Requirements For a Registered Dietitian Degree
What are the general requirements for a registered dietitian degree?
- You must receive a four year degree from an accredited academic institution.
- It is necessary to complete an American Dietetic Association accredited internship.
- Take and pass the Registered Dietitian examination which is administrated by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
These days it is becoming more and more popular for individuals wishing to get a registered dietitian degree online instead of attending classes at brick and mortar colleges. This is because online classes offer flexibility for individuals who may not be able to fit traditional classes into their busy schedules.
While not required, it is common to also complete an undergraduate degree in nutritional science. This is because such a degree will typically include courses such as biology, nutrition, and chemistry.
These courses are a good foundation for the Bachelor Science in Nutrition, Dietetics, or Food Management, either of which are common degree choices if you are hoping to go on to become a registered dietitian.
After completing all of the classes that are required to get a dietician degree, another component that is necessary to complete to become a registered dietitian is to take part in an internship program.
These programs are designed to give clinical experience in a supervised setting and require that participants complete 1200 hours of experience in a wide variety of areas of the field such as food service, public health, and long term care nutrition to name a few. Once the program has been satisfactorily completed participants are eligible to sit for the Registered Dietitian exam.
Once you have completed all of the classes required to get a dietician degree, an internship has been successfully completed, and the Registered Dietitian exam has been passed, that is when you are considered to be a Registered Dietitian.
Nevertheless, some states also require additional licensing before allowing individuals to actually begin working. Once this last step is completed then dietitians should be fully eligible to work in a wide variety of different settings including hospitals and other types of health care facilities.