The Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) is a food and nutrition expert who has met the academic and professional requirements to qualify for the Registration Examination for Dietitians. Registered dietitian nutritionists work in a variety of settings that include, but are not limited to, hospitals, pri¬vate practice, health-care facilities, community and public health, food and nutrition industry, business, sports nutrition, corporate wellness programs, academia, and research.
The UW Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPND) is nationally accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The program provides the required dietetics coursework needed to pursue an approved post-graduation supervised practice experience - dietetic internship. The academic requirements and supervised practice experience must be completed before the student is eligible for the Registration Examination for Dietitians administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the Academy.
Completion of this degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours that include a) University Studies requirements (USP), b) departmental core curriculum, and c) specific courses for this program. Courses should be selected in consultation with a student’s advisor to enhance the student’s educational experience and to ensure fulfillment of upper division course requirements (42 credit hours overall with 30 taken from UW).
Entrance into the DPND is made only through an application process. Each prospective DPND student will initially enter the Human Nutrition and Food option. It is recommended that students apply to the DPND in the spring semester of their sophomore year. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 is required for program admission.
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