Educational Requirements

Check out the following sections to learn more about what it takes to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). 

To practice as an RDN in the United States, regardless of prior training/background in the United States or internationally, you must do the following:

  1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution

  2. Hold a Master’s degree (this can be earned during #3 or before)

  3. Complete the supervised practice requirement in an ACEND-accredited program. Individuals must complete at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice to gain real-world experience and apply knowledge learned in the classroom to the context of a variety of work settings. During this time, you will complete numerous assignments/activities and demonstrate competency in various areas of the nutrition field. You will also be preparing yourself for #4.

Examples of programs include:

  • Graduate Program (GP), which provides the supervised practice + master’s Degree

  • Dietetic Internship (DI)* combined with a master’s degree

  • Dietetic Internship (DI)* that requires a master’s degree prior to being admitted

*Dietetic Internships require that you come with a Verification Statement from a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) – usually, this means you do your undergraduate nutrition degree in an accredited DPD B.S. program. A GP requires pre-requisite coursework instead of a DPD Verification statement.

For more details about different program types, read About Accredited Programs on the ACEND website. You may find a searchable list of GP, DP, and DPD programs here. 

Note: The GP@CSULB prepares students in steps #2 and #3.

  1. Pass a national credentialing exam for RDNs. Once you complete #2 and #3, you are eligible to take CDR's Registration Examination for Registered Dietitians to become credentialed as a registered dietetics nutritionist. This means you will be able to add the letters RDN or RD to the end of your name. 😎 Both titles are equal (Registered Dietitian vs Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) and just up to personal preference. This credential is recognized across the United States, so where you take the exam does not impact where you may practice.

  2. Meet requirements to practice in your state. California does not require an additional license on top of the RDN credential.  However, some states have regulatory laws for food and nutrition practitioners, which may require additional steps after #4, such as a licensing exam, paying a fee, and maintaining your state license along with your RDN credential. However, regardless of licensing requirements, all states accept the RDN credential for state licensure purposes.

  3. Stay up-to-date in the nutrition field through continuing education. After successfully passing the national exam and earning the credential, RDNs maintain ongoing professional development in order to stay up to date on the latest research, recommendations and best practices.

Sometimes, people are surprised by the education required to become an RDN. This is because people may be unaware that in addition to all things nutrition, we are also trained in the following areas:

  • Chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry (breaking down food = chemistry!) 
  • Statistics
  • Research methods
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Human behavior and the psychology of behavior change
  • Food science
  • Culture and its role in how we eat and make medical choices 
  • Genetics 
  • Impact of medication on diet and diet on medication 
  • Menu development and how to run a food service facility 
  • Food preparation (safe handling, storage)
  • Physical activity and overall wellness practices 
  • Public health 
  • Communications
  • How to develop, evaluate, and run a program 
  • Management (there's lot of leadership training!) 
  • Health policy and how to change laws
  • Ethics
  • And more . . . 

So, you can see that becoming a RDN prepares you for much more than just giving menu advice. It opens up an entire world of professional options. 

There is a great deal of education required to become an RDN.

And you may be asking (very reasonably), "Do I need to do all this to work in the field of nutrition?" 

The answer: it depends on what you want to do.

If patient care is a goal, becoming an RDN is definitely the route to consider. If you want to be an authoritative expert in nutrition and have credibility, then absolutely yes!

Other than educational requirements, one of the significant distinctions of being an RDN vs. a wellness professional or coach is that we must rely on science and evidence to make recommendations and guide our practice. Our profession requires us to keep learning, training, and staying current so that we can serve the public. 

This means that we are trained to understand research articles and can interpret this information for the public. The video below explains this well: