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Any use of the titles “Certified Dietitian,” “Certified Nutritionist” or “Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist” within New York State requires certification.
To be certified as a dietitian-nutritionist in New York State you must:
You must submit an application for certification and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.
To meet the education and experience requirements for certification in dietetics-nutrition, you must satisfy either A or B below.
You must have completed a program in dietetics-nutrition leading to the baccalaureate degree or a higher academic credential that is, at the time you completed the program, registered by the New York State Education Department as qualifying for certification in dietetics-nutrition or accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), or is the equivalent of such a program. The program must include at least 45 semester hours of course work in the professional dietetics/nutrition content area and have at least 20 semester hours of course work in the human biological sciences and social and behavioral sciences content area. Courses appropriate for each of these content areas are defined in the next section.
You must have completed one-half of a full-time equivalent year of planned work experience (800 hours), which could have been a structured part of your educational program. Otherwise, the experience must have followed the completion of your educational program. Planned work experience means continuous work experience in dietetics-nutrition, which reflects increased levels of professional growth and is under the supervision of a New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist or someone who is registered by or a member of a national dietetic or nutrition association acceptable to the New York State Education Department. To qualify, the experience must include assessing nutrition needs and food patterns, planning for and directing the provision of food appropriate for physical and nutrition needs, and providing nutrition counseling. Contact the State Board for Dietetics and Nutrition via e-mail at or by calling 518.474.3817 ext. 560 if you have questions.
You must have completed a program leading to the associate’s degree in dietetics-nutrition that is, at the time you completed the program, registered by the New York State Education Department as qualifying for certification in dietetics-nutrition, or the equivalent of such a program. The program must include at least 30 semester hours of course work in the professional dietetics-nutrition content area and have at least 15 semester hours of course work in the human biological sciences and social behavioral sciences content area. Courses appropriate for each of these content areas are defined in the next section.
You must have completed a combination of ten full-time equivalent years of education and supervised experience within the 15 years preceding your application for certification. If your education was undertaken within the last 15 years, you will be credited with one year of credit for every 30 semester hours of acceptable education up to a maximum of two years. A full-time equivalent year of work experience in dietetics and nutrition is 1,600 hours. To qualify, the experience must include assessing nutrition needs and food patterns, planning for and directing the provision of food appropriate for physical and nutrition needs, and providing nutrition counseling. The experience must include at least two and one-half full-time equivalent years of planned work experience. Planned work experience means continuous work experience in dietetics-nutrition, which reflects increased levels of professional growth and is under the supervision of a New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist or someone who is registered by or a member of a national dietetic or nutrition association acceptable to the New York State Education Department. Contact the State Board for Dietetics and Nutrition via e-mail or by calling 518.474.3817 ext. 560 if you have questions.
You must obtain the endorsement of three acceptable dietitians-nutritionists (e.g., a New York State Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist or someone who is registered by or a member of a national dietetic or nutrition association acceptable to the New York State Education Department). Contact the State Board for Dietetics and Nutrition via e-mail or by calling 518.474.3817 ext. 560 if you have questions.
Accredited Dietetics (bachelor’s degree or higher level) and Dietetic Technician (associate degree) Programs: The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) is an acceptable accrediting agency. Lists of currently accredited programs are available on AND’s website. ACEND can be contacted at:
Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics P: 800.877.1600, ext. 5400 F: 312.899.4817 E: acend@eatright.org
Professional Dietetics and Nutrition Content Area includes course work that covers all of the following curricular areas:
Human Biological Sciences and Social and Behavioral Sciences Content Area includes course work in the following curricular areas:
Additional information can be obtained from the New York State Department of Education, Office of Dietetics and Nutrition.
The Health and Nutrition Sciences Department (foods and nutrition concentration) prepares students for careers in the field of dietetics and nutrition. The program provides students with the necessary training to meet the requirements of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Acccreditation Counsel for Education (ACEND) for a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). The curriculum satisfies part of the requirement to enable students to become registered dietitians (RDs). DPD graduates work in health care facilities, community programs, public policy, private practice and research settings. The following career options are available to both DPD graduates and registered dietitians:
Food service directors are responsible for food production in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, restaurants, and nutrition intervention programs such as Head Start, Meals on Wheels, God’s Love We Deliver, and senior centers.
Community nutritionists counsel individuals and groups on sound nutrition practices to prevent disease and to promote good health. They are employed in Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs); human service agencies, including Women, Infants and Children’s Program (WIC); Prenatal Care Assistance Program (PCAP); and community health clinics.
Wellness and disease prevention is a concern in the United States today, and many people seek the advice of nutrition experts. Nutritionists in private practice offer nutrition counseling in areas such as fitness and weight control, disease prevention and nutritional therapy.
Consulting nutritionists disseminate information to the public through various channels, such as speaking at seminars, writing articles, and appearing on radio and television. Nutrition consultants also take on various projects: product consulting, evaluation of existing food and nutrition programs, health and fitness programs, public relations, and part-time counseling.
Researchers determine the nutritional status and requirements for healthy people and those with acute or chronic diseases. They evaluate the efficacy of nutritional intervention in the prevention of specific diseases and develop and test effective methods to change dietary behavior in the community.
For additional information on career opportunities in nutrition and dietetics, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in food and nutrition prepares you for entry-level positions in the food and nutrition fields, working at WIC centers, community outreach centers, urban farms, or as a hospital food technician. If, after graduation, you go on to complete a graduate degree and an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program and are eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians, you expand your career choices considerably. Once you are a registered dietitian, you have a wider range of opportunities and are qualified for higher positions in therapeutic or management dietetics in hospitals, nursing homes, community nutrition programs, businesses and other types of agencies.
As a registered dietitian, you may:
Jobs obtained by graduates include the following:
Health care in all its diverse shapes and forms is one of America’s fastest-growing industries. Six of today’s top 10 fastest-growing occupations are health care–related, and rapid growth is projected well into the next century. Although many are familiar with the increasing demand for registered nurses, physical therapists, etc., there are other categories that are growing no less dramatically. Two of these categories are health service manager and community health educator. Health service managers are individuals charged with coordinating a wide variety of activities crucial to the efficient delivery of health care. Community health educators assist others, acting separately or collectively, to make informed decisions regarding the health of groups and/or individual. They work to promote health through a variety of modalities.
Health service manager is an inclusive term for individuals in many different positions who plan, organize, and coordinate the delivery of health care. Health service managers are responsible for facilities, services, programs, staff budgets, and relations with other organizations. Generally speaking, the job of a health service manager is to plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise the delivery of health care; set policies; create marketing plans; and coordinate the use of resources for a health facility. Although hospitals provide more than half the jobs in their field, other places employ health service managers: medical group practices, home health agencies, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, HMOs, community mental health centers, long-term care facilities, multi-specialty physician groups, hospices, diagnostic imaging centers, pain clinics, preferred provider organizations, emergency care centers, and physical rehabilitation centers.
Three functional levels of administration are found in hospitals and other large facilities: the executive, internal management, and specialized staff. The chief executive officer provides overall management direction and assesses the need for services, personnel, facilities, and equipment, while at the same time satisfying demand for financial vitality. Day-to-day management may be the responsibility of one or more associate or assistant administrators, who work with service unit managers and staff specialists. They may be responsible for budget and finance; human resources, including personnel administration, education, and in-service training; information management; and direction of the medical, nursing, ancillary services, housekeeping, physical plant, and other operating departments’ specialized staff.
Health services managers can be divided into two major groups: the generalists, chief administrators, and their assistants with facility-wide management responsibilities, and the specialists, managers in charge of specific clinical departments or services. Within these two groups can be found a number of major management subgroups. The size and responsibilities of these subgroups depends on the nature of the facility. Although specialists positions are now experiencing the most acute vacancy rates, the generalists areas offer the widest variety of career opportunities for nontechnical graduates.
Knowledge of management principles and practices is the essential requirement for a position in this field, and such knowledge often is gained through work experience. For many positions, a graduate degree in health services administration, nursing administration, or business administration is a decided asset. For others, a degree in finance, personnel administration, or public administration provides an appropriate background. Graduate education in health services administration remains a prerequisite for many upper-level positions in hospitals and their subsidiaries. The master’s degree in hospital administration, health administration, or public health is regarded as the standard credential for many positions in this field. New recipients of bachelor’s degrees usually begin their careers as administrative assistants or assistant department heads.
Health service managers may advance by moving into more responsible and higher-paying positions within their own institutions, or by shifting to another health care facility or organization. Frequently, the first job in a large institution is fairly narrow in scope—department head in charge of purchasing, for example. Advancement occurs with promotion to successively more responsible jobs, such as assistant or associate administrator and finally, chief executive officer.
Community health educators are employed by community health departments, voluntary health agencies, and for-profit organizations. They may also be self-employed consultants especially in the work-site setting. Community health educators work to promote health through targeting and addressing readily identifiable and legitimate community health needs. This approach includes the combination of educational and environmental, including social, economic, organizational, policy, and regulatory supports for actions and conditions of living conductive to health. An increasing number of entry-level community health educator positions require CHES certification. Examples of organizations that hire community health educators include university student health centers, fitness centers, HMOs, New York City Department of Health, and voluntary organizations, such as the March of Dimes, American Lung Association and American Heart Association.
The departmental health concentration is designed to provide the student with various academic and career options within the health field. Indeed, it’s the wide range of professional options within the industry that makes a health and nutrition sciences degree a viable academic choice. Successful completion of the B.S. / B.A. degree program could lead to:
In the health concentration, the student is provided with a conceptual foundation and factual knowledge necessary to understand, interpret, and implement current information concerning health promotion. This academic option allows students to expand their understanding of the health care system and its historical development, administrative functioning, and philosophical bases; it also provides information regarding the most topical health issues and concerns. The goal of the health concentration curriculum is to develop health professionals who have been trained to promote health by helping consumers to minimize risk factors associated with illness and disease and enhance status.
A partial listing of some careers alumni of the program have followed include:
