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The Tulane Dietetic Internship Program is a graduate-level supervised practice program for students who would like to become Registered Dietitians. It is a full-time non-degree program with a community emphasis. Staring with class 51 in Fall 2023, a master's degree is required to receive a DI Verification Statement to be eligible to take the RD Exam. The master's degree may come from Tulane University or any other university. It may be completed before or during the Tulane DI program and must be completed within a year of the supervised practice rotations. The Dietetic Internship Program at Tulane University School of Public Health is currently granted accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Drive, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606. 800/877-1600, ext 5400. Their website is https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend.
The mission of the Tulane Dietetic Internship is to prepare entry-level Registered Dietitians for leadership in community health practices through education, research and practice directed at health promotion and disease prevention among individuals and their communities. The Dietetic Internship program will give the students the opportunity to apply clinically the nutrition and food management knowledge that they have learned in their Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD).
The purpose of the Tulane Dietetic Internship is to provide a comprehensive and intensive supervised practice experience, with the opportunities to acquire the competencies necessary to function as an entry-level practitioner and to make the student registration eligible (to be qualified to register for the Registered Dietitian [RD] Exam).
To be eligible for the Tulane Dietetic Internship, the applicant must have completed a bachelor's degree and have a verification statement from an ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). The Tulane SBPS department does not offer the courses that are required to obtain a DPD Verification Statement. If you are interested in the Tulane Dietetic Internship Program but did not major in nutrition in college, you will need to take additional undergraduate nutrition courses to get a DPD verification statement.
Please e-mail the Dietetic Internship Director Marsha Piacun at di@tulane.edu.
If you are applying for the match and do not have a master's degree, please apply for the graduate program early, so you can notify the Tulane DI Director regarding which program you will start in the summer.
The last three items should be mailed to Tulane postmarked by February 15th to:
Marsha Piacun, MBA, RD, LDN
Tulane Dietetic Internship Director
Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
1440 Canal Street, Mail Code 8319
New Orleans, LA 70112
All applications are evaluated by a committee who look at the applicant's GPA, recommendation letters, personal statement, video, graduate credit, work experience and unique characteristics. The committee would like the cohort to be made up of interns with various backgrounds and interests. The applicants are ranked before the D & D Digital deadline. The DI Match list is posted in early April by D & D Digital. If the applicant is matched, they must contact the Tulane DI Director within 24 hours to accept the Tulane DI position.
Application Deadline: February 15th of each year (refer to the D & D Digital and DICAS websites for their deadlines).
The Tulane University Dietetic Internship participates in a pre-selection process in addition to the computer matching process. In the pre-selection process, the program can select students who have met the pre-selection admission requirements. To be considered for pre-selection, an applicant must be enrolled in the Tulane SPHTM MPH Nutrition program, or another partner's program.The applicant must be close to completing their master's coursework prior to beginning the Tulane DI Program in August or able to complete the master's coursework shortly following the supervised practice rotations.Some of the credits from the Tulane DI Program may be counted towards the Tulane master's degree. If needed, the DPD courses must be completed prior to the beginning of the Dietetic Internship rotations.
The Tulane pre-select applicant must bring / email / mail a complete application packet to the Tulane Dietetic Internship Director between November 1 and January 1 (application forms, 3 recommendation letters, personal statement, DPD verification statement, and transcripts). The applicant will be notified on or before February 1 confirming their acceptance or rejection into the Tulane DI program through the pre-selection process. The remaining number of positions will be filled through the partner schools and the D & D Digital computer matching process.
If pre-selected, the Tulane DI Director will provide to D & D Digital the list of students pre-selected along with their e-mail addresses by the February 1 deadline. D & D Digital will use this information to ensure that the applicant does not participate in the computer match. If the applicant is not selected through the pre-selection process, they may reapply to this or any other DI program through the computer matching process. The deadline for application for the April computer match is February 15th.
Drexel University MS-DPD students may also apply for pre-selection process at Tulane University. Applicants initially apply to Drexel's master's-DPD program. After acceptance, the Drexel Program Director will guide the applicants through the pre-select process for the Tulane DI program. The completed application packet will be sent by Drexel to the Tulane DI Director and other partners during the fall semester. Notification of ranking choices will be sent in January. The Drexel Program Director will notify the partner DI Directors of the internal match results. Tulane DI Director will notify D&D Digital of the pre-selected Drexel students.
Nicholls State University students who will have a DPD plus plan to start the MS in Nutrition program at Nicholls may also apply for pre-selection to the Tulane DI Program. The Nicholls Program Director will guide the Nicholls applicants through the preselect process. The completed application packet will be sent by Nicholls to the Tulane DI Director during the fall semester. Some of the credits from the Tulane DI Program may be counted towards the Nicholls MS degree. Notification of acceptance will be in January. The student will have one week to accept the pre-select position at Tulane. The Tulane DI Director will notify D&D Digital of the pre-selected Nicholls students.
Application Deadline: February 15th of each year (refer to the D&D Digital and DICAS websites)
The Tulane Dietetic Internship (supervised practice) lasts 10 months and provides practical training and field experience in various community, clinical, and food service and management settings in the greater New Orleans area. The program accepts 20 interns per year. The internship begins in the Fall semester and is completed in the following June. Interns must successfully complete all rotations and exams (plus a master's degree starting in January 2024) to receive a DI verification statement and be eligible to take the CDR Registration Examination in Dietetics. Interns must follow the policies and procedures required by the rotation facilities. Interns must remove facial jewelry and tattoos must be covered with clothing while at internship rotation sites.
For more information, contact the Tulane Dietetic Internship Director Marsha Piacun at di@tulane.edu.
For more information, contact: Marsha Piacun at di@tulane.edu.
Check out this video of the dietetics open house open house made by the 2017 DI class.
Recent DI graduate Holly Wise just published an article How to Have Fun in the Kitchen on the Fruits & Veggies website!
