Certificate

Distance Dietetic Internship

Overview

The Distance Dietetic Internship is a nine-month Graduate Certificate program that provides 12 hours of graduate credit through internship seminar courses and supervised practice experiences during rotations in Clinical, Community, and Food Service.

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).

Illinois State University is proud to offer an online Master of Science in Nutrition pathway that can be completed during or after the distance dietetic internship certificate program. Visit the Sequence of Courses page for more details.

Program Overview

The program prepares students to be competent entry-level registered dietitian nutritionists and lifelong learners in the community by providing a variety of opportunities to increase their capacity for inquiry, logical thinking, critical analysis, synthesis, and leadership as they apply theory to practice. Individuals will develop skills in the areas of clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and food service management.

As a participant in the certificate program, you'll have the flexibility to establish your experience anywhere in the U.S. with the approval of the program. The Distance Dietetic Internship program has a growing preceptor pool across the nation to help support you as you build your supervised practice schedule.

This certificate program is approved to match 50 interns. The program may preselect applicants who are already taking graduate courses in our department.

This program uses the online centralized internship application, Dietetic Internship Centralized Application Services (DICAS).

An on-campus visit or video conference is always encouraged. Please feel free to contact Dr. Schumacher, Mrs. Byrd, or Mrs. Kollmann to arrange a time to discuss the exciting opportunities at Illinois State.

This program is designed for someone who has their undergraduate degree, completed a didactic program in dietetics and possess a DPD verification statement. Alternate dietetic pathways at Illinois State University include a Master of Science degree in Nutrition or a combined Master of Science degree in Nutrition with a Dietetic Internship.

Point of Pride

Several graduate students in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences published their theses in peer-reviewed journals.

Kaitlin Byrd
(309) 438-4608
Turner 203A

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How to Apply

Additional Program Admission Requirements

A student applying to this program must:

Complete at least a Bachelor's degree
Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
Complete a didactic program in dietetics (DPD) with a DPD verification statement
Preferred: completion of a minimum of 150 hours of paid or volunteer work experience in food service and/or nutrition care

A student applying to this program must participate in the DICAS and DND Digital national matching services by the February deadline. Please visit the Dietetic Internship website for additional information.

The GRE is not required.
International students need a minimum TOEFL score of 79.

References

When completing the application form through DICAS, applicants must include the name and contact information (specifically an email address) for each reference (total of 3). This will trigger an email message requesting completion of an online reference form.

Personal Statement

Applicants who apply to internships using DICAS will be asked to complete a personal statement. You should use your personal statement to address as the following questions:

Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
Discuss experiences that have helped to prepare you for a distance learning program.
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
What are your strengths and weaknesses or areas needing improvement?

The personal statements has a 1,000 word limit.

Transcripts

Official transcripts should be sent to:
DICAS-Transcript Dept
PO Box 9118
Watertown, MA 02471

Application Fee

Our program's application submission fee is $35 for each internship track (if applying to both tracks, submit $70). We only accept online payments.

Submit your application fee.

Applying to the Graduate Program

Students who are matched to the distance dietetic internship will need to apply to Illinois State’s Graduate Certificate Program through the Graduate School application. Official transcripts will be sent to Illinois State with that application.

Students who are matched to the distance dietetic internship and pursue the optional Masters pathway will also need to apply to the Master of Science in Nutrition program through the Graduate School application.

Graduate school applications require a $50 application fee.

How to Apply for Preselect

We accept preselect applications only from Illinois State University students in either the accelerated master’s sequence (FND dietetics sequence), or senior dietetics sequence students, or current Illinois State University Master’s of Science in Nutrition students.

Applicants for preselect must submit their materials using the link below by October 15 in the fall prior to the year they intend to complete the internship. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status prior to fall break each year. Students selected via preselect, will need to submit their supervised practice schedule to the program for approval by April 3rd, 2023. Note that interns preselected will not participate in computer matching through D&D Digital, however if not selected, students can apply to other internships through the computer matching process.

If you are not preselected to our internship, we encourage you to reapply during the match process as you may still have potential to match with our programs. If you have individual questions about your eligibility after the preselect process, please direct questions to the Assistant DI director.

Preselect Application Materials
Open to Illinois State University students only

Resume
Distance DI Pre-Select Applicants Only:
A. Complete preceptor recruitment tracker
B. Sample preceptor recruitment email
Application submission fee of $35 (see application fee above).

Once your pre-select application has been received, you will be notified to schedule an interview.

Start Your Preselect Application

Application Deadlines

The Distance Internship uses the online centralized internship application, DICAS. The online application must be completed for our program by 11:59 PM Central Time on February 15.

Applicants must also register online for computer matching with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Internship Matching service, D & D Digital. This service is necessary for you to rank your dietetic internship preferences.

Further information about computer matching applicant responsibilities can be found on the ACEND website.

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Graduate Assistantships

Assistantships are not available for this program.

Costs & Funding

See Student Accounts for information on tuition and fees. Funding for graduate students is available from several different sources. Students who have been admitted from contiguous states including Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin will receive in-state tuition.