Marywood's nutrition and dietetics program will prepare you to become a food and nutrition expert who can use evidence-based interventions to help people achieve their individual health goals.

Preparation for Dietetic Internship and RDN Exam

Our accredited didactic program in dietetics will put you on the path to becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). Upon completion of the program, you will receive a verification statement that qualifies you to apply for an accredited dietetic internship. After completing your internship, you will be eligible to take the national RDN exam.

Spanish Curriculum

As the Hispanic population in the United States increases, so does the demand for health care professionals who can serve this population. Marywood's nutrition and dietetics program is one of just a handful nationwide that offers both a traditional and a Spanish emphasis course of study that includes a study abroad component. Studying nutrition and learning Spanish at the same time will give you a distinct advantage over other applicants for internships and jobs, and it may even earn you a higher salary.

Five Year Options

Students have the option of earning their bachelor's and master's degrees in just 5 years. Qualified undergraduate students can choose to earn a combined BS/MS degree, along with their DPD Verification Statement (VS) in 5 years, making them eligible to apply to a dietetic internship program.  Additionally, eligible students can choose to earn a BS/MS degree, their DPD VS, and complete their supervised practice experience in preparation of meeting all criteria to sit for the national examination for RDNs. Advanced coursework begins in the "bridge" year overlapping the fourth year of undergraduate study and the first year of graduate work. The fifth year encompasses the supervised practice component with rotations in facility sites including community nutrition, food systems management, medical nutrition therapy, and professional practice.

Why Choose Marywood's Program?

We use an individualized approach to providing a high quality, broad-based educational experience that empowers graduates to develop skills needed for future specializations. We offer a challenging but supportive and nurturing environment that facilitates both professional and personal growth. Experiential learning opportunities and personalized guidance with the internship application process are also provided. Our Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SAND) is actively engaged on-campus and in the surrounding community.

More About This Degree

• Learn more about this program or visit the Nutrition and Dietetics website.
• College of Health and Human Services
• Courses: Available courses in this department
• This program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics
  

  The didactic program and dietetic internship program in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

All nutrition students have the opportunity to conduct hands-on work in the world-class O’Neill Center for Healthy Families. The center features:

• A fully equipped healthy cooking classroom
• A food science lab with testing equipment, blast chiller and rethermalization unit, metabolic kitchen, ingredient room, and food-prep area
• A sensory evaluation lab, allowing students to test food made in the food science lab

Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) work in a wide variety of professional fields, including health care, business and industry, public health, education, research, and private practice.

Undergraduate Admissions Requirements

• Official SAT and/or ACT scores
• Completed application
• Essay
• Official transcripts
• Letter of recommendation

Find Your Counselor

All students who declare a major in nutrition and dietetics are admitted to the Nutrition and Dietetics Department and are placed in a program sequence that enables them to be accepted into the DPD before the start of their junior-level courses. To be eligible for admission to the DPD, a student must have an overall GPA of ≥ 3.00 and have earned a grade of C+ or better in all ND-coded professional didactic courses and an S (Satisfactory) in all ND-coded labs. Students who do not receive a grade of C+/S or better will be required to repeat the course/lab at the next available opportunity in order to stay in the program. Additionally, students must have completed or be enrolled in the following courses at the time of acceptance in the DPD:

The DPD program consists of at least a total of 65 DPD Professional (53 ND-coded course credits and 12 required liberal arts credits) and 18 DPD Science course credits. In addition to completion of the courses listed above, students in the DPD must also complete the following courses to earn a DPD Verification Statement:

All students majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics are eligible for a minor in Science if an additional 3 credits are taken in a science course designated for Science majors. Additionally, students are encouraged to consider pursuing a minor in areas other than Science if desired. A candidate for a baccalaureate degree at Marywood University must present a minimum of 120 undergraduate credits of college work that fulfill all general, departmental, and program requirements. The degree requirements are typically met within four years (8 semesters) for a traditional student. This timeframe varies for nontraditional students.

Another requirement of the DPD is to maintain memberships with the following professional organizations:

• The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics http://www.eatright.org/BecomeanRDorDTR/content_aspx?id=8141
• The student’s state affiliate (which is included in the Academy membership)
• North East Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NE PAND) http://www.eatrightnepa.org/
• Marywood University’s Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SAND).

SAND provides students with opportunities to develop as professional leaders by involvement in community and on-campus nutrition activities. It is because of this, in addition to membership with SAND, all DPD students are required to attend two SAND meetings and actively participate in two SAND-sponsored events per semester.

In addition to the traditional DPD curriculum requirements, students following the Spanish Emphasis DPD curriculum option must also complete a minimum of 18 credits, approved by the Foreign Language Department, in Spanish before graduation. At least half of these credits must be earned through Marywood University. Additionally, students following this curriculum study abroad in a Latin American country for a portion of the spring semester of their senior year. During the semester abroad, the students complete Spanish credits in addition to any other outstanding required credits to earn their BS in Nutrition and Dietetics/Spanish degree. This curriculum option enhances the graduates’ linguistic and cultural competence and better prepares them to serve the Hispanic population.

Undergraduate students in the DPD can also choose to earn a combined BS in Nutrition and Dietetics/MS in Nutrition degree in five years. This accelerated option requires students to complete a minimum of 120 undergraduate degree credits and 36 graduate-level degree credits. Students completing the combined degree also fulfill the ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics Verification Statement requirements. This statement will be issued upon completion of the BS degree and DPD requirements.

DPD students who meet additional requirements can choose to apply to be preselected into Marywood’s ACEND Accredited Dietetic Internship. These students would earn a BS, DPD certification, MS in Nutrition & DI certification in 5 years and would be eligible to sit for the RDN exam.

Nutrition and Wellness Track

The Nutrition and Wellness track provides a broad based educational curriculum, which includes preparation in the liberal arts, science, health, nutrition, and psychology. This educational framework provides the knowledge, skills, and values needed for successful entry into graduate school or a career using a nutrition and wellness background.

The Nutrition and Wellness track is not accredited by ACEND, therefore it does not lead to an accredited dietetic internship or other currently approved route to registration. Graduates of this track will not be eligible to sit for the national registration examination for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN).

All undergraduate students follow this track upon admission to the Nutrition and Dietetics Department. If a student does not meet the acceptance criteria for the DPD, the student remains in this Nutrition and Wellness track. Additionally, students can select this program after they complete their second year-level courses if they are not interested in pursuing the RDN credential. Students following this track may consider earning a minor in science and or Psychology.

A candidate for a baccalaureate degree at Marywood University must present a minimum of 120 undergraduate credits of college work that fulfill all general, departmental, and program requirements. The degree requirements are typically met within four years (8 semesters) for a traditional student. This timeframe varies for nontraditional students.

Curriculum Requirements for Minors in Nutrition and Dietetics

18 credits

Students must demonstrate competence (a minimum of C) in the following courses for a minor in Nutrition and Dietetics:

Student must select one course from the following: