Dietetic internship applicants are often unsure of the best program to meet their needs. Marshall Nutrition and Dietetics provides an efficient one-year MS/DI program that results in the knowledge needed to become a successful entry-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at an affordable price.
- Gain nutrition education experience in locations of your choice by completing your dietetic internship though Marshall.
- Add more value to your future employer in community nutrition through various nutrition education experiences, which can accelerate your career in this area of dietetics.
- Ideal applicants for our program are motivated and ready to begin working in the next 12-18 months.
Interested in learning more about our program? Watch our 2026-2027 Open House session on the Admissions page. It’s easy: 1) learn about our program, 2) apply to our program, 3) succeed in our program.
Program Schedule and Length of Rotation
All distance interns are required to attend a 2-day DI Workshop in the spring semester of enrollment. More information regarding this will be shared during program orientation. Program orientation for distance internship students is virtual.
| Supervised Practice Area | Rotation Description | Hours in Rotation |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Clinical Rotation | 24 | |
| Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) | Must include an acute care experience. May also include in-patient and out-patient care, long term care, dialysis, nutrigenomics, and other areas where nutrition assessment and interventions are conducted. | 496 |
| Nutrition Education | Providing nutrition education through the development, implementation, and evaluation of a nutrition education session(s) for a specific audience. | 72 |
| Foodservice Management (FSM) | May include industrial foodservice operations such as hospital, college, or school foodservice operations, or prison/detention center facilities. | 120 |
| Community Nutrition | Potential sites include any of the following: WIC, Cooperative Extension, Child Nutrition Services (such as USDA National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, Summer Foodservice Feeding Program), Public Health Department, Food Banks/Pantries, or Wellness Programs | 272 |
| Elective Rotations | These hours can be added to FSM, MNT, community nutrition, or nutrition education, or they allow students to choose opportunities in other areas of dietetics: private practice business strategies (work with private practice dietitians on the nutrition and business side of their career), social media (work with a media dietitian on social media development), specialized clinics (eating disorder, health at every size, cystic fibrosis, weight loss, bariatric surgery, etc.), higher education (work with faculty to understand the ins and outs of being a faculty member), sports nutrition, nutrigenomics, nutrition informatics, supermarket nutrition. If you have any questions about possible rotations, contact the distance internship coordinator. | 48 |
| Total Supervised Practice Hours (including alternative learning experiences) | 1070 | |
| DI Workshop | Held in late April/early May in Huntington, WV |
Marshall’s Master’s of Science & Dietetic Internship is accredited by
The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995
(312) 899-0040 ext. 5400
https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend
Mission
The Dietetic Internship’s mission is to develop successful, entry-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who are able to promote optimal nutrition and health to individuals, groups, and communities by providing a variety of nutrition experiences in urban and rural areas.
Program Goals and Outcome Measures
Goal 1: Graduates will apply knowledge and skills obtained in this program to promote optimal nutrition and health in urban and rural areas.
- Upon completion of the DI, 85% of interns will express satisfaction with the comprehensiveness of experiences in all rotations
- 90% of DI alumni will rate the program as “satisfactory” or higher on items related to comprehensiveness of experiences during the internship.
- 90% of DI alumni will identify they were prepared for entry-level practice as a registered dietitian nutritionist after program completion.
Goal 2: Graduates will be prepared to become competent entry-level practitioners.
- Upon final evaluation of each rotation, 100% of interns will receive a performance rating of Meets Expectations or higher on all knowledge requirements for dietetic interns.
- At least 80% of program interns complete program/degree requirements within 1.5 years (150% of planned program length).
- At least 85% of program graduates will take the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists within 12 months of program completion.
- The program’s one-year pass rate (graduates who pass the registration exam within one year of first attempt) on the CDR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists is at least 80%.
- Of graduates who seek employment, at least 85% are employed in nutrition and dietetics or related fields within 12 months of graduation.
- 90% of DI alumni will rate the program as “satisfactory” or higher on items related to preparation for competence as an entry-level practitioner.
- 90% of employers of program graduates will rate the program as “satisfactory” or higher on items related to competence of the graduate as an entry-level practitioner.
Outcome data for programmatic goals are available upon request.
General Description of Internship Rotations
The medical nutrition therapy supervised practice experience and didactic learning activities prepare interns to implement the nutrition care process with various populations and cultures, including infants, children, adolescents, adults, pregnant/lactating females, and older adults. Disease states and conditions with MNT could include weight management and obesity, pediatrics, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, vascular disease, pulmonary disease, renal disease, metabolic stress, transplantation, and parenteral and enteral feeding.
Plan, implement, and participate in the delivery and evaluation of various nutrition education programs in locations of your choice. This rotation enables students to interact with a variety of populations and ages, improve public speaking skills, and gain a better understanding of developing and implementing nutrition education sessions.
The foodservice management supervised practice experience and didactic learning activities prepare interns for the production and delivery of meals for patients or students. Interns will work with the facilities’ retail operations, all activities related to menu processing and the service of meals, and nourishments and enteral feedings to patients. Dietetic interns gain experience in systems related to food production, distribution and service operations, the maintenance and sanitation of the serving pantries and equipment, managing human resources and quality assurance, and continuous quality improvement.
The community nutrition supervised practice experience and didactic learning activities prepare interns to practice in a community-based nutrition program. Hands-on experiences include conducting community nutrition assessments, providing counseling and education, conducting wellness promotion activities, and participating in project-related time management duties. Interns will develop skills in evaluating and applying government program guidelines and policies to understand the role of public policy in the regulation of community nutrition programs. Interns will promote good health and wellness to people of all ages. They will also learn how to interact and appropriately educate groups of people.
Elective rotations allow students to choose where they would like more hours by adding these rotation hours to the core rotations, or by allowing them to choose hours in specific areas of dietetics. Examples include: private practice business strategies, social media, specialized clinics (eating disorder, health at every size, cystic fibrosis, weight loss, bariatric surgery, etc.), higher education, sports nutrition, nutrition informatics, supermarket nutrition. If you have any questions about possible rotations, contact the distance internship coordinator.
Additional Information
Program Completion Requirements
Upon successful completion of the following criteria, the intern will receive a Verification Statement, become eligible to take the Registration Examination, and complete the Master’s of Science degree:
- Ten months of supervised practice in selected sites, consisting of a minimum of 1070 supervised practice hours. If expectations and/or CRDN’s are not met within the minimum supervised practice hours, students may have to go beyond these hours. (ACEND requires a minimum of 1000 supervised practice hours, but our program’s required minimum is 1070 hours.)
- Documentation of all CRDN’s for entry-level dietitians as described by the 2022 Standards for Internship Programs in Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Achievement of competence is indicated with assignment of Meets Expectations or higher on final evaluation of performance by preceptors or by scoring a minimum of 80% on CRDN benchmarks related to coursework.
- Self-evaluation of performance and experience after supervised practice rotations.
- Submission of online portfolio.
- Final program evaluation upon completion of the summer term.
- A total of 36 hours of required graduate courses with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.
- Completion, with a passing grade, of a written and oral comprehensive examination in the final semester.
Our goal is for students to complete the MS/DI program in one year. The maximum timeframe to complete the program, and remain eligible for federal funding, is 18 months (1.5 years). The maximum time to complete the program, per Marshall University policy, is seven (7) years.
Technology Requirements
Student selected for and enrolled in the distance dietetic internship will complete required internship courses online. At a minimum, a desktop or laptop computer, reliable Internet access, and a webcam and mic for course work are needed. Students will use Blackboard, Marshall’s Learning Management System, to complete online courses. Students must be proficient in the use of computers, the Internet, browsers, Microsoft Office Word, and other common applications. Blackboard support is available 24/7 and the University’s IT service desk is also available to provide technology assistance.
Academic and Program Calendar
Interns will observe the University calendar for all graduate classes. Class breaks for holidays will be indicated on respective course syllabi. Supervised practice rotations, however, may be scheduled during University holidays in order to attain the appropriate number of hours for program completion. The Internship Handbook is updated annually to reflect these dates and is provided to interns during orientation, which takes place a week before fall classes begin.
