Nov 23, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog [Current Academic Year] 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog [Current Academic Year]

Component 3 - Complete Prerequisite Coursework


Once accepted to EMU as an undergraduate student, the student must contact dieteticsms_advising@emich.edu for advising and to evaluate the student’s transcript(s) to determine which courses and/or prerequisites the student must complete for MS CP eligibility. When pre-approved courses are completed at colleges/universities other than EMU, transcripts must be submitted to EMU (see the process below).

Prerequisite courses cannot be older than five years at the time of the Dietetics program application (with the exceptions of Physiology, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Aging to Infancy, which cannot be older than ten years at the time of Dietetics Program application, and General Psychology which has no time limit). Satisfactory completion (C or above and meeting pre-application course GPA requirement) of all prerequisite courses (pre-application and pre-admission) is required before starting the MS CP in the summer I semester.

Applicants must communicate with dieteticsms_advising@emich.edu to have any required prerequisites pre-approved before completing these courses and applying to the Dietetics Program (2nd Admission). There are no guarantees that similar-appearing courses from another institution will be accepted as equivalent. EMU admission is required before the transcript and course review.

Pre-Application Phase: 20-21 hours

To be considered for entry into the Dietetics Program, students must earn a grade of “C” or above in all required prerequisite courses, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 (including all previous undergraduate and graduate college-level courses), and a minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students who do not meet the 2.75 minimum cumulative GPA requirement are still eligible to apply if their pre-application prerequisite course GPA is 3.5 or higher. Students in this situation are strongly encouraged to communicate with dieteticsms_advising@emich.edu to assess eligibility. Calculating the cumulative and pre-application prerequisite GPA is the responsibility assumed by the Dietetics Intent student until the application to the Dietetics Program is received at the time of the application cycle.  The EMU GPA Calculator is a resource for pre-application prerequisite GPA calculations.

If the student does not meet the Graduate School’s minimum GPA requirement (2.7), an eventual admission to the Dietetics Program would include a conditional admission to the Graduate School for the first nine graduate credit hours (see conditional admission policy [PDF]).

The applicant must complete the following prerequisite courses before January 1st of the year of application:

Biology

Dietetics

Chemistry

Satisfy one of the following options.

The following prerequisite courses may be completed after applying to the CP but must be completed before May 1 by enrolling in courses listed under Major Requirements. Any courses not completed at the time of application must be completed with a transcript submitted to the Program Director(s) by May 1 of the year the student applies for the CP. Applicants will be ineligible to start the CP if pre-admission courses are not completed with the required C or higher by May 1, 2023. In this scenario, the applicant may be put on the wait list or may apply the following year. Completing Pre-Admission Phase courses before the pre-application phase strengthens a candidate’s application, but is not required.

Pre-Admission Phase: 22-23 hours

Transferring Prerequisite Courses

For options approved at colleges/universities other than EMU, see both the EMU website lists for course transfers and the Dietetics Program list of previously approved pre-application/pre-admission courses. The latter list contains courses that, in the past, have been approved to satisfy some pre-admission and pre-application requirements for EMU’s Dietetics program ONLY. They may not be considered equivalent for other programs at EMU or to meet general education requirements. This table should be used as a planning tool with your advisor. Although these courses are typically accepted, it does not commit Eastern Michigan University to accept transfer credit for the course, nor does it indicate that a course listed is still offered. If EMU-admitted students require a review of alternate university courses, they should contact MS Dietetics Advising to initiate the process.

Volunteer Requirement

Applicants to the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CP) must complete a minimum of 24 hours of volunteering at a venue of their choice, preferably related to nutrition, food, or health care.

  1. Students choose a venue(s) to complete at least 24 hours of volunteerism.
  2. The volunteer hours must be completed post-high school and have occurred less than five years before applying to the CP.
  3. Students volunteering in multiple settings should use more than one volunteer form.
  4. While not required, if the applicant completes more than the minimum of 24 hours, they are encouraged to include documentation of these additional hours in their application.