Admissions

To be eligible to apply for the Doctorate in Nutrition and Dietetics program you need to meet the following requirements.

• Completion of all prerequisite courses for non-dietetic majors OR verification statement from an ACEND-accredited didactic program in dietetics.

• Completed—or will complete—your undergraduate bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university, college or foreign equivalent as determined by a recognized credentialing agency, before your intended fall start date.

• Earned a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

• Current manager-level food safety certification. You may have one of the following certifications or equivalent:
  • ServSafe Manager Certificate
  • National Registry of Food Safety Professionals (NRFSP) Food Safety Manager Certificate

Prior Course Credit

Transfer of graduate credit

Doctoral students with work experience as food system managers or clinical dietitians may be given credit for required DND courses following demonstration of competency.

To qualify for prior learning credit, the doctoral student must have a minimum of six months’ full-time employment as a food systems manager or clinical dietitian. Doctoral students seeking prior learning credit will be assigned an experienced preceptor/faculty who will evaluate their competency following an agreed-upon length of time, usually one to two weeks. For example, a doctoral student with significant experience as a clinical dietitian would be assigned an experienced preceptor for the Clinical II nutrition rotation. At the end of the week, the preceptor would evaluate the doctoral student’s performance. Subsequent rotations will be designed based on the competency level and interests of the doctoral student. Doctoral students judged to have insufficient competency would complete the usual coursework and supervised practice experiences.

Applicants who have earned a master’s degree may apply up to 30 credit hours toward the DND course requirements depending on review of the course syllabi by DND faculty.

1. If coming from an ACEND-accredited didactic program in dietetics (DPD), secure a verification statement from your program. If not coming from a DPD program, be sure to complete the required prerequisites. If you do not have a verification statement, or have not yet completed your bachelor's degree, you will need to submit a Declaration of Intent to Complete form. Enter your information, print the form emailed to you, obtain necessary signatures, and submit as a document upload.
2. Craft a personal statement, including your career aspirations. Tips for writing are included on the IU CAS graduate application page.
3. Find your ServSafe Certificate at the manager level, the Food Safety Manager Certificate from NRSFP, or an equivalent.
4. Plan to secure two letters of recommendation to submit to DICAS. You will need the names and email addresses of your submitters. Please make your recommenders aware of your application deadline giving them three to four weeks to prepare. They will be sent a link to submit the letters.
5. Request official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended to submit to DICAS. Please allow additional time for international transcripts. Send by email to hprofadv@iu.edu or mail to: School of Health & Human Sciences, Attn: SHHS Graduate Admissions Coordinator, 1050 Wishard Blvd., Third Floor, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
6. Be prepared to pay application fee.
7. GRE test scores are not required.