How to Choose one of our Master's Programs

• How to Choose a Master's Program in Food and Nutrition
• How to Become a Registered Dietitian (RD)
• How to Choose an RD/Master's Degree Option

How to Choose a Master's Program in Food and Nutrition

The Department offers master’s programs in several fields of food and nutrition. These include:

• Nutrition & Dietetics: Clinical Nutrition (HOND-CNU), MS
• Nutrition & Dietetics: Foods & Nutrition (HOND-FNU), MS
• Public Health Nutrition (HOPH), MPH
• Food Studies & Food Management: Food Studies (HOFD-FDS), MA

All master’s programs include training in food and nutrition, but differ in emphasis on nutrition science, applied nutrition, community nutrition, food arts and sciences, and food management. Clinical Nutrition provides the most basic and applied nutrition science. Food Management provides the strongest business orientation. The programs require varying numbers of undergraduate prerequisite courses (depending on background and experience) and 40-46 credits of graduate coursework. Students who already hold certain types of advanced professional credentials may be eligible for 34-credit options (see below).

The Department also offers two Dietetic Internships:

• The NYU Dietetic Internship
• The Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center Dietetic Internship/NYU Master’s Program

This guide is designed to help you choose the appropriate program for your interests. It is organized according to the type of degree or credential you hold now:

• Click here if you hold a bachelor’s degree (but no other)
• Click here if you already hold an RD credential or are RD-eligible
• Click here if you already hold a business, law, or master’s degree in a field other than health
• Click here if you hold other health professions credentials (MD, RN, DDS, Pharm D, etc)
• Click here if you hold certificates from professional cooking schools
• Click here if you hold a bachelor’s degree (but no other) and need help deciding among nutrition program options

If you hold a bachelor’s degree (but no other)

If you already hold an RD credential or are RD-eligible

If you already hold a business, law, or master’s degree in a field other than health

If you hold other health professions credentials (MD, RN, DDS, Pharm D, etc)

If you already hold certificates from professional cooking schools

If you hold a bachelor’s degree (but no other) and need help deciding among nutrition program options

The 40-Credit Clinical Nutrition vs. Foods and Nutrition

Clinical Nutrition (HOND-CNU) requires students to meet (or to have met) American Dietetic Association requirements for eligibility to take the Dietetic Registration examination along with training toward the master's degree. Foods and Nutrition (HOND-FNU) provides broad experience in foods and nutrition and leads to a master's degree, but does not qualify students for the RD credential. These programs require the same core sequence of nutrition science and research courses; they differ in prerequisite, specialization, and supervised professional practice requirements. These differences are outlined below.

Note: Students who complete all undergraduate courses required for NYU’s Graduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD—the collection of prerequisite courses) are eligible to take graduate level courses in any of the department master’s programs. They also may apply for and complete Dietetic Internships while matriculated in any of the department’s master’s programs.

Thus, Clinical Nutrition differs from Foods & Nutrition in 3 important ways: (1) it requires more undergraduate prerequisites, (2) it calls for more clinically focused courses, and (3) it fulfills American Dietetic Association educational and clinical practice competencies for eligibility to become a Registered Dietitian.

How to Become a Registered Dietitian (RD)

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) awards the Registered Dietitian (RD) credential to students who have successfully completed the following requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (BS, BA)
• The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)
• A Verification Statement of completion of the DPD
• A Dietetic Internship
• A Verification of completion of the Internship
• A passing score on the Dietetic Registration examination

   

Bachelor’s degree

This can be a BA or BS, but must come from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.

Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)

The DPD is the collective term for the set of undergraduate courses that meet educational competency standards established by the ADA. Students who take the BS degree at NYU fulfill those competencies as part of their undergraduate degree and obtain a DPD Verification from NYU. Students who matriculate into NYU master’s programs without a DPD Verification may obtain one by taking at least 15 credits at NYU from the set of courses (prerequisites) that comprise the Graduate DPD.

These DPD courses do not count toward the master’s degree

• V25.0002 Introduction to Modern Chemistry (5)
• V25.0240 Principles of Organic Chemistry (5)
• E14.1035 Human Anatomy & Physiology (3)
• E33.0060 Diet Assessment & Planning (3)
• E33.0085 Introduction to Foods & Food Science (3)
• E33.0091 Food Management Theory (3)
• E33.0119 Nutrition and Health (3)
• E33.1023 Food Microbiology & Sanitation (3)
• E33.1052 Food Production & Management (3)
• E33.1064 Nutritional Biochemistry (3)
• E33.1184 Food Science & Technology (3)
• E33.1185 Clinical Nutrition Assessment & Intervention (3)
• E33.1209 Community Nutrition (3)
• E33.1269 Nutrition & the Life Cycle (3)

This course counts toward the 40-credit master’s degrees

• E33.2190 Research Methods (3)

Verification of DPD completion

Obtain the Verification by filing an application during the last semester of DPD courses.

Dietetic Internship

Students usually apply for Dietetic Internships during the last semester of completion of DPD courses. Application is competitive and takes place through a computer matching process in which students rank programs, and programs rank students (see the handout on the NYU Dietetic Internship). The department holds seminars every semester to explain the details of these processes; these are announced in classes, on bulletin boards, and through the department’s e-mail list.

Verification of completion of internship

This is obtained from the Internship director. At this point, students are considered “RD-eligible.”

RD Examination

RD-eligible students may apply to ADA to take the Registration Examination.

How to Choose an RD/Master's Degree Option

At NYU all routes to dietetic registration require matriculation into a master’s program (because the dietetic internships are post-baccalaureate). The sequence is:

1. Matriculate into a master’s program — usually Clinical Nutrition (HOND-CNU)
2. Complete the DPD prerequisites
3. Complete the Dietetic Internship
4. Complete the master’s requirements

Students are encouraged to consider other RD/master’s degree options, as compared below