efforts.