UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD
DPD GUIDELINES
POLICY FOR THE COMPLETION OF DIDACTIC REQUIREMENTS IN DIETETICS
Upon completion of the didactic requirements for Dietetics, a student becomes eligible to apply to an Accredited Dietetic
Internship program. Successful completion of both the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and a dietetic internship makes a student
eligible to write the registration examination to become a Registered Dietitian in the United States. The DPD program at UIW is an
undergraduate degree with the requirements of some graduate coursework. Students complete the didactic requirements while
completing the Accelerated Bachelor of Science/Master of Science (ABM) program. Students complete the Bachelor of Science
degree, matriculate into the graduate program in which they take two graduate classes to complete DPD requirements and receive a
DPD Verification Statement. Students are not required to complete a graduate degree to receive a DPD Verification Statement.
Normally students will complete the DPD requirements when they complete the first semester of their graduate degree. In addition,
graduate students may meet didactic requirements while concurrently completing a Master’s Degree in Nutrition by completing
undergraduate and graduate DPD course requirements. The following criteria must be met to achieve the requirements for the
Didactic Program:
I. Admission to the University of the Incarnate Word undergraduate Nutrition Program and the graduate Nutrition Program is based
on criteria as stated in the University Undergraduate Bulletin and the University Graduate Bulletin respectively. Admission to the
Didactic Program in Dietetics is not automatic.
A. ABM Student Eligibility Requirements for Admission
1.
Students apply by February 20 of their junior year. Acceptance notification will be by March 31. Students must meet the
requirements for admission to the nutrition graduate program. Students must have completed a minimum of seventy-five (75)
credit hours in their undergraduate nutrition program, including credits earned from advanced placement.
2.
Students must have completed BIOL 1402, BIOL 2321/2121, BIOL 2322/2122, CHEM 1301, CHEM 1302/1203, CHEM
2311/2111, NUTR 1102, NUTR 2231/2131, NUTR 2341, NUTR 3342, NUTR 3433 and the computer literacy requirement.
Students must be enrolled in CHEM 2312 spring semester and have completed this course in order to continue in the ABM in
the fall semester.
3.
Transfer students must have completed a minimum of one semester as a full-time student at UIW and must have completed a
minimum of six semester hours of course credit in nutrition.
4.
Students must have a minimum accumulated grade point average (GPA) of 3.2/4.00 within nutrition and 3.0/4.00 in their
science coursework.
5.
GRE scores of 143 for Verbal Reasoning, 141 for Quantitative Reasoning, and 3.0 for Analytical Writing are required for
admission to the ABM in Nutrition and Dietetics.
6.
Two letters of academic reference (at least one from a Nutrition faculty member) and a student portfolio must be submitted.
B. Graduate Student Eligibility Requirements
1.
2.
Graduate students will have matriculated into the graduate program.
Graduate students must have completed Chemistry Principles I, Chemistry Principles II, two credits of General Chemistry
Laboratory, and Organic Chemistry with a grade of “C” or better.
II. The following courses are DPD course requirements for the ABM and options for graduate students completing the Didactic
Program in Dietetics Requirements. Students must show evidence of having successfully completed the following courses or their
equivalent. Note if an option is not listed for the graduate option the student must complete the ABM course. It is strongly encouraged
that graduate students complete the graduate option for these courses.
Subject
Graduate Students and ABM Students
ENGL 1311 Composition I
ENGL 1312 Composition II
Semester
Hours
3
3
Institution
Date
Completed
Equivalent
Grade
UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD
PSYC 1301 Intro to Psychology or
SOCI 1311 Intro to Sociology
MATH 2303 Intro to Probability and Statistics or
SOCI 3381 Statistics for Behavioral Sciences
ACCT 2301 Accounting for Non-Business Majors
BMGT 3340 Management Theory and Practice
BIOL 2474 Intro to Microbiology & Lab or
BIOL 3471 General Microbiology & Lab
CHEM 1301 Chem Principles I &
CHEM 1302/Chem Principles II &
CHEM 1203L General Chemistry Lab
CHEM 2311/2111 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 4351 Biochemistry I*
3
3
3
3
4
8
3
3
Subject
Graduate Option
Graduate Option
&
Special Topic: Food
Preparation- intensive
course
NUTR 6414 Advanced
Nutrition Services
Management
NUTR 6342 Life Cycle
Nutrition
NUTR 6190 Practicum in
Nutrition
NUTR 6464 Nutrition and
Health Behavior
NUTR 6325 Advanced
Nutrition I & NUTR 6330
Advance Nutrition II
ABM
SPCH 2341 Business & Professional
Speech
NUTR 2231, 2131Principles of Food
Preparation w/Lab
Hours
Date
Completed
Equivalent
Grade
3
1-3
NUTR 3332 Experimental Foods
NUTR 3433 Food & Nutrition Services
Management I
3
4
NUTR 3234 Food & Nutrition Services
Management II
NUTR 3134 Food Services Management
Laboratory
NUTR 4460 Community & World
Nutrition
NUTR4470 Human Nutrition &
Metabolism *#
NUTR 4375 Nutrition Therapy *#
NUTR 6375 Medical Nutrition
Therapy*
NUTR 3342 Nutrition in the Life Cycle
2
NUTR 1102 Intro to Dietetics
NUTR 4139 Nutrition Practicum
NUTR 4100 Dietetics
NUTR 6464 Nutrition and Health
Behavior
NUTR 4340 Clinical and Nutritional
Assessment
Institution
1
4
4
3
3
3
1-3
4
6-3
*Students must show evidence of having completed at least six semester hours of these courses within the past five years at an
accredited institution of higher learning. A student completing an undergraduate clinical nutrition class more than 5 years ago is
strongly encouraged to take Advanced Medical Nutrition Therapy (NUTR 6266) and is required to take a Medical Nutrition Therapy
(NUTR 6375) class if clinical nutrition was completed 8 years or more ago. Advanced Nutrition I & II (NUTR 6325 & 6330) may be
used to update Human Nutrition & Metabolism (NUTR 4470).
#
These two courses may be counted toward a master of science degree in nutrition.
&
Four evaluated formal speeches at least 15 minutes in length in nutrition graduate courses at UIW may be substituted for UG option
by turning in evaluations to DPD Director in the student portfolio. Evaluations must be at the equivalent of an 80% to count toward
the total of four speeches.
UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD
III. A “C” must have been earned in each course taken for the Didactic Program in Dietetics to receive a verification statement. In
addition, an overall GPA of 3.0 must be earned in the DPD courses to receive a verification statement. A grade of “B-” or better must
be earned in all 6000 level courses that meet DPD requirements to receive a verification statement.
IV. Students must have completed a minimum of three classes for a minimum of nine semester hours of credit in the Nutrition
Program to obtain a Didactic Verification Statement from UIW. These didactic courses are agreed upon in advance with the DPD
Director.
When the student has met all of these requirements, the Didactic Program Director (who has been approved by the Accreditation
Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics the accrediting agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is a member of
the UIW faculty) will provide the student with five copies of the official DPD Verification Statement.
Receiving a DPD Verification Statement for completing DPD requirements does not guarantee admittance into a dietetic internship. It
is strongly recommended that students have higher grades than the minimum required to receive a didactic verification statement,
work experience, community service, and leadership experience.
Effective for students matriculating after June1, 2014.