Program Admission

Eastern Michigan University (EMU) offers the Master of Science in Dietetics program (MS CP) online and on-campus. The online format is only available for those applicants living in the United States or its 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 not already admitted to EMU must 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 can only be admitted to the Graduate School with Dietetics as their major if 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.

Video Recording of Dietetics Info Session September 2024

School Information

Health Sciences 313 Marshall, 734.487.4096 

Olivia Ford, 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.

Foundational Courses: 41 hours

• DTC 233 Fundamentals in Nutrition Therapy  3 hrs 
• DTC 302 Nutrient Metabolism: Macronutrients  3 hrs
• DTC 315 Nutrition Assessment and Counseling  3 hrs​ 
• DTC 330 Nutrition Therapy I  3 hrs
• DTC 332 Nutrition Therapy I Application  2 hrs
• DTC 350 Foodservice Systems Management I  3 hrs​ 
• DTC 370 Nutrition Therapy II  3 hrs​ 
• DTC 375 Integrative Medicine     3 hrs
• DTC 415 Nutrition Communications  3 hrs​ 
• DTC 422 Nutrient Metabolism: Micronutrients  ​3 hrs 
• DTC 430W Community Nutrition  ​3 hrs
• DTC 450 Foodservice Systems Management II  2 hrs​ 
• DTC 460 Nutrition Therapy III  3 hrs​ 
• DTC 551 Foodservice Systems Management I Experience 4 hrs

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.”

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.