1. Confirm whether you meet University of Arizona eligibility requirements based on your application type:
   1. First-year, first-time students
   2. Transfer students
   3. International students
   4. Returning students
2. Start your university application. To request a paper application, contact admissions at 520-621-3237 or admissions@arizona.edu.
3. Finalize and submit your materials before the application deadline. The review process typically takes 2-3 weeks.

A degree in Nutritional & Dietetics prepares you for a career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and nutrition counseling. It also serve as a springboard for graduate programs in dietetics. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for nutrition and dietitians was $69,680 per year with a faster than average job growth overall (2023).

Although your career possibilities are limitless, here are some example career paths our students follow:

• Registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN): Apply evidence-based information about nutrition and diet to improve personal health and wellness. A master's degree is required to become certified as an RDN, and a bachelor's degree in nutrition will prepare you to excel in your graduate studies.
• Dietetic Technician Registered (DTR): Assist registered dietitians in planning and implementing nutrition programs, conducting dietary assessments, and providing nutritional education and counseling to individuals and communities.
• Sports Dietitian: Develop and implement nutrition plans tailored to enhance athletic performance and recovery for professional and amateur athletes.
• Nutrition Counseling: Provide personalized dietary advice and support to individuals seeking to improve their health, manage chronic conditions, or achieve specific wellness goals.
• Public Health Nutrition: Design and manage community-based nutrition programs aimed at improving public health and addressing issues such as malnutrition, obesity, and food insecurity.
• Nutrition Education: Teach and promote healthy eating habits and nutritional knowledge in schools, community centers, and various public and private organizations.

Registered dietitians work in a wide variety of settings, including healthcare, business, community, education, school systems, research, government and private practice. Many work environments, particularly those in medical and healthcare settings, require that an individual be credentialed as an RDN.

As a Nutrition & Dietetics student at the University of Arizona, you’ll learn how to integrate dietetics, food science, nutrition policy, health behavior, biochemistry, and physiology to develop solutions for improving health and wellness. Courses required to complete the degree are subject to change, so remember to meet with your advisor regularly to review your course plan.

Nutrition & Dietetics students have the unique opportunity to gain fundamental and applied experience in the classroom, lab and field with courses like:

• Nutrition and the Life Cycle
• Human Anatomy & Physiology
• Nutrition & Metabolism
• Nutrition Education & Counseling
• Community Nutrition
• Food Science Labs
• Medical Nutrition Therapy Lab
• Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II
• Weight Inclusive Counseling
• Food Service Management

The DPD Program's Mission:

The mission of the program is to produce graduates with foundation knowledge and skills in dietetics to become competent graduates prepared for supervised practice and entry-level practice as registered dietitians nutritionist serving diverse populations worldwide.

Goals:

*Program outcome data are available upon request (ACEND Required Element 9.3c).

Goal #1: Graduates will be prepared for entry into supervised practice, graduate programs, or the workforce in nutrition or a related field.

DPD Objectives:

Program Completion

• At least 80% of students complete program/degree requirements within 3 years (150% of the program length).

Graduate Application and Acceptance into Supervised Practice

• At least 50% of program graduates apply for admission to a supervised practice program prior to or within 12 months of graduation.
• Of program graduates who apply to a supervised practice program, at least 50% are admitted within 12 months of graduation.

Graduate Performance on Registration Exam

• 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%.

Goal #2: Graduates will successfully apply skills in evidence-based practice, problem solving, and cultural humility and inclusivity during supervised practice, graduate school, or nutrition-related careers.

Satisfaction with Graduate Performance:

• 80% of DPD graduates within the last three years who return the alumni survey will rate the program as "excellent" or "good" in preparing them for supervised practice, graduate school or entry-level practice in nutrition or a related field.
• 80% of Supervised Practice Program Directors who return the Program Directors Survey will rate the DPD graduates as "excellent" or "outstanding" in preparation for supervised practice.
• 80% of DPD graduating seniors will rate the overall quality of the program as "excellent" or "good."

Additional Objectives:

• 80% of Supervised Practice Program Directors who return the DI Director Survey will rate the graduate's level of knowledge and/or skill as "excellent" or "outstanding" in the areas of evidence-based practice, problem solving and cultural humility.
• 80% of DPD Graduates within the last two years who return the alumni survey will rate how well the program prepared them in the areas of evidence-based practice, problem solving and cultural humility and inclusivity as "excellent" or "good."

Applying and being accepted into the University of Arizona allows students to pursue the Nutritional Sciences degree and the Dietetics Program. There is no additional application process to the DPD.

Completion of an online application is required to apply to the University of Arizona, and a single online application is used for admission to UA Main Campus programs, University of Arizona Online and UA Yuma. There are separate applications for freshman and transfer students, as well as for students seeking readmission and non-degree status.

For access to the online application system visit the following websites: https://admissions.arizona.edu/ONLINEAPPLICATION/ or online.arizona.edu. Specific admissions requirements are indicated.

To complete and meet all of the DPD requirements for a verification statement, a student must:

• Earn (or have previously earned), at the minimum, a bachelor's degree.
• Complete all UA DPD courses or accepted equivalent courses from accredited universities (See DPD Course List). The required DPD courses for the verification statement equal a total of 88 units of academic credit. Only courses with a grade of C or better will be accepted for transfer.
• Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or better, including UArizona and any transfer courses, or at the discretion of the DPD director.

Core Courses: Any student wishing to obtain a verification statement from the University of Arizona will be required to complete the following Core courses regardless of whether equivalents have been taken elsewhere in order to be eligible to obtain a verification statement: NSC 325, 325L, 425, 435, 444, 458 and either 308 or 408 (this will be determined by your NSC academic advisor).

Recency Policy: Transcripts will also be reviewed for recency of coursework completion. Coursework completed prior to the time limits are outlined below will need to be repeated:

• Stats, English, Gen-Eds, NSC elective(s) and Science Elective: No time-limit
• Math (112), Sciences: 8 years
• Chemistry: 8 years
  • If the student has completed the first course of the chemistry sequence one semester prior to the 8-year recency policy, we will allow for the course to count toward DPD requirements
• All NSC courses: 6 years

International coursework: The following required DPD courses will not be accepted from an institution outside of the United States because they include content that is specific to dietetics practice guidelines for practice in the United States: Nutrition and the Lifecycle (NSC 301), Foundations in Medical Nutrition Therapy (NSC 325), Medical Nutrition Therapy I (NSC 425), Medical Nutrition Therapy II (NSC 435), Community Nutrition (NSC 444), Food Service Organization & Management (NSC 458).

International transcripts must be evaluated by an ACEND-approved foreign degree evaluation agency prior to being evaluated by the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness.

Non-degree seeking students: Our Undergraduate Certificate for Didactic Program in Dietetics will allow you to earn a DPD Verification Statement as a non-degree seeking student. You must have a previous bachelor's degree or equivalent in order to pursue our certificate program. The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Verification Statement verifies completion of a minimum of 88 units of educational requirements and is required for application to accredited Dietetic Internship (DI) programs. A minimum of 24 units of coursework must be completed at the University of Arizona in order to receive a verification statement.

Students holding a Bachelor's degree or equivalent can request a transcript review by the program director or a designated appointee (such as an academic advisor). DPD course deficiencies that are identified must be completed before a Verification Statement will be awarded. At the discretion of the director, DPD course requirements may be substituted or waived based on the collective experiences of the individual student, such as in work history or prior coursework. All non-degree seeking students will be required to complete the following courses in order to obtain a verification statement: NSC 325/325L, 425, 435, 444, 458 and either 308 or 408.

Transfer Credit Process: As you begin the application process, it is important that coursework completed at other institutions is evaluated as soon as possible. Below is the list of courses that are needed as a foundation before you begin upper-division coursework.

If you believe you have completed equivalent courses at another institution, you'll need to provide syllabi to determine their transferability. Any courses on the above list taken greater than what is outlined in the recency policy will need to be retaken.

1. Collect syllabi from the institution(s) where you took the course(s)
2. Submit the Course Equivalency form for each course you'd like to be evaluated.
3. Our Transfer Articulation Office will evaluate each course.

Students who are taking courses within our DPD program that they intend to transfer back to their home institution must meet our prerequisite and recency policies. Additionally, students who are transferring to UArizona to complete their DPD verification statement must have their transfer courses reviewed for equivalency. Even if a course is evaluated as equivalent, the student must work with the DPD Director to assure they satisfy DPD program requirement for any KRDNs aligning with a transfer course.

Students in the DPD program, Bachelor of Science degree, or DPD Certificate are required to meet and complete a series of Knowledge Requirement for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (KRDN) to receive a verification statement upon graduation. KRDNs prepare students with the necessary knowledge to enter a dietetics supervised practice internship. KRDNs are measured in several DPD courses.

To receive a Verification Statement upon graduation, students must successfully complete all DPD degree requirements and demonstrate achievement of each KRDN.

• Students must meet the minimum passing score determined for each assessment method to demonstrate competency for the KRDN.
• If a student does not meet the minimum score required for a KRDN in the course on the first attempt, the student will be offered the opportunity for remediation by the instructor before the end of the semester.
• Students are responsible for reaching out their instructor within 1 week of the grade being posted to discuss a remediation plan if necessary.
• Remediation will require additional work but will not change the original grade in the course.
• Remediation may include any of the following:
  • The student may be offered a different assignment that demonstrates the required knowledge.
  • The student may re-submit the assignment or section of the assignment to demonstrate the required knowledge.
  • Other remediation efforts may be considered based on instructor discretion.
• If a student does not achieve the minimum score after a first attempt for remediation, the course instructor will notify the DPD Director and a second remediation plan will be agreed upon by the DPD Director, student and instructor of record for the course.
• If a student does not complete their opportunity for remediation or does not respond to attempts by the instructor to provide remediation, the course instructor will notify the DPD Director for further action.
• A Verification Statement will not be awarded unless the student demonstrates achievement of all required KRDNs before graduation.

Any student wishing to obtain a verification statement from the University of Arizona will be required to complete the following Core courses regardless of whether equivalents have been taken elsewhere in order to be eligible to obtain a Verification Statement: NSC 325, 325L, 425, 435, 444, 458 and either 308 or 408 (this will be determined by your NSC academic advisor). Please be advised that students who are pursuing a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences: Dietetics degree will be required to complete all courses on the degree checklist.

Transcripts will also be reviewed for recency of coursework completion. Coursework completed prior to the time limits as outlined below will need to be repeated:

• Stats, English, Gen-Eds, NSC elective(s) and Science Elective: No time-limit.
• Math (112), Sciences: 8 years
• Chemistry courses: 8 years
  • If the student has completed the first course of the chemistry sequence one semester prior to the 8 year policy, we will allow for the course to count toward DPD requirements.
• All NSC courses: 6 years
  (NOTE: All above parameters apply to courses completed within NSW DPD program as well as transfer courses)

Average tuition for the full-tome student varies each academic year. Tuition rates are listed for both Arizona residents and out-of-state students on the Bursar's Office website. All tuition and fee schedules are subject to change from semester to semester. Tuition costs differ between UA Main, UA Yuma and Arizona Online campuses and are reflected on the tuition calculator.

Some labs require additional fees per semester.

In addition to tuition, course and laboratory fees and textbook costs, the student in dietetics can expect to incur some additional expenses. Additional costs to undergraduates include:

• Student ID: $25
• Parking: $479 - $726 (UA Main Campus students only)
• Program Fee: $250 per semester (UA Main Campus students only)
• Student memberships: $68 (optional - national and state membership $58; district membership: $10)

All important dates and deadlines are available in the online Academic Calendar.

Generally, fall semester starts in mid/late-August and end in early/mid-December. Spring semester begins in mid-January and end in mid-May. The first summer session is generally the month of June and the second summer session is the month of July. There is also pre-session, which is the three weeks between May graduation and the beginning of first summer session in June. Winter session is the time between December graduation and the beginning of spring semester in January. Holiday closures will follow the official UA Holiday Schedule.

Students are encouraged to meet with their Academic Advisors regularly throughout their undergraduate career.

All degree-seeking students are eligible to apply for federal aid by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.

For students enrolled in the DPD, college and school scholarships are available and awarded on a competitive basis using criteria such as scholastic achievement and financial need. A single application can be submitted for a pool of scholarships available in the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences using the Scholarship Universe Portal. Scholarship Universe is the University's scholarship matching portal, and it is used to match students to opportunities they are eligible for.

Scholarships for dietetics students at all levels of study are also available through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation.

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