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School of Health and Consumer Sciences

NDI Program Application and Admission

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The NDI at SDSU consists of one plan of study track. The NDI and current undergraduate DPD program at SDSU is in the process of transitioning to an ACEND Graduate Degree (GP). The GP program will be a 2+3 year accelerated bachelor’s to master’s degree program with supervised experiential learning experiences incorporated during years 3-5.

The NDI has accepted its last cohort of 4 interns from the preselect process with a program start date of fall, 2023 and planned graduation in May of 2025. The NDI will not be accepting any interns during the spring 2022 or 2023 computer match. Please refer to the SDSU Nutrition and Dietetics program webpage for updates and information on the new GP option!

For present and past NDI students:

The NDI is a Master’s degree seeking program, requiring coursework and a thesis or non-thesis option to meet graduate degree requirements + supervised practice hours for the dietetic internship. Completion in 22 months: supervised practice rotation hours completed in the final year.

The NDI program will consider students who have:

  • A Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) verification statement from an ACEND-accredited DPD program and a bachelor’s degree from a US regionally accredited college or university. If a Declaration of Intent to complete an ACEND-accredited DPD program is provided during the application process, a DPD verification statement will be required before actually beginning the program.
  • Computer Matching Process GPA eligibility: minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 based on a 4.0 system.
  • TOEFL (department requirements): 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, 79-80 Internet-based; IELTS 6.0. Only applicable for International students.
  • GRE: Required for applicants who did not graduate with a baccalaureate degree from SDSU. A minimum of 300 is preferred.
  • Completed a DICAS application by the due dates specified in the NDI handbook.

Pre-Selection Process

Up to 8 individuals may be selected during the preselect process for the SDSU NDI. To be eligible for the preselect application process, students must be:

  • Currently enrolled in the SDSU DPD Program with plans to complete by May of the Spring semester.
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 system

Past graduates and current SDSU graduate students who have a degree from the SDSU DPD program are not eligible to apply during the preselect process but are encouraged to apply during the computer matching process.

Preselect applicants will not be required to complete a DICAS application or register with D&D Computer Match.
Preselect applicants will not be required to complete an SDSU graduate school application unless they are accepted into the NDI. If accepted into the NDI, students will receive instructions for SDSU graduate school application completion.

Faculty within the department of health and nutritional sciences and the NDI Program Director will evaluate preselect applications. Selection criteria evaluated include academic record, work and volunteer experiences, awards, scholarship, service, references and personal statement.

Notification of acceptance or rejection into the SDSU NDI for pre-select eligible applicants will occur by December 23rd via an email from the NDI Program Director. The number of pre-selected applicants that have been accepted into the SDSU NDI will be posted on the NDI website by January 1st of each calendar year. 

Interns accepted into the SDSU NDI program thru the pre-selection process must withdraw from DICAS and D&D Computer Match if they were registered. The SDSU NDI Program Director is required to e-mail a list of all preselected applicants who have accepted the internship to D& D Digital on February 1 of each calendar year.  If an applicant is not pre-selected, they may apply again to the SDSU NDI through the usual computer matching process.  

Selection Process

The SDSU NDI selection committee which is comprised of the NDI Program Director, HNS faculty and preceptors from management, clinical and community will review applications, score on a 100-point scale and provide feedback for selection consideration. Selection criteria evaluated include academic record, work and volunteer experiences, awards, scholarship, service, references and personal statement.

If selected into the SDSU NDI, admission is conditional and final approval will be dependent on the following:

  • A signed Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) verification statement from an ACEND-accredited DPD program if not already provided during the application process.
  • An official transcript, listing the undergraduate degree from the ACEND-accredited DPD program.
  • SDSU Graduate School acceptance. All applicants will be required to complete the SDSU Graduate School application found on the SDSU Graduate School webpage. The SDSU Graduate School application does not have to be completed until an intern has been selected to the NDI. Once accepted into the SDSU NDI, the Program Director will provide preselected and computer matched interns with further direction for completion of the online SDSU Graduate School application. Accepted interns will be responsible for paying the $35 application fee at the time of application.
  • Criminal background check. The background check will be completed by Verified Credentials. The NDI Program Director will provide specific instructions and a program code for completing the background check.

Acceptance Updates

Class Size

The SDSU NDI can accept up to 15 interns each year. Up to 8 interns can be accepted during the preselect process (2016-2020). Starting in 2021, the NDI can accept up to 12 interns during the preselect process. Notification on this website of the number of interns selected during the preselect process for 2021 will be posted by January 1, 2021. The SDSU NDI participates in the Spring Computer Match Process and follows the D&D Digital matching calendar for due dates.

Preselect

  • 2016 – The SDSU NDI selected 8 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2017 – The SDSU NDI selected 3 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2018 – The SDSU NDI selected 2 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2019 – The SDSU NDI selected 4 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2020 – The SDSU NDI selected 2 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2021 – The SDSU NDI selected 8 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2022 - The SDSU NDI selected 10 applicants during the preselect process.
  • 2023 - The SDSU NDI selected 4 applicants during the preselect process.

Spring Match

  • 2016 - The SDSU NDI was matched with 7 applicants during the 1st round of the Spring D&D Computer Match.
  • 2017 - The SDSU NDI was matched with 7 applicants during the 1st round of the Spring Computer Match and the remaining 5 slots were filled during the 2nd round Spring Match.
  • 2018 - The SDSU NDI filled their open slots of 11 during the 1st round match and appointment day process.
  • 2019 - The SDSU NDI filled 9 slots during the 1st round computer match and 2 slots during the 2nd round phase. 
  • 2020 - The SDSU NDI filled 10 slots during the 1st round computer match and 1 slot during the 2nd round phase.
    • The class is now closed for the 2020 fall start date with 13 total interns (preselect + match).
  • 2021 - The SDSU NDI filled its class with 2 during the 1st round computer match. The total class size for 2021 is 10 and is closed for any 2nd round considerations.

Current or past NDI students, please contact the Program Director Megan Northrup or call 605-688-6619.

Please see the SDSU NDI Handbook for additional information: