Graduate Dietetics Future Education Model

Overview

The Dietetics Future Education Model Graduate Program (FG) is a master’s degree program in the Department of Nutrition (NUT), College of Health Sciences, University of Rhode Island (URI). Our program provides an outstanding didactic curriculum including coursework in sustainability, research, epidemiology, international nutrition, nutrition metabolism, and community as well as over 1,100 hours of supervised practice in professional work settings, Highlights of the experiential training include:

  • strong clinical training with 15 weeks of inpatient Medical Nutrition Therapy including 7 weeks in a large tertiary care facility
  • 7 weeks of foodservice management with options for university, correctional facility, or hospital foodservice operations
  • 7 weeks of community rotations including SNAP-Ed, long-term care and private practice outpatient counseling
  • 5 weeks of a specialty rotation with options for critical care, pediatrics, outpatient counseling, or community
  • 1-week student-initiated learning self-management rotation
Geoffrey Greene

Welcome to the Dietetics Future Education Model Graduate Program

Learn More About Geoffrey

The experiential training provides students with opportunities to either specialize or to widen their exposure to different areas of practice. For example, a student interested in medical nutrition therapy could complete 21 weeks in inpatient hospital facilities with most of the time at Rhode Island Hospital, the primary tertiary care facility in Rhode Island. On the other hand, a student wanting to explore career options could use the specialty and self-management rotations to explore different areas.

This two-year intensive program is designed for students who want to become Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists through an accredited Dietetics Future Education Model Graduate Program including experiential and didactic learning leading to a M.S. degree. It is a competency-based education (CBE) program that integrates classroom learning with supervised experiential learning. CBE fosters work readiness. The curriculum in this program is guided by the competencies and performance indicators which are defined based on the desired behaviors and job skills targeted. Employers see potential value in job applicants who will study using CBE since this aligns academics with the skills they seek in their employees.

The facilities where you’ll gain supervised learning experiences are found throughout Rhode Island and represent some of the best healthcare institutions in Southern New England. The variety of facilities provides an opportunity for you to experience different management styles and organizational climates. Classes associated with the program are held at URI’s Kingston campus.

Experiential learning covers 35 weeks with a minimum of 1,100 hours of supervised practice in health care and community facilities. The program generally follows the URI 36-week academic calendar. The program is organized as follows:

  • One semester focusing primarily on didactic coursework
  • Two semesters focusing on experiential learning with supportive didactic coursework
  • One semester focusing primarily on didactic coursework.

The Department of Nutrition provides areas of specialization in:

  • Public health nutrition and health disparities
  • Nutrient metabolism
  • Nutritional epidemiology
  • International nutrition
  • Maternal and child health
  • Nutrition and aging
  • Obesity and weight control
  • Muscle and metabolic physiopathology

Faculty research areas can be found on their individual profile pages.

Accreditation

The Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606, 312.899.0040, ext. 5400.

Program goals and objectives as well as program outcome data are available upon request.

Becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

In order to become a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RDN), you must successfully complete:

  1. Educational requirements such as a Didactic Program in Dietetics,
  2. A graduate degree,
  3. An accredited experiential program providing at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice, such as the FG, and
  4. The RDN credentialing examination.

2024 Open House

Professional Licensure Disclosure

In accordance with the 2019 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, URI hereby discloses that the curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for licensure as a Registered Dietitian in all U.S. States and Territories. The applicable licensing board in these states may impose additional requirements* on candidates prior to granting a license (e.g., passing of an exam; completing a post-baccalaureate internship; etc.), and we encourage you to investigate those requirements with your licensing board. For information about state licensure in your state see https://www.cdrnet.org/LicensureMap.

*Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) requires the completion of a 1,000-hour, post-baccalaureate supervised experiential learning hours to meet eligibility requirements to sit for the Registered Dietitian credentialing exam.