Mar 19, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Dietetics [M.S.]


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Revised Program [Fall 2022]


The Coordinated Program in Dietetics (also referred to as CP or Program) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190
Chicago, IL  60606-6995
800/877-1600 ext. 5400
www.eatright.org

Career Opportunities

A degree in dietetics culminating with the registered dietitian credential provides many options for employment.  Job opportunities are available in the clinical area in hospitals, long-term care facilities, specialized healthcare settings, and insurance companies.

In addition, there are many opportunities in the community including positions in federal and state programs like the Women, Infant and Children’s Nutrition Program, Head Start, and Area on Aging. The foodservice industry is also a place for employment including hospitals, long-term care facilities, corporate operations, and school systems.  Other areas where dietitians provide their expertise are in sports nutrition, universities, private practice, research, writing, and other government agencies such as the FDA and the USDA.

For current information related to a career in dietetics please visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics site, by clicking here.

Other Important Information (click on the links below for details)

  

  

  

Online Education Eligibility

  • The U.S. Federal Government limits the number of online courses international students may enroll in while living in the United States. For this reason, we cannot admit students on F1 visas to fully online programs. Please check with International Admissions to confirm eligibility before applying.
  • All applicants, please review Online Education for Out-of-State Students to confirm you are eligible to enroll in an online program based in Michigan.

Program Admission


Eastern Michigan University (EMU) offers the Master of Science in Dietetics program (MS CP) in online and on-campus formats. The online format is only available for those applicants living in the United States and territories. International students must check with International Admissions whether their visa status allows distance learning or if on-campus learning is required.

The MS CP track is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college/university or appropriate international institution.

Applicants who are not already admitted to EMU will need to begin the process by completing an undergraduate application as a Post-Bacc, non-degree seeking student (not a 2nd bachelor’s and not a graduate student). Selecting the wrong application may result in having to re-apply.  

Students cannot be admitted to the Graduate School with Dietetics as their major unless admitted to the MS CP through the Dietetics-specific application process (outlined below). The applicant must also meet with a Program advisor to identify how previous coursework will transfer to EMU and determine the remaining Program prerequisite coursework needed. Applications from individuals who do not follow this step will not be reviewed.

Program Application

The Program application process includes five components. Click on the links below for details.

  

  

  

Component 4 - Q and A, Processing Fee, References Form, Prerequisite Form, and Transcripts   

  

Multiple Step Application Process

  1. Applicants initiate the process by completing the Reference Form and providing a non-refundable $35 processing fee between November 1, 2022, and January 4, 2023. It is recommended that this step be completed as soon as possible, to allow applicant reference-providers adequate time to complete the Reference Form (required before January 17, 2023).
  2. Applicants complete the Prerequisite Form once, with all courses and final grades reported, no later than January 4, 2023.
  3. Applicants provide all official transcripts to the Office of Records and Registration emich.edu/Registrar no later than January 9, 2023.
  4. Once basic eligibility is determined, the applicant can expect to receive a link to the Kira Talent check-in page, via email, between January 4 and January 9, 2023.
  5. Applicants have approximately one week to complete an electronic upload of The Program Application, which includes three parts (as detailed above), including Document A, Document B, and the recorded and timed video and written interview questions. The Kira Talent platform-required application is due by January 17, 2023, at 11:59 pm EST. Applications submitted after this date/time may be considered if spots in the CP are not filled.

The screening procedure that is used for applicant review and cohort selection includes:

  • GPA - cumulative and pre-application prerequisite courses
  • Two references
  • Personal statement
  • Answers to application questions
  • Completion of volunteer work (24 hours)
  • Overall application
  • Online assessment (verbal and written) through the Kira Talent platform
  • Application review committee input

Based on accreditation and the availability of supervised practice experience sites, the program limits the number of students admitted to each cohort.

School Information


Health Sciences 313 Marshall, 734.487.4096

Colleen Croxall, PhD, Director 

Advisor Information


Sandy Pernecky, MS, RDN, Dietetic Program Intent Advisor, 261 Rackham

Program Information


Continuance

Once students have been accepted into the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CP), it is assumed that they will maintain their academic status.

In preparing for a professional career in dietetics, students are expected to assume responsibility for their learning, to support the ethics and standards of practice of their profession and to value honesty in the fulfillment of scholarly and professional endeavors. The department reserves the right to retain only those students who, in the judgment of the faculty, satisfy the requirements of scholarship and practice competence and personal integrity suitable to dietetics. Specific continuance policy details are available in the Student Handbook found on the Dietetic and Human Nutrition website.

Registration in Dietetics

Upon successful completion of the coordinated program in dietetics curriculum and degree, students will be eligible to sit for the Registration Examination for Dietitians through the Commission on Dietetics Registration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Passage of the exam will provide the recognized credential of Registered Dietitian or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) action to change the degree requirement for dietitian registration eligibility from a baccalaureate degree to a graduate degree will be effective January 1, 2024. For further information, please see the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). Those who apply to the CP in January of 2021 will be the last class of students who can complete the program requirements and graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics before the graduate degree requirement goes into effect. 

*The graduate degree may be in any area, with the provision that it is granted by a U.S. regionally accredited college/university, or foreign equivalent. Please see CDR site for further details.

Degree Requirements: 30-33 hours


Semester Credit Hour Limit Waiver - Students in this program are granted a waiver of the University requirement that “Graduate Students may not enroll in more than 15 hours for any semester.”

Culminating Experience: 3-6 hours


Select from option I, option II, or option III:

  • Option I - Thesis: 6 hours

    The thesis option involves a research study that is planned, executed, and written in thesis format. This option includes three classes (six credit hours). Each student must have a committee of at least two people; the thesis chair must have a Ph.D. and be an EMU faculty. More specifically, the thesis consists of a research study that requires 5 chapters detailing the study. Statistical analysis is the responsibility of the student. Chapters 1-3 are a proposal of the study, written in Thesis I. Chapter 1 is the introduction, chapter 2 is the review of literature, and chapter 3 is the methodology (how you will do the study). Thesis II involves data collection and statistical analysis of the data. Chapters 4 (Results) and 5 (Conclusions) are written. Thesis III involves the dissemination of the research through a poster presentation or an article in a peer-reviewed journal.

  • 2 hrs
  • 3 hrs
  • 1 hr
  •  

    Option II - Non-Thesis Research: 6 hours

    The research option is a three-class series (six credit hours) working with one professor on a project that the student and professor agree on. More specifically, you may follow the same format as the thesis without complicated statistics. You may also choose something completely different. For example, one student has designed a module to train future students on autism. In addition, students are guided toward submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals.

  • 2 hrs
  • 3 hrs
  • 1 hr
  •  

    Option III - Research Writing: 3 hours

    The research writing option is one class (three credit hours) focused on biomedical research writing. Students complete a series of assignments in research writing; complete a newsletter article, and a short manuscript that is distributed electronically to faculty and staff in the School of Health Sciences at the end of the semester.

  • 3 hrs

Critical Graduation Information


Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Master’s degree requirements must be completed within six (6) years of first enrollment in the master’s degree program.

In the event a student does not complete the master’s degree requirements within six years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all master’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

  • A master’s degree must require a minimum of 30 credit hours.
  • No more than six credits of independent study courses and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.  
  • Residency Requirement:
    • For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 36 or fewer required hours, at least 24 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere). 
    • For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 37 or more required hours, at least 30 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. Minimum degree hours must still be met for graduation. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
    • Residency and enrollment in multiple programs: Students enrolled in multiple master’s/specialist degree programs must have 24 unique credit hours in each degree program.
  • Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours above.
  • Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
  • The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
  • Some master’s programs require a thesis; others require a special project or internship; others require students to pass a final exam. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.

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