Master's Dietetic Internship Program (MS/DI) – Houston
The TWU Masters/Dietetic Internship Program (MS/DI)-Houston is a 16-month program combining the supervised practice experiences and graduate study needed to fulfill the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) requirements toward becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD)/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). With a 97% pass rate on the RD exam over the last 6 years, our program prepares graduates to enter the workforce as competent, critically thinking leaders in the field of nutrition and dietetics. The program consists of a Supervised Practice component and Didactic component. There are numerous options for students to pursue specific areas of interest in both components, making our program customizable to each student’s goals for learning.
- Supervised Practice: The MS/DI has a Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) emphasis and requires successful completion of a minimum of 1100 supervised practice hours. The supervised practice experiences include medical nutrition therapy in the clinical inpatient and outpatient settings, food systems management, school nutrition, public health and other emerging practice areas.
- Didactic: The Nutrition and Food Sciences (NFS) Department offers multiple graduate degree options. Students can choose between a Master of Science (MS) in Nutrition and MS in Exercise and Sports Nutrition (ESN). Within each of these programs, students can pursue either a Thesis option (30-36 credit hours) or a Coursework option (36-39 credit hours). The DI provides 12 credit hours toward the degree of choice. Note that the thesis option will likely add an extra semester to the plan of study, depending on the research topic chosen. Refer to the graduate catalog for graduation requirements for each degree plan.
Upon successful completion of the MS/DI, graduates receive a Verification of Completion Statement, are eligible to sit for the CDR credentialing examination, and are qualified to apply for licensure in the state of Texas. The program meets the 2022 Accreditation Standards established by ACEND.
General Program Information
- Program Length: 16 months
- Intern Positions: 12
- Average number of applicants: 45
- One-year pass rate on RDN exam (last six years): 97%
- DI Supervised practice hours: 1100
- Average GPA of TWU Interns (last 3 years): 3.5
Prior Advanced Degree
If a qualified applicant has earned a prior advanced degree in nutrition or an area related to the NFS Department degrees, i.e., Food Science, Food Systems Administration, Public Health, etc., then no additional degree is required. The DI Director determines if the prior degree is approved, however, all students are required to enroll in the TWU Graduate School and meet the course and supervised practice requirements relevant to the Dietetic Internship. If a qualified student has earned an advanced degree in a non-related area, i.e., history, psychology, marketing, etc., then they must enroll in one of the MS programs mentioned above. No prior learning experiences can be utilized to replace any of the supervised practice requirements and/or required credit hours.
Accreditation Status and the Credentialing Process
The TWU-Houston Internship Program is currently granted accreditation status through 2028 by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite #2190, Chicago, IL 60606- 6995; Telephone: (312)899-0040 or (800)877-1600 ext. 5400.
ACEND website: https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend
Page last updated 9:25 AM, April 15, 2024