Becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Students who graduate from SUNY Oneonta and meet all DPD requirements will receive a Verification Statement from the program director. People who hold a BA/BS in another field may also apply to complete the DPD courses and/or earn a second degree in dietetics and earn a DPD Verification Statement.

Program of Study

Graduates are then eligible to apply for an ACEND accredited dietetic supervised practice program. SUNY Oneonta offers a Pre-Select Option for SUNY Oneonta dietetics majors to gain early acceptance into our online M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program

Supervised Practice

By completing an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program (1,200 hours), students master expected competencies and demonstrate skill in applying what they have learned. There are a limited number of appointments to supervised practice programs available each year and the programs are competitive, with a "match" (acceptance) rate of about 60% nationwide.

SUNY Oneonta’s match rate is substantially higher than the national average. We are proud to report that our internship acceptance rate for the past three years has been 91% (2017), 88% (2018), 100% (2019), and 100% (2020).

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics maintains a list of accredited of DSPPs. There are 3 types of accredited supervised practice programs that students can choose to apply to: 1) Dietetic Internships, 2) Future Education Model Graduate Programs, and 3) Coordinated Masters programs.

During these programs, students will gain experience in the three major areas of dietetics: clinical dietetics, community and nutrition education, and food systems management. Many offer additional experiences in research, sports nutrition, pediatrics, culinary nutrition, retail nutrition, informatics, food sustainability, and other related areas. Programs also vary by length, location, online vs face-to-face, and whether there is graduate credit earned or Master’s degree upon completion. Dietetic internships without graduate degree may be 9 months long, while programs combined with a graduate degree may be anywhere from 16 to 32 months.

You can apply to supervised practice programs in the spring of your senior year and, if accepted, you will typically start the program in summer or fall. You will be responsible for the tuition and all other expenses associated with that program.

The dietetic program director and faculty provide assistance in the application process for supervised practice programs however, completion of the DPD does not guarantee placement in a supervised practice program. A unique feature of our curriculum is NUTR 300 Dietetics Professional Seminar which provides detailed information about applying to supervised practice programs. Improving the chances of being a successful applicant begins in the first year of college by working to obtain and maintain the best possible GPA, acquiring extensive volunteer experience, being active in student organizations and working closely with dietetics faculty. Professional behavior is a must. Some students opt to take a year between graduation and the supervised practice to gain this extensive experience.

Pre-Select Option for M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program

SUNY Oneonta offers a Pre-Select Option for DPD seniors in our online M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program. This Future Education Model Graduate Program integrates supervised experiential learning with graduate coursework and can be completed in one year. With the Pre-Select Option, a senior DPD student at SUNY Oneonta will apply for the online M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program in the fall of senior year. The same selection process and criteria will be used to evaluate the Pre-Select Option candidates as is normally used.

Pre-Select Option seats are limited, so if you think that you might be interested, please review the program website, attend an information session (held every semester), and contact the director of the online M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program early in your college career.

M.S. Requirement Effective January 1, 2024

Effective in 2024, all students enrolled in the DPD program must be prepared to complete a master's degree in any major if they intend to become registered dietitians. A typical education guideline will be four years for the B.S. degree, completion of the accredited 1,200-hour internship, and two years for the master's degree. The SUNY Oneonta online M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Program combines the internship and master's degree in a three-semester program.

For more information on the dietetic internship, please review the Guidelines for Dietetic Internship Application section below.

The Registration Exam is administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for those who have successfully completed the first two steps. Considerable information about the RDN exam is available from the CDR website. More information about becoming an RDN and the RDN exam.

Students who earn their RDN credential and want to practice as Dietitians may need to apply for licensure, before they are eligible practice dietetics and provide nutrition counseling in states that require licensure. Licensing statutes include an explicitly defined scope of practice, and performance of the profession is illegal without first obtaining a license from the state. A list of the states that require licensure is available on the Commission on Dietetic Registration website. In New York State, graduates must obtain certification to practice through New York State Education Department Office of Professions. Licensure will soon be available in the state of New York.

SUNY Oneonta’s three-year average pass rate for the RDN credentialing exam is 96%, which is well above the programmatic goal of 80%.

Computer matching is a twice-a-year matching process that serves as a clearinghouse to help applicants obtain Dietetic Internship positions of their choice and to help Dietetic Internships obtain applicants of their choice. It eliminates unfair pressures and premature decisions on and by programs to accept or reject applicants, and it eliminates unfair pressures on applicants to accept or reject an appointment into a Dietetic Internship. ACEND has contracted with D & D Digital Systems to facilitate matching through this computerized process.

You may apply to as many programs as you wish. You will need to rank all programs applied to in order of preference on D&D. The computer uses this information to match applicants to a program.

Each supervised practice program reviews its own applications and submits a priority listing of acceptable applicants to D&D, along with the number of positions to be filled. Computer matching does not change the applicant's or program's selection process. You will not be matched to a program whose name does not appear on your priority listing.

Before matching begins, the applicant priority lists and the supervised practice program lists are "cleaned." If a program does not rank an applicant, that program is removed from the applicant's list. If an applicant does not rank a program, the applicant is removed from the program's list. Then, the matching occurs using the applicant's prioritized list and the programs' prioritized lists until all possible matches are complete. The process is explained in detail in the "Instructions to Applicants" provided by D&D Digital Systems.

No. Each student is given only one match (their highest priority choice for which a match with a program occurs).

You must notify D&D Digital Systems prior to the drop deadline if you decide to withdraw from the matching process. The fee will not be refunded.

No. Programs and applicants are not told how they were ranked by each other. All information submitted to D&D is kept confidential. Only the applicants are given the final results of their applications. Each supervised practice program is provided with the names of the applicants it obtains in the match.

You will be given a password to log into D&D for the results of the matching process. D&D also provides each program director with a list of applicants matched to its program. If you receive a match, you will be required to notify the program via a certified letter to the program director to confirm the acceptance or rejection of the computer match.

D&D posts a listing of unmatched applicants who have agreed to release their names for programs following the matching. It will also post a list of DI Programs that did not fill. DIs may contact unmatched applicants to fill positions after appointment day has occurred. Unmatched applicants can also contact DIs with openings to apply for an opening.

All costs are borne by the applicant. Applicants must pay a fee when submitting their rank-ordered lists to D&D Digital Systems.

Yes. Applicants should be advised to submit the application to graduate school at the same time the supervised practice application is submitted. The program's list of preferred applicants will include those who also meet the graduate school requirements.

You should carefully consider all aspects of each supervised practice program to which you are applying. Consider the length of program, when the program begins, tuition or fees charged, stipends, graduate credits, housing and availability of financial aid.

If you need time to assimilate information, select programs that are 12 months or more in length rather than shorter programs. All ACEND supervised practice programs must have a minimum number of 1,200 clock hours of experience. Shorter programs typically feature faster paced experiences, more on-duty hours per week and little or no vacation time.

If your financial resources are severely limited, give preference to programs that provide some compensation in the form of a stipend or room and board rather than those that charge substantial fees or tuition. Some programs may require only 20 hours of training per week, thus allowing students to obtain outside employment.