Post-Baccalaureate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Certificate | Food Science & Human Nutrition

Degree requirement: Bachelor’s degree required
Program length: 20-22 courses (18-24 months depending on prior coursework completed)
Format: In-person and online
More detailed information below.

Are you interested in how food affects a person's health? Do you care about helping people make great choices about food as fuel? Dietetics might be the right path for you – especially if you want to go into one of the fastest-growing careers in the United States.

Dietetics brings together physical and social sciences to address today's nutrition and health issues. As a dietetics student, you will study the high-tech science of applying knowledge of food and nutrition to improve and maintain good health. This vital and growing field is open to creativity, with endless opportunities for you to pursue an important career.

Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) work in various settings, including health care, business and industry, community/public health, education, research, government agencies, and private practice. Many of these environments require that an individual be credentialed as a RDN.

This certificate program's target audience is students who already have a bachelor's degree and wish to complete their Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) requirements to obtain their DPD Verification Statement. The DPD Verification Statement is required for entry into the Dietetic Internship. This certificate program is a non-degree program and offers the ACEND-accredited DPD coursework requirements. Completion of the ACEND-accredited DPD is the first requirement to become a RDN. The RDN credential also requires successful completion of an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship and passing the national Commission on Dietetic Registration exam.

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Certificate Enrollment

To declare your desire to complete the Post-Baccalaureate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Certificate, please fill out the Certificate Enrollment Form. Please note that you will need to keep track of your classes and ensure completion of the certificate on your own.

Enrollment form

Admissions Requirements

Admissions requirements for the DPD certificate:

Minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0
Pre-requisite courses of General Chemistry Lecture and Laboratory I & II and Organic Chemistry Lecture and Laboratory I.

All students must maintain a 3.0/4.0 GPA to obtain the DPD Verification Statement Policy upon completion of the certificate program.

Certificate students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, including FSHN 340, FSHN 420, FSHN 429, and FSHN 459. The DPD Director will evaluate transfer courses on a case-by-case basis. Students in the DPD Certificate Program can take the FSHN 101 and FSHN 150 Proficiency Exams. Courses at the 400 or 500 level may be counted towards a MS degree.

Pre-requisites

CHEM 102 General Chemistry I
CHEM 103 General Chemistry Lab I
CHEM 104 General Chemistry II
CHEM 105 General Chemistry Lab II
CHEM 232 Elementary Organic Chemistry
CHEM 233 Elementary Organic Chemistry Lab I

Coursework

MCB 100 Introductory Microbiology
MCB 101 Introductory Microbiology Laboratory
MCB 244 or FSHN 250 or FSHN 595, Human Anatomy & Physiology I or Nutritional Physiology I or Concepts in Nutritional Physiology I
MCB 246 or FSHN 251 or FSHN 595, Human Anatomy & Physiology II or Nutritional Physiology II or Concepts in Nutritional Physiology II
CHLH 250 Health Care Systems
FSHN 101 The Science of Food and How it Relates to You (Proficiency Exam option)
FSHN 150 Introduction to Dietetics (Proficiency Exam option)
FSHN 220 or FSHN 595, Principles of Nutrition or Nutrition for Food Scientists
FSHN 232 Science of Food Preparation
FSHN 249 Food Service Sanitation
FSHN 322 Nutrition and the Lifecycle
FSHN 329 Communication in Nutrition
FSHN 340 Food Production and Service
FSHN 345 Strategic Operations Management
FSHN 349 Food Service Sanitation
FSHN 420 Nutritional Aspects of Disease
FSHN 426 Nutritional Biochemistry
FSHN 427 Nutritional Biochemistry II
FSHN 428 Community Nutrition
FSHN 429 Nutrition Assessment and Therapy
FSHN 450 Dietetics Professional Issues
FSHN 459 Nutrition Focused Physical Assessment
Dietetics Concentration Elective: Choose one course from the following departments related to dietetics: CHLH, FSHN, HDFS, KIN 300-499, ETMA 311, or BIOC 455

Certificate Completion

Upon successful completion of certificate requirements, please fill out the Certificate Completion form to alert the certificate coordinator of your completion. Please fill this out during the semester of your last course required for the certificate. The certificate coordinator will check your course work to ensure you have completed all of the requirements, and then a certificate will be either mailed to you or available for pick up.

Certificate completion form

Justine Karduck

Ph.D., RDN, LDN, CDCES

217-300-0181
karduck@illinois.edu

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