Are you passionate about how the food we put in our bodies affects our ability to do.......EVERYTHING? Do you want to help people have a healthier relationship with their food? Recover from illness or injury? Be faster, stronger, and less prone to injury? Generally live a healthier life? Manage their chronic health problems more effectively?
The Nutrition & Dietetics program at EIU can give you the training and experience to do all these things, and to enhance your skill set for other clinical professions.
Want to explore all the nutrition professions available to you? The BS Nutrition program provides the knowledge and experience to help you decide what direction you want to go, whether that's the graduate program/become an RDN, or one of the many other nutrition career pathways that do not require the RDN credential.
Want to increase your knowledge base about nutrition to enhance your primary area of study? Check out the Nutrition Minor, or maybe consider doing a double major with the BS Nutrition.
Want to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)? The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) now requires you to have an earned master's degree along with your verification statement that documents you completed an ACEND-accredited dietetics curriculum and 1000 hours of clinical practice. Beginning Fall 2024, the EIU Nutrition & Dietetics Program is launching more ways to help EIU students interested in pursuing the RDN credential. Our new accreditation status as a Coordinated Program means students coming from a non-dietetics background can still pursue the MS Nutrition & Dietetics and RDN credential. Check out the Coordinated Program page for more info!
If you want to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) now requires you to have an earned master's degree along with your verification statement that documents you completed an ACEND-accredited dietetics curriculum. With the addition of the new Coordinated Program, we are retiring our undergraduate accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) curriculum. Students currently enrolled in the undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) curriculum have until May 31, 2026 to complete all requirements for their degree in order to receive a DPD verification statement. The DPD program will be closing effective May 31, 2026. Students entering the EIU Nutrition & Dietetics Program Fall 2024 and after will need to complete all requirements of the MS Nutrition & Dietetics to receive their verification statement and be eligible to earn their RDN credential.
Questions? Let us help!
Talk to undergraduate advisor Dr. Julie Dietz [jcdietz@eiu.edu] or Coordinated Program Coordinator Dr. Casey Strawser [clstrawser@eiu.edu] to get your questions answered!
Accreditation information:
The undergraduate program is currently transitioning away from Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) accreditation. The DPD program will be retired effective May 31, 2026, and currently enrolled students must complete all requirements for their degree before May 31, 2026, if they wish to receive a DPD verification statement. the BS Nutrition & Dietetics remains accredited as a DPD program by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics through May 31, 2026.
The MS Nutrition & Dietetics is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as both a Dietetic Internship (DI) program and as a Coordinated Program (CP).
Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics 120 Riverside Place, Suite 2190 Chicago, IL 60606-6995 (312) 899-5400
In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. For more information about licensure per state click here.
If you are looking for an engaging discipline, enjoy learning about health and well-being and like to make a positive impact on others, dietetics is the option for you!