Students must first complete an accredited Dietetic Supervised Practice Program (DSPP) if their long-term goal is to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). The student is then qualified to take the national registration exam after completing a DSPP. Those who successfully complete the RDN exam will receive their RDN certification.
In recent years, the national acceptance rates to DSPPs has risen to 67% of applicants who apply are accepted to DSPPs (this is up from 50% just 5 years ago) Although there is competition for spots in DSPPs, students have more opportunities than ever to get accepted!
The DPD program at Penn State provides high-quality instruction and experiences that have allowed its graduates to routinely outperform national acceptance rates for placement in DSPPs. Visit the Program Outcomes section of the Nutrition and Dietetics option homepage to see our acceptance rates.
Students from Penn State DPD who were accepted into DSPPs have some or all of the following traits:
For more advice on how to succeed, visit the ACEND website’s “Suggestions for Improving your acceptance into an Internship” page.
Students pursuing the nutrition and dietetics option are urged to meet with Dr. Coleman-Kelly, for additional guidance in preparing their application for DSPPs. As soon as students choose the Nutritional Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics option, they should do this. Nutritional Sciences.
For:
- Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree from a college or university that is accredited.
- A statement of Declaration of Intent to Complete the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) or an official AND Verification Statement of Completion of a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) with original signatures is required of applicants.
- The minimum academic average for nutrition DPD courses is a B or better; applicants will be given preference if their overall academic average is a B or higher.
- Additionally, candidates must submit an application for the 40-credit Clinical Nutrition Master of Science (MS) program. Please be aware that the MS program’s deadline differs from the DICAS deadline.
Note: Applicants who have non-US undergraduate credentials must present a course-by-course evaluation of their international credentials along with their completed application. See a list of agencies that can provide this service.
The internship application must contain:
- completed online DICAS application with a personal statement of no more than 1,000 words See more information about the application process.
- Application fees for DICAS are $50 for the first application and $20 for each additional application.
- Please send a check for $40 made out to “NYU Dietetic Internship” to the following address: NYU Dietetic Internship 411 Lafayette St. 5th Floor, New York, NY 10003. Please write the student’s name in the memo line if you are applying for an internship.
- Recommendations: Applicants must submit three online recommendations from professors, academic advisers, employers, or other individuals who have overseen their academic or professional pursuits. Two references should be provided: one from a former employer who oversaw your volunteer or paid work, and the other from the instructor of a nutrition or dietetics course you have taken. The three references that applicants must provide must have their contact information updated.
- A formal declaration of completion of the dietetics didactic program (DPD) with original signatures or a declaration of intent to fulfill academic requirements, both with original signatures, is required. The DPD Director will be notified when you submit the online DICAS application, and a verification or declaration of intent will be processed automatically after that. The DPD Director will confirm online that the applicant has obtained them before sending the applicant two hard copies.
- Official transcripts: When submitting an application online, candidates are required to download and complete a Transcript Request Form. They should then send this form to the registrar of each institution they attended. The official transcript will then be sent right away to DICAS by the Registrar.
- Digital matching: On the day of the deadline, applicants must choose their dietetic internship priority choices by 11:59 p.m. CST in addition to paying $50 to register online with D D Digital for computer matching. You can apply online at D
By the specified deadlines, applicants must submit all of their application materials. No exceptions will be made for late submissions.
- Fall applicants should apply by October 1 to the NYU MS Nutrition program.
- Spring applicants should apply by February 1 to the NYU MS Nutrition program.
The dietetic internship director and/or members of the selection committee may conduct telephone or in-person interviews with applicants in addition to the materials they have already submitted. Approximately 12-14 applicants will be accepted.
Admission Notification: D will inform applicants of their online acceptance status. In order to confirm acceptance or rejection of admission, candidates who have been matched to the NYU Dietetic Internship must email the program director, Gena Seraita, within 24 hours.
Students will be evaluated based upon the following factors:
- DPD GPA
- Overall undergraduate GPA
- Interview
- Relevant work history
- Maturity
- Flexibility
- Motivation
- Go to the DICAS online application portal. If you don’t already have one, you must set up a new account.
- Please be aware that once logged in, there are instructions for each section in the top right corner of every page.
- Note that both the undergraduate and graduate DPD programs at NYU should have the designation “DPD College” in the College(s) Attended section’s very top drop-down box. Any college with a DPD program is a DPD College. Any college without a DPD program is considered to be an “Other College” (even if you took a course there to transfer to ours). “.
- Charles Mueller is listed as the Director of Program in the DICAS Application’s DPD Director Contact Information section.
- Once you have added your colleges to the section titled “College(s) Attended,” click the orange button to the left of your school’s listing to request a transcript form. Send distinct transcript request forms to each of the additional schools.
- Only three letters of recommendation can be requested via the DICAS website. Three letters are required for the NYU Dietetic Internship, but other internship sites may have different requirements.
- Below is a list of all NYU DPD undergraduate and graduate courses, along with a description of each course’s science or professional classification. Note: Those classifications are given by the institution(s) where students complete their DPD.
- Please upload the DPD Course List form after clicking “File” and “Download” while logged into your NYU email account.
| Course Title | Science or Professional |
|---|---|
| NUTR-UE 1023 Food Microbiology & Sanitation | Science |
| NUTR-UE 1064 Nutritional Biochemistry | Science |
| NUTR-UE 1068 Intro to Human Physiology | Science |
| CHEM-UA 120 Introduction to Modern Chemistry | Science |
| CHEM-UA 210 Principles of Organic Chemistry | Science |
| NUTR-UE 85 Introduction to Foods & Food Science | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 91 Food Management Theory | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 119 Nutrition & Health | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1260 Diet Assessment & Planning | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1269 Nutrition & The Life Cycle | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1184 Food Science & Technology | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1052 Food Production & Management | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1185 Clinical Nutrition Assessment & Intervention | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1209 Community Nutrition | Professional |
| NUTR-GE 2199 Nutrition Education | Professional |
| NUTR-GE 2190.01 Research Methods – OR – | Professional |
| NUTR-UE 1117 Current Research in Nutrition | Professional |
Factors That Increase Dietetic Internship Acceptance
FAQ
How hard is it to get into a dietetic internship?
“Competition for Dietetic Internships is extremely fierce. directly from the EatRightPro website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics An article on improving your chances of being accepted into a dietetic internship program can be found at org. The Academy knows getting into an internship is challenging.
What if I dont get matched for a dietetic internship?
It is not a failure if you are not matched; rather, it is a lesson. You can consider what you could have done differently, get director feedback, and create a strategy for how you will LEARN from this experience. And persistence does pay off.
Do all dietetic internships do interviews?
The majority of programs conduct interviews, though not all dietetic internship programs do. And if you apply to programs that do interviews, you can benefit from knowing if you’re being considered for a spot in the program if you receive an interview invitation.
What is a good DPD GPA?
Before applying to a program, it’s important to be aware of any minimum GPA requirements. Having above a 3. Your DPD GPA and 75 overall will make you stand out. However, it does not ensure that you will match; you must still be a well-rounded applicant.