Prerequisites: Didactic Program (DPD) in Nutrition and Dietetics Overview

Mission of the DPD:

The NYU DPD strives to educate students on the role of food, nutrition and health in society. Integrating knowledge and research into coursework, the program provides students with an understanding of basic sciences, and theoretical and applied aspects of nutrition and dietetics.

DPD Goals: 

1. Students who complete the program will have basic and applied knowledge of food, nutrition and dietetics.
2. Students who complete the program will be prepared to gain admittance into dietetic internships graduate programs, or find positions related to food, nutrition and health care. 
3. Students who complete the program will fulfill ACEND required outcome measures over a 5 year period.            

The DPD for students in the GEHONDMS:GECNU002 program consists of eighteen courses - sixteen at the undergraduate level and two at the graduate level (total of 57 credits - 51 undergraduate credits and 6 graduate credits) that meet the 2012 ACEND Accreditation Standards. These courses must be completed by all students in order to study at the master's level, and as part of the ACEND eligibility requirements for admission to a dietetic internship, which is part of the process of becoming a Registered Dietitian. Students are not required to take the DPD courses prior to applying to the MS program. Rather, they can take them while matriculated in the MS program. Please note, however, that the undergraduate level DPD courses will not count toward the master's degree. If taken on a full-time basis (12 credits/semester plus summer sessions), students can complete the DPD in approximately two years.

Students who think that they have already met the requirements of one or more of the NYU DPD courses should discuss this with  a graduate nutrition/DPD advisor at the time of admission. The advisor will review the student's transcript and may also request additional materials (e.g., course descriptions, syllabi, examples of course work) in order to determine if the course(s) meet NYU DPD requirements.

Upon completion of all of the DPD courses, students will receive a DPD Verification Statement, which confers eligibility to enroll in graduate level courses and to apply to an ACEND accredited Dietetic Internship. For additional information about the DPD Program, please refer to the NYU DPD Handbook.

Please check the Glossary, for definitions of some of the terms used in this handout. 

The NYU Didactic Program in Dietetics is currently accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (200 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000 Chicago, IL  60606-6995, 1-800-877-1600) until 2021.

DPD (Prerequisite) Course Requirements

All courses taken to meet DPD requirements must be approved by a graduate nutrition/DPD advisor and completed prior to receiving a DPD Verification Statement.^a . DPD courses may not be taken for graduate credit with the exception of Research Methods, NUTR-GE.2190, and Nutrition Education NUTR-GE.2199. DPD courses taken for graduate credit outside of NYU, whether prior to or after matriculation, will not be counted toward the graduate degree at NYU.  

The following courses constitute NYU's DPD. For help with planning the sequences in which these courses must be taken, consult the DPD Sequence Map on the next page and obtain the approval of a graduate/DPD advisor.No online courses meet NYU DPD requirements and courses taken at two-year colleges that do not have an AND/ACEND accredited DTR program do not meet NYU'S DPD requirements.

To receive a DPD Verification or Declaration of Intent  from NYU, students must take at least 29 credits at NYU and get pre-approval from a GEHONDMS/DPD program advisor for all DPD courses taken outside NYU.

Courses

Students may apply to dietetic internships in their final semester of taking DPD courses, but all DPD courses must be completed prior to starting the internship.