Nutrition and Dietetics (B.S.) Program Requirements

Students interested in earning a B.S. degree in nutrition and dietetics will be accepted into the School of Health and Consumer Sciences and assigned a departmental academic advisor. New students need to apply through South Dakota State University (SDSU) admissions and declare nutrition and dietetics as their major. Current students who decide to change majors need to notify their current advisor of their desire to change majors and then need to schedule an academic advising appointment with the professional advisor, Chanda Walter, 605-688-6103 for a transcript evaluation. 

The DPD is accredited by ACEND at the undergraduate level. Students must complete all program requirements for the B.S. in nutrition and dietetics, including academic requirements, to receive the verification statement.

The DPD follows the University calendar for classes. Students are expected to be in class during the regularly scheduled classes. 

Additional program information, including graduation and program completion requirements, can be found in the latest Undergraduate Catalog.

SDSU has implemented a Student Success Model to assist students in the transition to college career and academic success. The SDSU First Stop provides much of the information required by students.

As part of the Student Success Model, all freshmen are advised by first year advisors familiar with first-year academic hurdles. Students must meet with their academic advisor before registering for classes. Students are transitioned to their major advisors for the remaining academic career.

Furthermore, there are many services on campus offered through the Wintrode Student Success Center. Students who are put on probation must meet with their academic advisor for a plan to improve academic performance.

As a dietetics student, it is important to maintain a competitive GPA for acceptance into Supervised Practice (Dietetic Internship). Students with GPA’s below 3.0 rarely are accepted into the competitive dietetic internship programs or graduate school programs.

It is also a requirement that the student obtain a “B” or higher in NUTR 315 Human Nutrition and “C” or higher in all the major courses (NUTR prefix) to obtain a verification statement from the DPD Director. If you do not have these minimum grades, you will not receive a verification statement and will not be eligible to apply to supervised practice (dietetic internship).

Students with less than a 3.0 cumulative GPA are encouraged by their professional advisor to pursue a different academic degree.

All faculty at SDSU are required to adhere to the BOR policy for course syllabi and include the evaluation procedures in the syllabus. Faculty must also submit grades at the end of the semester to allow timely dissemination of grades and GPA to the students. Students have access to unofficial transcripts through the Banner system.

The professional advisor has access to the student transcripts and checks at each of the academic advising visits.

Additionally, SDSU has implemented an early alert process for all 100 and 200 level classes through the Campus Labs system. All instructors of 100 and 200 level classes must record the midterm grades of students who have a “D” or less. This system automatically alerts the advisors of the performance.

The majority of courses for the nutrition and dietetics (B.S.) program at SDSU are face to face on the Brookings campus. Some course sections may offer online options. Additional information regarding distance education and online courses can be found on SDSU Distance Education.

Credit for prior learning can is managed through the Testing Center at South Dakota State University. Students may receive credit for knowledge gained outside of the classrooms through the Testing Center established procedures. More information is available at the Testing Center or by email or 605-688-6460.