Berkeley Public Health Distance Dietetic Internship

1. Complete one of the following programs. Graduates are then eligible to write CDR’s Registration Examination for Dietitians to become credentialed as registered dietitians. Please note, effective January 1, 2024, CDR will beging requiring a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the exam. More information is available on CDR’s 2024 Graduate Degree Requirement webpage.

• • Option 1 – Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) + Dietetic Internship (DI)
    • ACEND accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) (bachelor’s and graduate-level) dietitian coursework only, which must be completed before the DI.
    • ACEND accredited DI (post-bachelor’s) at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice only. Some programs offer a graduate degree in conjunction with supervised practice. The Berkeley Public Health program is a DI that offers a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in conjunction with supervised practice.
  • Option 2 – Coordinated Program (CP)
    • ACEND accredited (bachelor’s and graduate-level) dietitian coursework and at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice.
  • Option 3 – Graduate Program (GP)

1. • • ACEND accredited (graduate-level) competency-based dietitian nutritionist program that integrates coursework and at least 1,000 hours of experiential learning. Please see the 21-month Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics (MNSD) program offered in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, which is a Future Education Model Graduate Program and provides the required coursework and supervised practice hours for RD credentialing examination eligibility.
2. Passed a national examination administered by CDR. For more information regarding the examination, refer to CDR’s website.
3. Completed continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.

In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice, however, California does not require licensure at this time. For more information regarding licensure, refer to AND’s Licensure webpage or CDR’s State Licensure Agency List of state and U.S. territory licensure and certification laws.

It’s an exciting time for the field of nutrition and dietetics! Both the number and variety of job prospects for RDNs are expanding. Learn more about the roles and career opportunities for RDNs on the AND Information for Students webpage.

[FAQ Document To Be Created]

We aim to create a new public health dietetic internship model with an Individual plus Policy, System, and Environmental (I+PSE) conceptual framework that will prepare students to tackle adaptive changes from clinic to the community, and from research (qualitative and quantitative) to policy and food systems. Our mission is to develop public health nutrition leaders who are experts in working with diverse communities and workplaces on disease prevention and management of health conditions as well as informing programs and policies that can address priority health needs and achieve health equity. Graduates will be able to apply an understanding of the interrelationship between food, nutrition, and health at a population level and have the skills needed to address the social determinants of health and transform the health of our communities, especially the most vulnerable.

Program Goal #1

Graduates will be confident and competent entry-level practitioners and fulfill the employment need for Registered Dietitians in the state where supervised practice is completed.

Objectives:

• At least 80% of interns complete program requirements within 3 years (150% of planned program length).
• Of graduates who seek employment, at least 90% percent are employed in nutrition and dietetics or related fields within 12 months of graduation.
• At least 80% percent of program graduates take the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists within 12 months of program completion.
• The program’s one-year pass rate (graduates who pass the registration exam within one year of first attempt) on the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists is at least 80%.
• 100% of employers who respond to a survey on program graduates in their first year of employment report ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ regarding the graduate’s knowledge and skill preparation for entry-level practice.
• Of graduates who seek employment, at least 50% will be employed in [state where supervised practice is completed] as Registered Dietitians or Public Health Nutritionists within 12 months of graduation.

Program Goal #2

Graduates will be public health nutrition leaders who incorporate systems-level thinking to assess social determinants of health; conduct nutrition research; create public policy; or implement/evaluate programs to address food systems issues.

Objectives:

• At least 75% of graduate survey respondents will indicate they will be employed in a leadership, managerial, or supervisory role within 2 years of program completion.
• At least 80% percent of graduate survey respondents will indicate they have      incorporated at least one of the following in their roles: systems-level thinking to assess social determinants of health; conducting nutrition research; creating public policy; or implementing or evaluating programs to address food systems issues.

Program Goal #3

Graduates will demonstrate cultural humility and expand their impact in the field of dietetics through leadership and continuing education opportunities.

Objectives:

• At least 90% of exit survey respondents respond “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to the following statement: Upon completion of my internship with the BPH DI, I feel prepared to demonstrate cultural humility in a variety of community settings and among diverse populations.
• At least 90% of graduate survey respondents report participating in at least one leadership or professional development activity within one year of program completion.

You must find your own supervised practice sites. All rotation sites require approval of the program.

We are unable to approve individual proposed sites until after an intern has been matched to our program. The information below provides details about what can be approved and what cannot be approved. Please note that all internships have different curriculums which are based on the same set of competencies. As such, a rotation site which may be appropriate for one internship’s curriculum may not be appropriate for Berkeley Public Health’s curriculum.

One site is allowed for each rotation. Splitting the time between sites in one rotation would require the preceptor to devote too much time preparing for the intern’s visit, causing the intern to lose valuable time orienting to their surroundings and preceptor, decreasing actual practice time, and increase the possibility of contracts/affiliation agreements between the internship and rotation sites too cumbersome for both the internship and the hosting facility to ensure completion of the agreement. Please note, you may not be employed by the facility through which you are rotating at the time you are at that site as an intern. More requirements can be found in the BPH DI Handbook.

Public Health Nutrition

Examples include community nutrition services that may be found in departments of public health, hospital and clinic outreach programs, social service agencies, community centers, government-funded public health programs (WIC, Head Start, Cooperative Extension, Expanded Food and Nutrition Program, SNAP-Ed, etc.), public school systems, or sites that have programs for school-aged children such as Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA which have a full-time nutrition component. This rotation is at the core of the program, wherein interns will apply principles of public health learned in class to address today’s complex health problems ranging from access to care, food insecurity, and policy change, to maternal health and beyond.

Food Service Management

Examples include hospitals, school nutrition programs, non-profit organizations, long-term care facilities, and educational institutions. This rotation focuses on aspects of producing and delivering nutrition and food, including procurement, storage, preparation, delivery, and customer service. Interns will complete activities involving quality improvement, sustainability, menu planning, and other management activities.

Outpatient Clinical

The clinical rotation will focus on outpatient nutrition care. Examples include outpatient facilities, health centers, or other community nutrition programs that deliver Medical Nutrition Therapy and utilize the Nutrition Care Process. Learning activities will prepare interns for professional practice with patients or clients with various conditions and across age groups.

Elective

Interns may choose to return to a previous site for a more in-depth experience or arrange a new site with approval from the DI Director.

Seminar 1

During the first seminar, students will learn tools to apply leadership frameworks in the dietetics field, undergo motivational interviewing training based in cultural humility and responsiveness, engage in discussions related to DEI principles in dietetics, and participate in other public health-oriented sessions to increase confidence and create a foundation for continuous growth and learning throughout the program and beyond. The DEI series will set the stage for producing competent professionals who are attuned to diversity issues that impact the delivery of nutrition services, appreciate the impact diversity has on health issues in society, and recognize the need for diversity in the profession.

Seminar 2

This rigorous course will be structured to follow the human life cycle and offer opportunities to practice providing nutrition care for individuals with multiple disease states and across a diverse range of populations, cultures, and age groups in a clinical setting. Interns will complete case studies on the EHR Go platform and other alternate practice activities.

To be considered for admission to Berkeley Public Health’s Distance DI Program, all prospective interns must have:

• Completed a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college/university or foreign equivalent.
• Completed an ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and provide a DPD verification statement prior to the start of the internship.
• Applied and been accepted into the Online MPH program within the Public Health Nutrition concentration at Berkeley Public Health.

See Berkeley’s Online MPH website for more characteristics of strong MPH applicants and details on the Online MPH application process.

Applicants interested in applying to the BPH DI must follow the Online Program Application Instructions for the Public Health Nutrition concentration. Applicants can apply during either the Fall or Spring admission cycles. All preceptors and practice facilities must be identified by the applicant prior to submitting the application. The DI Director, PHN faculty, and OOMPH staff do not assist with this process. The Find-A-Preceptor Database is a helpful tool to find preceptors in your area. Please review the BPH DI Handbook for information regarding the selection of preceptors and facilities. 

Prospective students will be notified in their admissions letter whether they have been pre-selected for the DI program. Once enrolled in the MPH program, pre-selected students must apply to the DI through DICAS and computer matching (D&D Digital) to be automatically matched to the BPH DI.

Be sure to review all application instructions prior to submitting your Online MPH application and supplemental materials. For specifics listed on the application checklist, see the Online MPH program application requirements. Note: Applicants to the Online MPH program cannot apply through the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS).

The BPH DI application process (for pre-selected students) contains two separate components: DICAS and computer matching (D&D Digital). Dietetic Inclusive Centralized Application Services (DICAS) is a web-based application service used by students to apply to multiple programs by completing a single online application. D&D Digital is a web-based service that matches applicants to dietetic internships. More information is available on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) website.

For questions about the centralized application, please contact DICAS customer support at 617-612-2855 or dicasinfo@dicas.org.

For assistance with computer matching, please contact D&D Digital customer support at 515-292-0490 or dnd@singler.com.

For questions about the graduate school application, please email the program manager, Darshani Johnson, at dalahan@berkeley.edu  or call 510-666-3734.

Students will pay $11,264 in unit costs ($1,408 per unit) to enroll in two 4-unit courses.

Refer to the Online Program Fees and Financial Aid webpage for more detail on additional fees and Online MPH program costs.

Students will be eligible for financial aid. For information on financial aid for the BPH Distance DI, visit the Online Program Fees and Financial Aid webpage.