OVERVIEW
The University of Alabama has been educating dietitians for over seventy five years. We offer three undergraduate programs that lead to the credential of the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist: a Coordinated Program in Dietetics, a Didactic Program in Dietetics, and an Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway. All three of these programs are accredited by The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-0995.
In addition to these programs, students may major in Food and Nutrition and complete the requirements to apply for medical, pharmacy, or physical therapy schools. Students wishing to meet these requirements should choose the nutrition sciences concentration.
Please visit the UA majors website to view course requirements of the food and nutrition major.
In order to become a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, you must complete a bachelor’s degree at a US regionally accredited university or college and didactic coursework approved by ACEND (step 1); then you must complete an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program (step 2 or in conjunction with step 1); and lastly, you must pass the national Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist exam (step 3). To find out more about becoming a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, please visit the Academy’s website.
Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor’s degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR’s Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement visit CDR’s website: https://www.cdrnet.org/graduatedegree. In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) program at The University of Alabama are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program.
In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. For more information about state licensure requirements click here.
For more information about educational pathways to become a RDN click here.