In order to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, you must complete an accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD).
The curricula of the following undergraduate Nutrition degrees include the necessary DPD courses:
- BS, Nutrition and Food (Nutrition and Dietetics Concentration)
- BS, Global Public Health/Nutrition and Dietetics
- BS, Global Public Health/Nutrition and Dietetics and MPH, Public Health Nutrition dual degree
Please note: you do not need to complete a DPD before applying to the 40-credit Clinical Nutrition master's.
Our Mission
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 to facilitate the preparation of students for supervised practice leading to eligibility for the Commission on Dietetic Registration credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian.
DPD Goals
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Students who complete the DPD will have basic and applied knowledge of food, nutrition, and dietetics.
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Students who complete the program will be prepared for supervised practice leading to eligibility for the Commission on Dietetic Registration credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Please see the DPD Handbook for corresponding objectives for each goal.
The DPD and Outcomes
The DPD for those in the Clinical Nutrition master’s consists of eighteen courses — sixteen at the undergraduate level and two at the graduate level (total of 57 credits: 51 undergraduate and 6 graduate) — that meet the 2012 Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) Accreditation Standards. If taken on a full-time basis (12 credits/semester plus summer sessions), you can complete the DPD in approximately two years.
Upon completion of all of the DPD courses with a C grade or higher, you will receive a DPD Verification Statement, which confers eligibility to enroll in graduate-level courses and to apply to an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship. Most students complete their master’s in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics after completing a dietetic internship.
When to Take DPD Courses
Undergraduate Students
The necessary DPD courses are included within our undergraduate Nutrition program curricula.
Graduate Students
You are not required to take the DPD courses prior to applying to the 40-credit MS. Rather, you can take them while matriculated in the degree. Please note, however, that undergraduate-level DPD courses will not count toward the master's degree.
If you think you have already met the requirements of one or more of the NYU DPD courses, you MUST discuss this with the DPD advisor Steven Ho (steven.ho@nyu.edu) at the time of admission. The advisor will review your 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. Without advisor approval, the course will not be accepted.
To receive a DPD Verification or Declaration of Intent from NYU, you must take at least 29 credits at NYU and get pre-approval from DPD adviser Steven Ho for all DPD courses taken outside NYU. Courses taken at two-year colleges that do not have an ACEND-accredited DTR program do not meet our DPD requirements.
DPD and Dietetic Internships
Completing a dietetic internship is part of the process of becoming a Registered Dietitian. You may apply to dietetic internships in your final semester of taking DPD courses, but all DPD courses must be completed prior to starting the internship.
DPD Course Requirements
All courses taken to meet DPD requirements must be approved by a graduate nutrition/DPD adviser and completed prior to receiving a DPD Verification Statement.
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 Steinhardt's DPD. For help with planning the sequences in which these courses must be taken, consult the DPD Sequence Map and obtain the approval of a graduate/DPD adviser.
If you are applying in Dietetic Internship Centralized Application Services (DICAS) you will need to upload the DPD Course List form (to view and download the form, please be sure you're logged in with your NYU email account and click "File" then "Download").
Completion of all DPD courses including the undergraduate and graduate seminars is required for DPD program completion. DPD verification will not be conferred for any department DPD course grade less than C. Undergraduate students are expected to maintain a GPA of 2.5; graduate students are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.0.
Courses
Basic Science
Course # | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
CHEM-UA 120 |
Introduction to Modern Chemistry - with laboratory |
5 credits |
CHEM-UA 240 |
Principles of Organic Chemistry - with laboratory |
5 credits |
NUTR-UE 1023 |
Food Microbiology & Sanitation |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1064 |
Nutritional Biochemistry |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1068 |
Introduction to Human Physiology |
4 credits |
Nutrition Science
Course # | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
NUTR-UE 119 |
Nutrition & Health |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1260 |
Diet Assessment & Planning |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1269 |
Nutrition & the Life Cycle |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1185 |
Clinical Nutrition Assessment & Intervention |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1209 |
Community Nutrition |
3 credits |
Food Science
Course # | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
NUTR-UE 85 |
Introduction to Foods & Food Science |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 91 |
Food Management Theory |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1052 |
Food Production & Management |
3 credits |
NUTR-UE 1184 |
Food Science & Technology |
3 credits |
Other
Course # | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
NUTR-GE 2199 |
Nutrition Education (counts toward 40-credit MS degree) |
3 credits |
SAHS-UE 1/NUTR-GE 2000 |
New Student Seminar/New Graduate Student Seminar (must be taken during first term) |
0 credits |
NUTR-GE 2190.01 |
Research Methods (counts toward 40-credit MS degree) |
3 credits |
PSYCH-UA 1 |
Introduction to Psychology or an equivalent Social/Behavioral Science course |
4 credits |
Course Sequencing
How to Become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Explore the full set of requirements for becoming an RDN after completing your DPD.
Learn More
Clinical Nutrition Glossary
Please check our glossary for definitions of some of the terms used on this page.
View the Glossary
Accreditation Information
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.