The Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) is the ADA's accrediting agency for education programs preparing students for careers as registered dietitians. CADE exists to serve the public by establishing and enforcing eligibility requirements and accreditation standards that ensure the quality and continued improvement of nutrition/dietetics education programs. Programs meeting these standards are accredited by CADE.

CADE is recognized by the United States Department of Education. This affirms that CADE meets national standards and is a reliable authority on the quality of nutrition/dietetics education programs.

The dietetics major is frequently referred to as the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). The DPD provides the required dietetics coursework leading to a bachelor's degree and Verification Statement (VS). Graduates of CADE accredited/approved DPD programs who are verified by the program director receive the VS, which is required for applying to dietetic internships. Graduates who successfully complete an accredited dietetics internship are eligible to write the CDR registration examination for dietitians. An accreditation site visit by CADE occurred at CMU on February 22-24, 2004. Both the DPD and the CMU Dietetic Internship earned accreditation after this visit. The Program Assessment Report was submitted to CADE April 2009.

For further information, please contact:

Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE)
American Dietetic Association
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 6060-6995
(312) 899-4817
Email: cdr@eatright.org
Web site: http://www.eatright.org/cade