Admission Requirements and Application Process

Admission Requirements

Admission to the UMass Amherst Dietetic Internship (DI) is competitive among applicants and decided by an internship selection committee. To apply to our program, students must first meet two minimum requirements:

1. Have completed an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics approved or accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and have a DPD verification statement signed by the DPD director. For information on specific DPD course requirements, please visit our Dietetics Track (DPD) page.
2. Hold a master's degree or higher in nutrition, public health, or health-related field, OR be in the process of completing a master's degree with a projected graduation date that will fall before the start of the internship program.

Academic Requirements

Specific Courses 

• MNT (or equivalent) - applicants should have successfully completed (grade of B or better*) within the last three years at least one full-semester of medical nutrition therapy.
• A & P - students should have successfully completed (grades of B or better*) two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology. For questions regarding these requirements, please contact the csmaxwell [at] umass [dot] edu (subject: Application%20grade%20requirements) (program director).

GPA / Grades

A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for college-level work is expected. Specific attention is given to nutrition and science-related courses. Consideration of course load, employment status, and/or extracurricular activities is given when reviewing overall grades. *Applicants with grades lower than a B in the above courses are still encouraged to apply as grades and GPA are not the only considerations for acceptance into our program.

Personal Statement

Applicants should include the following in their personal statement:

• Why is the DI program at UMass Amherst a good fit for you?
• What specific experiences have prepared you for a dietetic internship?
• What unique skills/qualities you will bring to the nutrition and dietetics profession?
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• Describe a situation where you demonstrated the ability to complete a project independently (does not have to be nutrition or school related). Max length 1000 words.

Interview

UMass Amherst DI program conducts virtual (i.e., Zoom) interviews as part of the application process. Interviews will be held between February 1st and March 1st for fall applications and October 9th and October 30th for spring applications. Selected applicants will be contacted via email within the first two weeks of the respective deadline to schedule their interviews.

Work and Volunteer Experience

Prior work or volunteer experience in the nutrition and health-related fields is encouraged but not required. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• WIC or Head Start
• Emergency food agencies (e.g., food bank or pantry)
• Elder nutrition services
• Hospital dietary office
• Long-term care or acute-care facilities
• Outpatient clinics (e.g., diabetes, cardiac rehab)
• Nutrition education programs (e.g., Cooking Matters, UMass Extension/NEP, Food Play)

Note: we recognize that some positions (e.g., diet aide) and volunteer experiences may not be realistic for students (i.e., insufficient pay or insufficient time due to extenuative circumstances). Maintaining any job during your academic years is challenging and demonstrates resolve, and will reflect favorably on applications. 

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants should submit three letters of recommendation: at least two from faculty/academic instructors, and one from a supervisor/employer. For applicants who have been outside of academia for more than two years, one letter from a former academic instructor, and two letters from past/current supervisors/employers is acceptable.

Letters of recommendation are given significant attention during the application process. It is highly encouraged that you request letters from those who know you well and can speak to your academic achievements and/or overall work ethic.

Application Process

DICAS (Dietetics Inclusive Centralized Application System)

As with the majority of dietetic internships across the country, UMass Amherst uses DICAS to process all applications to our internship program. DICAS is a centralized application portal, where students upload their application documents to one location and check the DI programs they want to apply to. Most programs have unique requirements (e.g., personal statement instructions, additional documents), so some documentation will be specific to each program. However, pertinent information (i.e., transcripts, verification statement, letters of recommendation, etc.) should only require one upload.

DICAS charges an application fee of $50 for the first program and $25 for each additional program. 

Please visit the DICAS help center for additional information on completing your application, or visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website for specific help with the DICAS process.

Additional Information

Residential Requirements

The UMass Amherst DI program is not a distance internship. ACEND requires a minimum of 700 (of the 1,000) supervised practice hours be completed on site and in person. The majority of our preceptors live in western Massachusetts; therefore, most rotation sites are located within a one-hour drive of the UMass Amherst Flagship campus. Out-of-state students are encouraged to relocate to the western Massachusetts area to complete their internship experience.

It is possible for students to live outside of western Mass and complete their rotations closer to home (e.g., Boston area). However, clinical rotation sites cannot be guaranteed and would likely require additional travel on the student’s part. For all students, periodic travel to the Amherst area is expected throughout the program (e.g., orientation, workshops, tours, etc.) regardless of living arrangements.

Accommodations and Exceptions in the DI Program

The UMass Amherst DI program allows for prior learning credit on a case-by-case basis. This means students may be able to apply time spent in a nutrition-related field toward the required 1,000 hours of supervised practice. For example, if you held a nutrition specialist position at WIC, some of those hours could count toward your supervised practice, which would reduce the overall time spent in the program and enable you to finish in less than 10 months.

The UMass Amherst DI program also strives to maintain flexibility with the weekly/monthly rotation schedule. We recognize many students must work to support themselves during an unpaid internship program. Therefore, we make every effort to ensure students have time to hold a part-time job while completing the requirements of the program. Nonetheless, the program is demanding and applicants should be prepared for a very busy but productive academic year.