Dietetic Internship

DIETETIC INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Each student will be assigned site placements by the Dietetic Internship Director and be required to work in one or more facilities to successfully complete a minimum of 1000 hours of practice experience.  Students must work full-time in the assigned facility. Students complete requirements of the Dietetic Internship Seminar course and one additional graduate course each semester, fall and spring, of the DI year to assist their preparation to practice.

Credit for Prior Experience

The Queens College Dietetic Internship does not award credit for prior experience. Rotation work and projects will be planned to build on prior experience.  Required graduate courses provide preparation for rotations.

DI Program Schedule (Rotations – 9 months; 36 weeks; minimum 1000 practice hours):

Program Orientation – 1 week
Community: Programs / Lifecycle & Chronic Disease / Counseling – 14 weeks (420 practice hours)
Clinical: General Medicine / Extended Care / Surgery / Critical Care – 14 weeks (420 practice hours)
Management of Food Systems: Production / Service / Financial – 7 weeks (210 hours)
Advanced MNT Graduate Course (fall) and one other of student’s choosing (spring)

The internship program provides practice and project work for interns to gain competency to enter the profession as a RDN qualified for a wide range of dietetics employment opportunities. Interns complete a comprehensive community needs assessment and intervention, case report researching chronic disease with counseling intervention, case report researching an acute care condition requiring nutrition support, lifecycle case briefs, ethics and innovations in practice reports, management projects and, potentially, an outcomes research project, all completed to strengthen the interns’ portfolio of experiences.

Please see Sample Rotation Schedule, here.

Applicants to the Dietetic Internship submit their application in the Dietetic Internship Centralized Application Service (DICAS) system. All applicants must meet the following requirements before they begin the internship portion of the program, to promote students’ success and safety in the internship:

1. Core program requirements (application):

• • ​A Master’s degree from an accredited school or foreign equivalent as determined by a recognized credentialing agency
  • Verification Statement from ACEND-accredited DPD received within the last 3 years or with graduate course completion in MNT and Assessment within 3 years
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.2 / DPD GPA of 3.2 / Science GPA of 3.0
  • Personal statement
  • Three letters of recommendation: 1 from work supervisor, 1 from professor and third from either supervisor or instructor
  • Relevant volunteer and or work experience within the dietetic profession; leadership experience preferred
  • Resume
  • Ability to work within the United States
  • Writing ability
  • Personal interview

2. Health requirements (shown upon acceptance to the DI program, prior to starting practice experience):

• • Physical Examination
  • Proof of negative “2 Step PPD” or Quantiferon TB Test within 3 months of admission
  • Proof of titers (blood tests) showing immunity to Measles, Mumps, Varicella, and Rubella
  • Tetanus vaccination within the last 10 years
  • Evidence of Hepatitis B vaccination or signed waiver to decline. Hepatitis B titer may be required from hospital practice site.
  • Annual influenza vaccination
  • Covid vaccination
  • Drug urine screening
  • Health insurance
  • Background check and finger printing (as required by rotation site)

3. Matriculation in the Family, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences graduate program (after acceptance to DI)
4. References and resources required by the program (as noted below under Cost) ​
5. Signed Internship Agreement (​upon acceptance to the DI program, prior to starting practice experience)
6. Tuition for each semester must be paid in full prior to the start of each semester, fall and spring.
7. Other needed materials:

• • Liability Insurance (students in the Dietetic Internship Program are covered by professional liability insurance through Queens College as they are placed at sites with active affiliation agreements with the college)
  • Viable, professionally stated email address​

Deadline

Applicants may file their application for either the DI only, or for the combined MS/DI, at any time, in DICAS. Once the application is submitted applicants must send an email to the DI Program Director, Allison Charny, notifying that the application has been submitted, stating for either for the Fall or the Spring Application Period.

For the Fall Application Period (to enter the MS/DI in spring), the DI Director will notify the applicant of acceptance on or before November 1. Applicants then notify the DI Director of their decision to accept the Spring placement by November 15.

For the Spring Application Period (to enter the DI or MS/DI in the Fall, the DI Director will notify the applicant of acceptance on or before March 1. Applicants then notify the DI Director of their decision to accept the Fall placement by March 15

Application Fee

For the 2024-2025 application year, the fee is WAIVED (no need to submit)

A $100.00 fee is required. Be sure your name, the applicant’s name, on your DICAS application, is noted on your check. Mail checks, payable to the Queens College FNES Department Fund, to be received by the submission date of your application. Send to:

Queens College, CUNY
Family, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences Department
c/o George Giannopoulos
Remsen Hall 306
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Queens, NY 11367-1597.

Application Materials

The Queens College DI and MS/DI participates in electronic filing of applications, the Dietetic Internship (Inclusive) Centralized Application System (DICAS), to include:

1. Accurate completion of application as per DICAS instructions
2. Personal Statement
3. Three letters of recommendation – 2 from work supervisors and 1 from professor OR 1 from work supervisor and 2 from professors (do not submit 3 recommendations only from supervisors or only from professors)
4. DPD Verification Statement of completion / Intent to complete
5. Official Transcripts from all colleges attended
6. Resume

Please see DICAS section of ACEND Application Process for Students https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend/students-and-advancing-education/application-process-for-students and the DICAS website http://dicas.liaisoncas.com

Enrollment

The DI spans the fall and spring academic semesters. Each semester all interns are required to take one graduate didactic course (fall: Medical Nutrition Therapy; spring: one other, 3 credits each) along with enrollment in the DI (6 credits), for a total of 9 graduate credits per semester. The DI Program places 12 interns at sites for internship practice annually.

Tuition for the internship year for NY state resident is $8460 + $198.35 student fee.

Tuition information can be found on the Queens College Bursars Office website:
https://www.qc.cuny.edu/br/tuition-costs/.  The internship cost is for 6 credits plus one 3-credit graduate course each semester for a total of 18 graduate credits.

If you need financial aid, please contact the Queens College Office of Financial Aid at 718.997.5100 https://www.qc.cuny.edu/faid/

Additional internship expenses include:

• DICAS: DICAS fee is $50 for one internship program and $25 for each additional program.
• Dietetic Internship Application Fee: $100.  The fee would be made out to Queens College FNES Department Fund and sent as indicated above under Application Information.
• Tuition:
  • $470/credit- New York State residents
  • $855/credit- Non-residents
  • $198.35 consolidated fee, includes activity fee, consolidated fees and technology fees per semester
  • $150 DI fee paid only with fall DI Seminar course, FNES 773
• Medical Insurance: Students must carry their own medical insurance and proof of coverage must be shown to the Internship Director before going to first facility.
• Medical exam within 3 months before the start of the internship; interns must submit verification of completion indicating medical clearance to practice.
• Proof of a TB test, tetanus, covid and flu vaccination, titers for MMR and varicella, Hepatitis B series or waiver, drug testing, vaccination or waiver for meningitis and others as may be required by practice sites.
• ServSafe Manager certification, up to $180 https://www.servsafe.com/access/ss/Catalog/ProductList/10​
• Finger-printing if required by practice site
• Books:  A reading list is available upon request (~ $500 for books).
• Professional conference up to $150
• Transportation: All students are required to have their own transportation and assume expenses commuting to and from sites including tolls, parking and public transportation as needed.
• Housing: A dormitory is available on campus.  There are several types of spaces available and can be viewed at qc.cuny.edu/thesummit.  Off-campus housing is also available.
• Lab coat and/or uniform in some assigned facilities, comfortable, closed, slip-resistant shoes.
• Background checks where required by assigned facilities (may include additional drug test and/or fingerprinting, and may be at the student’s expense).
• Cell phone, laptop computer, web-cam, printer-scanner combination, daily internet access.
• Financial aid is available. Go to qc.cuny.edu/admissions/fa.
• Additional costs include cost of living expenses for New York City.
• NOTE: The College/Program pays for each student’s liability insurance and RD Exam Review Course.

Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) now requires a minimum of a Master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). All students completing a DI after January 1, 2024 must also have a Master’s degree completed before taking the Registration Exam for RDNs.

To meet CDR’s requirement ​for both a Master’s degree and the Dietetic Internship to become a RDN, a MS/DI track is offered through which the Master’s degree in Nutrition Specialization OR Nutrition and Exercise Science and the Dietetic Internship Program are both completed within 2 years. Students complete graduate courses full time in the first MS/DI year and the Dietetic Internship in the second MS/DI year. Applicants must have earned their DPD Verification of Completion plus a Bachelor’s degree before starting the combined program.

Application to the Queens College MS/DI – follows all guidelines for application to the Queens College DI as described above, in addition to:

QC DPD students with a minimum 3.4 GPA upon entering their senior year of their DPD who would like to be Preselected to the MS/DI please email Allison Charny to request an interview.

Applicants for the combined MS/DI who are not Queens College DPD students or Queens College DPD students who do not apply to be Preselected submit their application fee (see above) and application in DICAS as stated in the Application Information, Deadline, section above.

Upon acceptance for placement in the MS/DI, applicants apply to the graduate program and will be accepted to the Master’s program, completing 24 full-time graduate credits in fall-spring of year 1, and 9 full-time graduate credits which includes internship practice in year 2. Students enrolled in the MS/DI program are guaranteed site placements for the dietetic internship practice experience in year 2, contingent upon successful completion of all required graduate courses in year 1. The Master’s degree and Dietetic Internship is completed in 2 years and must be completed in no more than 3 years with documentation of extenuating circumstance preventing consecutive completion of all courses and internship practice.

Tuition for the combined MS/DI for NY state resident is $18,330 + 198.35 + $150 student fees.

MS/DI Program Schedule (Year 1 full-time MS coursework + Year 2 DI Program, as above)

Please see MS/DI Course Plan, here.

For additional information and detail on the dietetic internship programs and polices and procedures, please see Internship Handbook here.

OPEN HOUSE MEETINGS

Attend our virtual Open House meetings to meet the program director, current interns and/or past graduates:

Wednesday October 9, 2024 at 12:15 – 1:15 PM online.

Monday November 11, 2024 at 12:15 – 1:15 PM online.

RSVP must be made via email to the Program Director allison.charny@qc.cuny.edu to receive Zoom link shortly before the scheduled time of the Open House meeting.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Please contact the program director for more information:

Allison Charny, MS RDN CDCES CDN
Director, Queens College Dietetic Internship
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Remsen 306A
Queens, New York 11367
718-997-4138
allison.charny@qc.cuny.edu

Please see Internship Handbook, here , for additional information and detail on the dietetic internship program and polices and procedures.