To be a Dietician, what certificates or degrees do you need?
I am interested the the field of pharmacy and lifestyle management/ nutrition. I want to combine pharmacy with nutrition in my future career. I am graduating undergraduate early so technically I will not have a major. I could get a healthy lifestyle management minor in undergraduate or look at certificate courses to take during or after pharmacy school. #dietician #registereddietician #nutrition #pharmacy #pharmacist #certificate #foodscience #major #Creighton #earlyassurance #minor #healthylifestyle #management #lifestyle #healthcare #healthy #healthadvocate
2 answers
Alexa’s Answer
Hi Shayna!
As of now, you need to complete an undergraduate DPD (Didactic Program in Dietetics) program and apply for/be matched with a dietetic internship. The internship is completed after you finish your required undergraduate coursework. The dietetic internship can be as short as 6 months or as long as 2 years. The longer ones usually include a Masters degree program worked into them.
In the foreseeable future (5ish years or so) a Masters degree will be required in order to become a dietitian.
Once you complete your dietetic internship, you sit for the RD exam. Once you pass this, you're a dietitian! Each state has their own licensing laws so you would need to look into that as well. For example, I work in Iowa so, in order for me to practice as a dietitian, I have to have my RD credentials as well as LD (licensed dietitian) for the state.
Hope this helps!