Dietetics Launching Master’s Degree

By Matt Hawkins

Bradley’s family and consumer sciences department will launch a dietetic internship master’s degree in nutrition and wellness in Fall 2016. The graduate degree will replace Bradley’s dietetic internship graduate certificate program nearly a decade before entry-level dietitians are required to earn master’s degrees.

By 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration — the profession’s chief credentialing agency — will require the advanced degree. A dietetic internship that includes 1,200 practicum hours is the current minimum standard for licensure.

“The change will make more competent, better-prepared dietitians,” said Dietetic Internship Director Dr. Amanda Newell. “It will be a more-robust curriculum that will lead to greater knowledge and confidence in the field.”

Bradley’s master’s degree will add a full complement of graduate courses to the practicum hours. It will continue the program’s focus on wellness and diverse settings for experiential learning.

Students will continue to have options to study abroad for a semester and choose where they spend a portion of the practicum. This flexibility will enable students to tailor their experiences to career interests.

“There are so many things you can do with a dietetics degree,” Newell said. “We want to show them options so they can expand their horizons and find a job setting they love.”

The dietetic internship will continue for the 2016 cohort as the program transitions to the graduate degree.