Admissions

University Admission Requirements

A student applying to a master's program must:

• have earned a four-year bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, or do so within one academic year
• present unofficial transcripts from each college or university other than Illinois State at which graduate, undergraduate, or non-degree credit was earned. The unofficial transcript should be easily readable and clearly indicate degree(s) awarded, courses and course grades for each term. If accepted, official transcripts can be emailed from the university to GraduateAdmissions@IllinoisState.edu or mailed in a sealed envelope to: Illinois State University, Graduate School, 209 Hovey Hall, Campus Box 4040, Normal, IL 61790-4040.

International students can learn more about specific application requirements by visiting the Office of Admissions.

Additional Program Admission Requirements

A student applying to this program must:

• Complete at least a Bachelor's degree
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
• Complete a didactic program in dietetics (DPD) with a DPD verification statement

A student applying to this program must participate in the DICAS and DND Digital national matching services by the February deadline.

• The GRE is not required.
• International students need a minimum TOEFL score of 79.

References

When completing the application form through DICAS, applicants must include the name and contact information (specifically an email address) for each reference (total of 3).  This will trigger an email message requesting completion of an online reference form.  

Personal Statement

Applicants who apply to internships using DICAS will be asked to complete a personal statement. You should use your personal statement to address as the following questions:

• Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
• Discuss experiences that have helped to prepare you for a distance learning program.
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses or areas needing improvement?

The personal statements has a 1,000 word limit.

Transcripts

Official transcripts should be sent to:
DICAS-Transcript Dept
PO Box 9118
Watertown, MA 02471

Application Fee

Our program's application submission fee is $35 for each internship track (if applying to both tracks, submit $70). We only accept online payments.

Submit your application fee.

Applying to the Graduate Program

Students who are matched to the distance dietetic internship and pursue the Masters pathway may also need to apply to the Master of Science in Nutrition program through the Graduate School application

Application Deadlines

The Distance Internship uses the online centralized internship application, DICAS. The online application must be completed for our program by 11:59 PM Central Time on February 15.

Applicants must also register online for computer matching with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Internship Matching service, D & D Digital. This service is necessary for you to rank your dietetic internship preferences. 

• Apply using DICAS
• Register online for D & D Digital computer matching

Further information about computer matching applicant responsibilities can be found on the ACEND website.

How to Apply for Preselect

We accept preselect applications only from Illinois State University students in either the accelerated master’s sequence (FND dietetics sequence), or senior dietetics sequence students, or current Illinois State University Master’s of Science in Nutrition students.

Applicants for preselect must submit their materials via DICAS using the ISU preselect application by October 15 in the fall prior to the year they intend to complete the internship. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status prior to fall break each year. Students selected via preselect, will need to submit their supervised practice schedule to the program for approval in early April. Note that interns preselected will not participate in computer matching through D&D Digital, however if not selected, students can apply to other internships through the computer matching process.

If you are not preselected to our internship, we encourage you to reapply during the match process as you may still have potential to match with our programs. If you have individual questions about your eligibility after the preselect process, please direct questions to dieteticinternship@ilstu.edu.

Preselect Application Materials
Open to Illinois State University students only

1. Resume
2. Personal Statement (see prompts above)
3. Distance DI Pre-Select Applicants Only:
   A. Complete preceptor recruitment tracker
4. Application submission fee of $35.

Graduate Coordinator