Western Carolina University
Nutrition and Dietetics Program Application Process
Spring 2016
The Nutrition and Dietetics program at WCU is permitted by the Accreditation Council on Education in Nutrition
and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to accept 24 (±19%) students into the upper division ND
program each fall.
The application for admission is competitive and based on the following preferred selection criteria:
Overall GPA 3.0 or better
Pre-Professional GPA 3.0 or better
B or better in ND 239 and ND 330 or equivalents
C or better in other pre-professional/pre-requisite courses or their equivalents
Recommendation of 3 or better from the instructor of a lower level ND Course
Required Application Materials
Forms are available on the WCU Nutrition and Dietetics webpage. You will need to submit the following forms in
person or post-marked no later than 5:00 PM, April 30th to Dr. Brenda G. Marques, ND Program Director, School
of Health Sciences, 1 University Drive, Cullowheee, NC 28723.
Signed copy of the ND Program Application
Signed Letter of Application/Personal Statement that includes:
Why you want to enter the ND program
Strengths and areas needing improvement
Professional goals
Signed copy of the ND Program Technical Standards
Recommendation forms should be submitted by the person completing the form and emailed directly to
bgmarques@wcu.edu
Review of Application Materials
A panel of nutrition educators and practitioners will review and rank applicants using a standardized rubric.
Admission criteria are assigned specific point values which are then totaled and ranked. The total points for meeting
the minimum criteria for admission is 50, while a maximum of 100 points is possible for students who exceed the
minimum criteria. The 24 students with the highest point totals will be offered admission to the ND program.
Your chances for admission depend on both the number and quality ranking of applications received. Academically
strong students who are lacking more than one pre-professional course at the end of the spring semester may be
conditionally admitted pending satisfactory completion over the summer.
Notification and Acceptance
Students will receive an email notification of acceptance no later than Friday, May 27, 2016. If offered admission
the student will have until Friday, June 3, 2016 to accept the offer. On Monday, June 6, 2016 any available openings
will be offered to applicants based on the original numerical ranking of the application materials.
Change of Major
After acceptance to the ND program the director will initiate an official change of major from Pre-ND to ND.