Dietetic Internship

Curriculum Overview

The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND®) Board granted the Food Science and Nutrition Department approval for a combined masters and dietetic internship program July 2021.

Potential candidates who will be applying for the DICAS spring 2023 match – the program designation will provide a 30-unit Master of science degree in Food and Nutritional Sciences and a minimum of 1,000 experiential supervised practice hours combined over a 24-month period. The Fresno State dietetic internship will accept 11 students into the program cohort annually.

Website Curr

Program Didactic Curriculum
FN 200 Research Methods in Food and Nutrition – (3units) or AGRI 220 Research Methods and Communication (3units)
FN 223 Food, Nutrition and Health – (3units)
FN 229 Graduate Seminar (1unit) – must take 3 seminars
Graduate level Statistics Course, usually AGRI 200 – (3units)
FN 299/298 Thesis or Project – 6units
Electives (approved by advisor) – 12 units (see below)
   FN 230 Advanced Counseling (3units)
   FN 250 Food and Nutrition Resource Management (3units)
   NUTR 193I or FSM 193I: Supervised Work Experience (cr/nc) – no more than 6 units

For a full class description list please visit the course catalog at: https://www.fresnostate.edu/catalog/courses-by-department/food-science-nutrition/

Rotation Summary

The program curriculum rotation sites are listed below in the table (subject to change) and offer a minimum of 1,000 supervised practice hours. The supervised practice placements occur simultaneously whiles student graduates take masters level courses as outlined in the above infographic.

Placement Options

Interns complete supervised practice experiences in a variety of facilities in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California, including a veterans' hospital, a state prison, a school district, private hospitals, out-patient programs and county public health department, and choices for speciality options.

Main Track/Rotation Summary 2024


Segment	Rotation	Weeks	Facilities
Medical Nutrition Therapy 12 week Professional Rotation(s) 3 weeks alternative/simulation study	Acute Care	7	Community Medical Center Clovis Community Regional Medical-Downtown Fresno Heart and Surgical Center St. Agnes Medical Center (SAMC) Veterans Administration (VACCHCS)
	Clinical Specialty Age	3	Pediatrics (CRMC) Diabetes (DCC and SEA) Skilled Nursing / Consulting Dietetics Sports Nutrition @ FS
	Diabetes	1	VACCHCS
	Out-Patient Counseling	1	VACCHCS
	Simulation Study – MNT/NCP	1	Self-Study
	Simulation Study - Renal	1	Self-Study
Foodservice Systems Management 7 weeks Professional Rotation(s)	Hospital-Large	4	VACCHCS or SAMC
	School Food Service	2	Kings Canyon Unified or Clovis Unified
	Prison	2	State Prison
Community Nutrition 10 weeks Professional Rotation(s)	Health and Wellness	2	University Health and Psychological Services
	Nutrition Education	3	Fresno County Public Health Department Fresno State CalFresh Healthy Living
	WIC	2	Fresno County EOC or United Health Cntr
	Student Teaching	3	California Health Sciences University (CHSU) Fresno City College (FCC)
Elective 3 weeks Professional Rotation	3 weeks of Elective 96 hours	3	Interns Seek/Find their own Elective – FN 230 Adv. Counseling: students will create a culturally appropriate screen assessment tool for a said disease and/or counselling style. FN 250 Business Resource Mgt: Business Research/Team Task Assignment and Business Presentation Pitch.

34 weeks of Tue-Friday rotation schedule = 1088 hours

Hours of Community Outreach Activity = 48 hours (may be alternative work experiences depending on COVID guidelines)

Hours of Professional Development = 16 hours

Total Hours: 1,088 supervised hours

(1,024 PROFESSIONAL HOURS + 160 ALTERNATIVE PRACTICE EXPERIENCES)

Course Plan

For more information visit the course catalog at https://www.fresnostate.edu/catalog/subjects/food-science-nutrition/fdnutri-sc.html

30 units of graduate credit see course catalog

*Some rotations use 2-4 facilities, accommodating 5 interns at each facility. The facilities are selected and the experiences are planned to be comparable.

Conditions for Program Completion

Requirements for Program Completion & Issuance of Verification Statement:

Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 1,000 hours of supervised practice.
Satisfactory completion of all rotations assigned by the Dietetic Internship Director.
Satisfactory completion of all assignments in each rotation.
Satisfactory completion of all additional assignments made by the Dietetic Internship Director.
Earn a minimum of 70% (C grade) in all required graduate courses.
Fulfill program requirements to earn Masters of Science (Food & Nutritional Sciences) 30 unit degree.

Maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA

Complete ALL program requirements mentioned above

Course requirements include: 30 units of graduate credit

To review more about the Food Science and Nutrition masters degree requirements, student can go to the course catalog: http://www.fresnostate.edu/jcast/fsn/degrees-programs/post-baccalaureate/masters-program.html

Criteria for Issuance of Verification Statement - A verification statement will only be issued with BOTH the Master’s Degree requirement and the supervised practice hours have been completed and conferred.

Academic Calendar

Internship Calendar