More information about this degree program can be found in the College of Health Sciences section of the catalog.
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The University’s primary mission is to integrate Christian faith and practice with academic excellence. The mission of the MS DI Program at Lipscomb University is to provide graduate didactic curriculum and supervised practice experience to educate students to successfully function as entry-level registered dietitian nutritionists in the state, region, and nation. The curriculum is designed to provide for achievement of the competencies established for entry-level dietitians through excellence in both the classroom and supervised practice settings, encouragement of community service, and commitment to the Code of Ethics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The MS DI is designed to provide 45 credit hours and also meet the 2022 Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) competencies for entry-level dietetics practice through preparation for the Registration Examination for Dietitians. The program has options for Medical Nutrition Therapy, Health Promotion and Wellness, as well as Sports Nutrition concentrations and provides students with a minimum of 1000 supervised practice hours in a variety of healthcare, community and foodservice settings. Successful completion of the MS DI provides a graduate degree and a DI verification for registration examination eligibility.
The program has only a full-time option with a tight sequence of coursework in the first three semesters and experiential competency-based learning over two semesters in the second year. The University academic calendar will be followed beginning in August with completion of the MS DI in May of the second year. Didactic coursework will be completed during the Fall, Spring and Summer (3 semesters) of the first year and experiential competency-based learning will be planned over 32 weeks (Fall and Spring semesters) of the second year. A major research project and capstone research presentation is also a required component of the program. There will be an option for the first 30 hours of coursework to be completed via online delivery for those wishing to wait to come to Nashville until the second experiential year. The University has the technology and recording capability to provide quality online education.
If needed and approved, interns may take up to 48 weeks (150% of DI program length) for completion of the experiential portion of the DI program during the second year. Lipscomb has affiliation agreements with supervised practice sites across Nashville, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Clarksville, Gallatin, and Columbia. Students will follow the University graduate calendar, including a one-week break at Thanksgiving, a three-week break at Christmas, and one-week break for Spring Break.
The DI is designed for a full work week over 30 weeks plus one pre-rotation week for orientation and three post-rotation weeks for the RD Exam Review and special events, meeting a minimum of 1000 experiential hours of supervised practice in a variety of settings. Occasional weekend involvement for the program may be expected. Participants complete supervised experiences in medical nutrition therapy, foodservice management, community nutrition, and sports nutrition. A culminating experience of staff relief is completed after successful completion of the clinical in-patient rotations at an intern’s assigned hospital. This experience allows the student to function independently as an entry-level dietitian in the hospital setting with minimal oversight. The MS DI handbook is available on our website https://www.lipscomb.edu/academics/programs/nutrition-graduate.
Completion Requirements
The MS in Nutrition degree and DI verification statement will be granted only under the following circumstances:
- The dietetic intern has earned a B or greater in all associated MS DI courses (one course allowed to have a C).
- The dietetic intern has satisfactorily completed all required assignments associated with experiential courses as assessed by preceptor and/or DI director’s grading of learning modules, case studies, projects and uploaded to Evalue prior to program completion.
- The dietetic intern has demonstrated ethical and professional performance with competence as an entry-level practitioner through satisfactory completion of all scheduled supervised practice rotations with a rating of 4 or better on all competencies logged in EValue.
- The dietetic intern has met all financial obligations to Lipscomb University.
- The dietetic intern has completed the CDR Exit Packet including Registration Eligibility Application Form, RDE Misuse Policy, and demographic information on the CDRREPS portal.