Becoming a dietitian in New York State: Educational and experience requirements
To meet the educational and experience requirements for becoming a dietitian in New York State, you must meet the requirements discussed below:
Educational requirements: Bachelor’s degree or a higher degree
You must have done and completed a dietetics or nutrition bachelor’s degree program or a high degree program on dietetics/nutrition or a related nutritionist field. The program must be registered by New York’s state education department as a program qualifying for certification in dietetics or nutrition. Alternatively the program can be accredited by the CADE “Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education”.
The dietetics or nutritional degree program in New York you choose should also include at least 45 semester hours of coursework on dietetics or nutrition content and have at least 20 semester hours of coursework in social, behavioral and biological sciences content areas. The courses that are appropriate for each of the above content areas are discussed in the next section.
Experience requirements
You also need some experience to become a dietitian in New York State. For instance, you must complete 800 hours of planned work which can be structured as part of your education program or taken separately i.e. internship experience acquired following the completion of an educational program.
In this case, planned work experience means continuous work experience in dietetics or nutrition fields that allow professional growth. The planned work must be done under the supervision of a nutritionist or dietitian who has been certified in New York State for it to count. Alternatively, you can be supervised by a registered member of the national dietetic/nutrition association who is acceptable to the state education department.
To qualify, you must gain enough experience to assess nutrition needs & food patterns, plan for as well as direct food provision appropriately for nutritional and physical needs and lastly, be able to provide nutrition counselling.