What do I do if I have previous coursework?

Generally a student with a life science-related Bachelor’s degree can complete the required coursework in two years or possibly less time with up to 3 – 4 courses taken during their last fall and spring semesters. Students with a non-science degree will, in general, require two to three years because of course prerequisite requirements with one year for the general science courses and other possible deficiencies and then two years for the upper-level science and food, nutrition, and dietetics related courses.

Some of the lower level courses may be offered at local community colleges, upper level courses are generally only offered at four-year schools, while only accredited DPD programs, like ISU, offer the dietetics courses. If you have another degree, or prior degree or coursework from another school, Dr. Robert Cullen, the DPD Program Director, must evaluate your past courses to determine what classes you must take to complete the CADA Standards of Education requirements and be eligible to receive a Verification Statement of Program Completion from ISU. Additional information about the DPD program and courses is available at our DPD program web site and in the Undergraduate Catalog. An excellent source of information about dietetics careers, resources and education requirements to become a R.D. is available at the following American Dietetic Association web site.

If you want to complete your undergraduate DPD coursework at ISU you have three options for enrolling and taking the required DPD courses:

1) if you have a closely related Bachelor’s degree, enroll as a limited status graduate student.
2) enroll as an undergraduate student seeking a second degree in food, nutrition and dietetics (B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences; Food, Nutrition and Dietetics option).
3) enroll as a Master’s degree student and count up to 21 semester hours of your DPD course requirements toward your Master’s degree.

You do not want to choose option 3 if you are considering the ISU M.S.-DI program. Since our internship is a combined internship and Master’s degree, you must follow the 21-month M.S.- DI course sequence requirements and not have previously taken any of the required Master’s course requirements of this program. Option 1 is recommended for students with a previous Bachelor’s degree. Additional information about the Master’s degree and courses is available in the Graduate Catalog. The following American Dietetic Association web site provides additional information about career options in dietetics, steps to becoming a registered dietitian (R.D.), and the application process and acceptance procedure for internships.