
Lisa Brown
- Associate Professor and Director of the Dietetic Internship Program
The Simmons University Dietetic Internship Program can either be completed as a stand-alone graduate certificate in nutrition for those who have completed a master’s degree and hold a DPD verification statement, or as part of our combined masters in nutrition and health promotion + dietetic internship for those who have a bachelor’s degree and hold a DPD verification statement.
Both pathways are appropriate for students pursuing eligibility to sit for the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist exam and earn the (RDN) credential.
To begin the dietetic internship program students must hold an undergraduate degree and have completed the didactic course requirements (through an accredited DPD program) as required by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
Our students benefit from rotations in acute care, food service, public health, community health, state government-based or non-profit nutrition, counseling and education and research and professional practice. The internship's focus is on community nutrition, and health promotion and wellness. In our community nutrition concentration, Our students build on evidence-based research — highlighting culturally and economically sensitive standards of practice, nutritional care and disease prevention. In our treatment of eating disorders concentration, students are prepared didactically to work with individuals with eating disorders and also receive supervised practice experience in various levels of care.
Up to twelve students are accepted into our stand-alone dietetic internship, and up to twelve are accepted into our Master of Science and Dietetic Internship (MSDI) combined program. The Dietetic Internship at Simmons University is a full time program. For more information about our internship and the different tracks, please refer to the links below.
Upon graduation, they are ready to practice as entry level practitioners in community nutrition, health promotion, acute care, and food service management.
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). In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor's degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR's Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement visit CDR's website: CRDnet.org/graduatedegree.
In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited DPD program at Simmons University are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program/apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN.
In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. For more information about state licensure requirements see EatRightPro.org/advocacy
For more information about educational pathways to become a RDN, visit the Students and Advancing Education section of EatRightPro.org.
Our Dietetic Internship is accredited by ACEND and meets their requirements by providing at least 1000 hours of supervised practice, and trains students in the knowledge and practical skills necessary to be eligible to take the Registered Dietitian (RD) examination administered through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Satisfactory completion of both the coursework and the supervised practice components are required to receive a dietetic internship verification statement, stating the program graduate is eligible to take the Commission on Dietetic Registration's RDN exam. After successfully passing the RDN exam, the individual can use the RDN credential and is then required to maintain credentialing though continuing education as required by CDR. Dietitians may have to maintain licensure for their state, if applicable. For more information about DPD and Dietetic Internship programs, go to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website.
The Simmons University Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
ACEND® can be contacted by:
Email:[email protected]
Phone: 800/877-1600, ext. 5400
Mail: 120 South Riverside Plaza
Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995
The MSDI program starts in the fall semester and continues throughout the first academic calendar year (including the following summer) with graduate courses. Starting in September of the second year, MSDI interns will then follow the schedule for the stand-alone internship program (see above). Additional graduate courses may be required during the second year.
The stand-alone internship program consists of several supervised practice rotations that take place annually between the months of September and early May. Interns follow a schedule laid out by the internship director and assistant director and do not follow the official Simmons University Academic Calendar. The start and end dates, as well as the winter break schedule, is provided to all interns in the "Welcome Letter" sent out annually in May. There is a two-week vacation for the last week in December and the first week in January. The final rotation schedule is provided to each intern by the first day of orientation. Interns are expected to be in their supervised practice sites 5 days a week (36 hours/week). Interns in the stand-alone program will register for Nutrition 451a (fall semester) and Nutrition 451b (spring semester), which includes the supervised practice, weekly internship classes and review days, and Joint Internship classes with Boston area dietetic internship programs. Interns are also expected to register for the graduate course Nutrition 452: Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation in the fall semester (evening course).
Simmons has two options for completing the dietetic internship.
Up to twelve students are accepted into our full-time stand-alone internship program. This program is a 35-week program that includes all supervised practice hours and one course that may be applied for graduate credit. Students have the option of also applying to any of our graduate programs, but admission for any additional programs is separate.
The first year of the MSDI and certain rotations can be completed as an online/distance student. Students choosing to do the program via distance learning need to have access to a computer that can accommodate video conferencing software, and reliable internet access
Up to twelve students will be accepted into our combined MSDI program in which students complete both the Master’s in Nutrition and Health Promotion and the dietetic internship over a two-year period (5 semesters including one summer). In this track, students will need to complete all supervised practice and master’s requirements before they may be issued a verification statement. Students in this track complete the Master’s in Nutrition and Health Promotion, and choose either the Research or the Entrepreneurship track.
The Simmons dietetic internship offers one concentration track for the Stand-alone track: Community Nutrition (CN). In this concentration, interns will complete rotations in community health centers, public health and wellness-focused settings. Our students build on evidence-based research — highlighting culturally and economically sensitive standards of practice, nutritional care and disease prevention.
The Simmons MSDI track offers two concentrations for dietetics interns. Approved as of summer 2017, MSDI interns may apply to complete the Treatment of Eating Disorders concentration instead of the Community Nutrition concentration (CN). All interns will automatically be enrolled in the CN concentration unless they apply and are then accepted into the eating disorder concentration. Preference is given to interns in our MSDI track, or who have completed their Masters in Nutrition and Health Promotion at Simmons in the past 10 years. Only a limited number of slots are available, and the number varies each year depending on available supervised practice sites. Of those interns accepted into the Eating Disorder Treatment Concentration, they will experience 4 weeks at a community oriented rotation, and the remaining 12 weeks will be in various levels of care in eating disorder treatment facilities and practices.
All interns in this track must take NUTR 420: Treatment of Eating Disorders in the fall semester in the first year of the program, and will complete their focused rotations in the spring of the second internship year.
Simmons DI Program Completion Requirements
Verification statements will be provided to interns upon graduation when all of the following have been completed to the satisfaction of the internship faculty:
Upon completion of all dietetic internship requirements as listed above, information for all interns will be submitted to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for eligibility to sit for the RDN examination.
Simmons Dietetic Internship Program Mission
To prepare interns to be competent, ethical entry level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who build on evidence based research and standards of practice and standards of professional performance to provide nutritional care, health promotion and disease prevention that is culturally and economically sensitive. Our graduates will develop an appreciation for life-long learning to increase knowledge and enhance professional development.
Simmons Dietetic Internship Program Goals
Since the profession of dietetics is built on a conceptual framework that is constantly changing as a result of the discovery of new operational principles, evidenced based research and standards of practice, the dietetic internship's goals are:
Simmons University Program Goal #1
Graduates will be prepared for a career using their intellectual and clinical skills to competently function as entry level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.
Program Goal #1 Outcome Measures
Simmons University Program Goal #2
Graduates will be prepared as entry-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to participate in continuous learning and professional development activities, and exhibit leadership.
Program Goal #2 Outcome Measures
*Program Outcomes data are available upon request.
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