Program Admission
***Please see the current academic year’s catalog for the most up to date program admission information.***
Eastern Michigan University offers two-degree programs in Dietetics, one ending in a Bachelor of Science and another ending with a Master of Science.
Applicants interested in either program will follow the same application process, and at the end of the process applicants will either be admitted into the bachelor’s degree program, master’s degree program, waitlisted, or not admitted.
The application process includes 4 components, as described below.
1) Undergraduate Application & Admission
Apply to and be accepted as an Eastern Michigan University student as an undergraduate student (first or second bachelor’s degree). Applicants who previously completed a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics need to contact the program before applying.
Please see emich.edu/admissions for general requirements and application. Submission of official transcripts from every institution from which the applicant received credit, is required. (International Transcripts - Post-secondary transcripts from a non-U.S. institution must be submitted directly to one of four approved evaluation services for a detailed, course by course report. See International Admission Checklist for additional information. Applicants should allow 2-6 weeks for the evaluation to be completed.)
Admission to the University is not a guarantee of entry into the dietetics program
2) Prerequisite Coursework
Once accepted to EMU as an undergraduate student with a dietetics intent major, the College of Health and Human Services Advising Office evaluates the student’s transcript(s) to determine which prerequisites the student still needs to complete.
Prerequisite courses cannot be older than ten years at the time of Dietetics program application (except for General Psychology and Statistics, which have no time limit). Satisfactory completion (C or above) of all prerequisite courses (pre-application and pre-admission) is required before starting the CP in the fall.
Pre-Application Phase: 20-21 hours
Pre-application course GPA must be 3.0 or higher.
The following prerequisites are to be completed prior to submitting the Prerequisite & Reference Form (See details below).
Pre-Admission Phase: 14-15 hours
The following prerequisite courses may be completed before applying for the program but must be completed before enrolling in courses listed under Major Requirements. These must be completed with a transcript submitted to the Program Director by September 1 of the year the student begins the program. Completing Pre-Admission Phase courses prior to applying strengths a candidate’s application.
Pre-Program Course Requirement: 2 hours
DTC 230 - Fundamentals in Nutrition Therapy is required for all students accepted into the CP and alternates. This course will be offered in Summer II only. The Program Director will provide permission to register for those students accepted into the CP.
3) Prerequisite & References Form
After completing, at a minimum, the Pre-Application Phase prerequisite courses, an applicant must complete a Prerequisite & References form.
Reference providers can be professional or academic (not family members) and should be chosen based on their ability to assess multiple characteristics.
The form asks the applicant to list the course number, title, university, the year it was taken, credit hours, and final grade for each completed prerequisite course, as well as, provide the contact information for two references. The listed references are e-mailed a reference form to complete and return.
The deadline for completing this form is January 2, 2019.
Instructions for students who already had paper references completed (2019 application year only): After student submits prerequisite and reference form and pays the fee, they should physically hand references to Mandy Niemiec (Marshall 214) or Sandy Pernecky (Rackham 260) or SHS Office (Marshall 313), to place in Sandy Pernecky’s mail file. A receipt email will be provided.
4) Program Application
Having received the applicant’s Prerequisite Form, program faculty will determine if they meet the minimum qualifications to proceed with the application process. Applicants invited to apply will receive a link to a Kira Talent check-in page.
The program application deadline for both delivery methods is January 15, 2019, at 5 pm, EST for consideration for entrance into the Coordinated Program the following Fall semester; the program only begins in the Fall semester.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 is required to apply, including all previous college-level courses. If a student does not meet the 2.75 minimum overall/cumulative GPA requirement, they are not automatically ineligible to apply. They may retain eligibility by carrying a prerequisite GPA (pre-application courses only) of 3.5 or higher.
A minimum prerequisite GPA of 3.0 is required to apply. This is comprised of the six pre-application phase courses
A screening procedure is used for cohort selection that evaluates:
- GPA - Cumulative & Prerequisite Courses
- Two Reference Forms
- Personal statement
- Answers to application questions
- Overall application
- Online assessment
- Committee input
Based on accreditation and the availability of supervised practice experience sites, the CP limits the number of students admitted to each class
The Program Application includes three parts, as detailed below. All three parts are submitted through Kira Talent (A link will be provided by the Dietetics Program).
Part I - Document A (.pdf)
The applicant will upload Document A (.pdf), to Kira. The file name must be formatted as, LAST NAME.FIRST NAME.MIDDLE INITIAL.A.pdf (e.g., SMITH.JOE.A.A.pdf). The required contents of Document A, are as follows:
Face Sheet
Document A (.pdf) requires a FACE SHEET as the first page (template ).
Section #1: Resume
Provide an up-to-date resume (template ).
Section #2: Volunteer Verification
Applicants for the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CP) are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of volunteering at a venue or venues of their choice, preferably related to nutrition, food or health care. These hours must be completed post-high school and most occur within 5 years of applying. Please include documentation of all volunteer hours completed (Volunteer Form ).
Section #3: Personal Statements
Answers to questions about what brought you to dietetics and what makes you a good fit for the program at EMU and a letter to the program director (Additional Information ).
Section #4: Physical & Mental Requirements
Review and sign the Physical and Mental Requirements Form .
Part II - Document B (.pdf)
The applicant will upload Document B (.pdf) to Kira. The file name must be formatted as, LAST NAME.FIRST NAME.MIDDLE INITIAL.B.pdf (e.g., SMITH.JOE.A.B.pdf). The required contents of Document B, are as follows:
Face Sheet
Document B (.pdf) requires a FACE SHEET as the first page (template ).
Section #5: Immunization Proof
Provide proof of all required immunizations and vaccinations. A complete list of these requirements can be found in the Immunization & Physical Exam Form .
Section #6: Preceptors
This section is ONLY for distance-online applicants
Provide documentation showing you’ve secured all required Supervised Practice Experience preceptors to apply for year one of the program. Please provide all of the information listed in the Preceptor Summary Form for the four preceptors secured for year 1 in the program and year 2 final Nutrition Therapy III Experience.
Online Commitment Form
Preceptor Summary Form
Part III – Timed Video and Written Assessment
In addition to uploading the two documents (.pdf) to the online application, applicants are required to complete a timed video and written assessment. The timed video and written assessment will be accessed through the link sent to the applicant. This part of the program application allows program faculty to better get to know the applicant. Applicants can expect to be asked a series of questions about their motivations for applying to the program.
Please note that you will need a computer with a webcam and microphone for this assessment.
Note - Individuals interested in Fall 2019 admission must adhere to the criteria and process outlined above. For archived Fall 2018 program admission information see the 2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog.
Critical Graduation Information
Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.
In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.
The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.
- Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.
- Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
- Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) Course in your major.
- Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
- Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
- Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
- Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
- Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
- Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
- Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; the internal review of such courses is conducted by individual departments/schools within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
- Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)
General Education Requirements EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.
Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.
