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Nutrition and Dietetics
Our Nutrition and Dietetics programs feature faculty and staff who are student-oriented and committed to excellence in teaching. Our caring advisors are ready to assist you in your learning endeavors. Each of our faculty and staff is a specialist and possesses advanced degrees and credentials in their respective discipline. Our faculty enjoy working closely with both undergraduate and graduate students on in-depth research projects.
Signing a dietetic major
Dietetics is a professional program and acceptance into an accredited dietetic internship is competitive. No college or university can guarantee that a student completing its dietetics program will be accepted into a dietetic internship. Therefore, fifty signed dietetic majors per academic year will be admitted through monitored enrollment. Admission requirements, retention, and termination standards can be accessed either in the current dietetics handbook.
In order to sign a dietetics major, you must have a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. If you intend to major in dietetics, the earlier you contact your advisor and plan your program, the easier it will be for you to complete the major. This is especially true for students planning to transfer to CMU from other colleges and universities. You will sign under the most current bulletin year, even if a different bulletin is being followed for degree requirements. You are assigned a faculty advisor for signing the dietetics major based on your last name. Transfer students are encouraged to contact their advisor a full semester before planning to attend CMU.
Additional information
- Review the current dietetics handbook for information regarding careers in dietetics, required courses, and the dietetic internship application.
- All signed majors are encouraged to be a student member of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and CMU's Student Dietetic Association.
- After signing a dietetics major, you will gain access to all required documentation on the Dietetics Program Blackboard shell.
How to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts who have met the following criteria to earn the RD credential:
- Completed a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at the US regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND®) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Completed an ACEND®-accredited supervised practice program and master's degree OR completed an ACEND accredited Future Education Model (FEM) graduate program.
- Passed a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). For more information regarding the examination, refer to theCDR website.
- Completed continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.
"Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master's degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In order 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 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement, visit the CDR website. In addition, CDR requires that individuals 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 dietetics program at Central Michigan University are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program/apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN."
ACEND accreditation
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 ACEND accredited/approved DPD programs, which are verified by the program director, receive the VS, which is required for applying to dietetic internships. Graduates who complete an accredited dietetic internship and a master's degree or FEM are eligible to write the CDR Registration Examination for Dietitians. An accreditation site visit by ACEND occurred at CMU on March 27-29, 2022. Both the DPD and CMU Dietetic Internship received the continuation of accreditation status to June 30, 2030.
For additional information, please contact:
Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)
120 South Riverside Plaza
Suite 2190
Chicago, IL 60606-6995
(312)899-0040 x5400
Email: acend@eatright.org
