This program is currently accredited, and the university is working to recognize this program. Please read the information below for how to apply to the first cohort, which begins June 1, 2021. For more information about this program, contact Jodie Seybold, program director, at jseybold@iup.edu. The website will be updated in May 2021 with links related to more information on various program features.
Accomplish the next step toward becoming a registered dietitian-nutritionist: Complete the two-year IUP Dietitian-Nutritionist Program (DNP) through the Department of Food and Nutrition’s Master of Science in Food and Nutrition. Enrolled students will
earn their master’s degree as well as earn eligibility to sit for the national examination for registered dietitian-nutritionists upon successful program completion.
The Dietitian-Nutritionist Program is open to students who have a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and/or nutrition, or closely related degree. The DNP is accredited to admit 18 students across two tracks: the in-resident track and the distance track.
The DNP provides students with practice skills in clinical areas, community nutrition, and food service, as well as exposes the student to many populations, disease states, and conditions.
For convenience, all curriculum-based master’s courses are 100 percent online with both synchronous and asynchronous interactions with faculty and peers.
The practicum-based courses allow students to work directly with field professionals at on- and off-site locations to practice skills as a preprofessional. Practicum-related meetings are held in-person for the in-residence track students. Select practicum-related
meetings are required in-person with advanced scheduling for the distance track students. Otherwise, distance-track students will Zoom into those meetings.
Graduate assistantships available for in-residence students: For those interested, the Department of Food and Nutrition takes applications each April prior to the start of the DNP for graduate assistantships. Students who are accepted
into an assistantship position are required to be on campus. The assistantships run through the first year of the DNP. Second-year students, due to course and experiential learning, do not qualify.
Requirements to Become a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides complete information about the requirements to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and lists all the
accredited programs that exist. The following criteria must be met in the traditional route to earn the RDN credential:
- A minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the United States; and
- Coursework in dietetics from a program that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and a verification statement from an accredited dietetics program, and
- Completion of an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program; and
- Passing a national examination that is administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).
- Registered Dietitian
Nutritionists (PDF) are eligible to be licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Licensure may be a requirement for some positions.
The Future Education Model created by ACEND provides an alternative for applicants without a bachelor’s degree in dietetics/nutrition, or verification statement, who want to become a registered dietitian-nutritionist. IUP’s MS in Food and Nutrition–DNP
accepts students with or without a bachelor’s degree in dietetics/nutrition provided specific criteria are met (refer to Program Features).
The IUP MS in Food and Nutrition–DNP is a supervised practice program that is accredited by ACEND through December 31, 2024.
Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). To be approved for registration examination
eligibility with a bachelor’s degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR’s Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before
midnight Central Time,
December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement, visit the CDR website. In addition, CDR requires that individual’s complete coursework and supervised
practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited Dietitian-Nutritionist Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania are eligible
to apply to take the CDR credentialing exam prior to become an RDN. In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice.
Dietitian-Nutritionist Program Features
- A 24-month dietitian-nutritionist program taking enrolled students through their master’s and qualifying them to sit for the national examination for registered dietitian-nutritionists.
- Located in the semi-rural community of Indiana, Pennsylvania, just 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.
- Sixty-three credits are required for the completion of the Master of Science in Food and Nutrition, Dietitian-Nutritionist Program.
- Two tracks available:
- In-residence: Requires students to live within a drivable distance to IUP’s main campus; all field placements are arranged by the DNP.
- Distance: Students can live anywhere in the US except California (due to non-participation in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); students must locate their own supervised experiential
learning sites as part of the distance track.
Supervised Experiential Learning Opportunities
Our program features a total of 1,000 hours (or roughly 6½ months) of supervised experiential learning throughout the 24-month curriculum using a combination of professional worksites and authentic learning activities. Practica coursework provides students
with professional worksite experiential learning opportunities in
four main areas.
- Community Nutrition
- Food Service
- Long-term Care (clinical)
- Acute Care (clinical)