Program Schedule

In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) standards, dietetic students are required to complete 1,000 hours of supervised practice, of which 700 hours must be conducted in a professional workplace setting and 300 hours may come from alternate supervised experiences, including simulated case studies and role playing. The UMass Amherst dietetic studentship (DI) provides dietetic students (i.e., students) with over 900 supervised hours in a workplace setting and nearly 200 hours of alternate supervised practice hours.

Food Service Management: Students will spend approximately 256 hours (eight 4-day weeks) in a food service management (FSM) rotation, gaining managerial experience in a food service environment. Most FSM rotations are located within school or health care systems. Other opportunities for FSM experience have included Meals-on-Wheels facilities, Veterans Affairs (VA), and Head Start programs.

Community Nutrition: Students will spend approximately 256 hours (eight 4-day weeks) in a community rotation, gaining nutrition and dietetic-related skills in a variety of settings within the community. This rotation offers the most diverse opportunities for students. Past sites include the Food Bank of Western Mass, Produce Prescription Programs, Big Y (supermarket) dietitians, and clinical outpatient settings such as maternal health and pediatric endocrine clinics.

Clinical: Students will also spend 384 - 480 hours (12-15 4-day weeks) in a clinical rotation. A pre-clinical workshop is held as a review, which refamiliarizes students with MNT and A & P preparing them for their in-person clinical experience. The students will also spend 48 hours (two 3-day weeks) in long-term care (LTC) specializing in gerontological nutrition and dementia.

Other Experiences: In addition to the above main rotations, students spend 48 hours (two 3-day weeks) at a Veterans Affairs (VA) rotation where they get individual and group nutrition counseling experience. They also get to choose a specialty rotation (plan your own, "PYO”) where they will spend 64 hours (two 4-day weeks) working in an area of personal interest. While the students are encouraged to reach out to the individual preceptors (this encourages networking and fosters initiative), the director has a list of rotation options and contact information from which to choose. It is not expected that the students facilitate the PYO rotation solely on their own.

The estimated 32-hour/week rotations do not include travel time, homework on assignments or projects, or other outside preparation. There will be a two-week break at the end of December through the New Year for fall admits, and two weeks during the summer for spring admits.