Didactic Program in Dietetics
Information for Current Students
DPD Handbook
Please access the current DPD handbook (PDF) here. It also is available by request from the DPD director. All enrolled dietetic students are referred to this document in NTR 1000 as well. Additionally, the handbook will be available in all department DPD classes via Canvas.
Academic Calendar & Important Dates
For academic calendars and important dates, visit Calendars & Schedules on the Registrar’s Office website
Graduation and Program Completion Requirement
As you approach senior status, it is important that your academic records are complete and accurate. Your Degree Progress Report (DPR) will be used to determine your eligibility for graduation. You need to review your DPR, Curriculum Sheet, and unofficial transcript to make sure you met the minimum units to graduate: Minimum 180 quarter units or minimum 120 semester units, minimum 2.00 GPA – core, overall, and Cal Poly Pomona - and have completed all of the courses in your curriculum sheet.
Curriculum Road Maps
Curriculum road maps can be found at: Curriculum Sheets and Roadmaps
Course Listing
***Please note that you cannot use this as a course list for DICAS. Please see below for the course lists. If you do not see your catalog year, please contact the DPD director at dpd@cpp.edu.
Foods and Nutrition
- NTR 1000: Introduction to the Nutrition Profession
- NTR 1210/1210L: Intro to Foods/Lab
- NTR 2350/2350L: Nutrition/Lab
- NTR 3130: Intro to Nutrition Research
- FST 3210/3210L: Experimental Food Science/Lab
- NTR 3280L: Food and Culture Lab
- NTR 3350: Nutrition of the Life Cycle
- NTR 3380: Food and Culture
- R 3450/3450A: Nutrition Education And Counseling/Act
- NTR 3670/3670L: Institutional Food Service I/Lab
- NTR 3680/3680L: Institutional Food Service II/Lab
- NTR 3930: Advanced Nutrient Metabolism I
- NTR 3940: Advance Nutrient Metabolism II
- NTR 4260: Food Service Administration
- NTR 4430/4430A: Medical Nutrition Therapy I/Act
- NTR 4440: Medical Nutrition Therapy II
- NTR 4460/4460A: Community Nutrition/Act
Supporting Coursework
Communication :- COM 2204: Advocacy and Argument or higher-level communication course or approved area A! course
- ENG 1103: First-Year Composition or approved area A2 course
- ENG 2105: Written Reasoning or approved area A3 course
- STA 1200: Statistics with Application
- ABM 2240: Accounting for Agribusiness or equivalent introductory accounting course
- BIO 1150/1150L: Basic Biology/Lab
- BIO 3000: Genetics & Human Issues OR Nutritional Genomics or NTR 4370 Nutritional Genomics
- BIO 2060/2060L: Basic Microbiology/Lab
- BIO 2350/2350L Human Physiology/Lab
- CHM 1210/1210L: General Chemistry I/Lab
- CHM 1220/1220L: General Chemistry II/Lab
- CHM 201: Elements of Organic Chemistry
- CHM 3210: Elements of Biochemistry
- PSY 2201: Introduction to Psychology or higher-level psychology course
Estudiante de Dietetica
The Estudiante de Dietética, also known as the ED program, was developed to train undergraduate dietetic students to better serve the Hispanic/Latino community. The Department of Nutrition and Food Science received a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that expanded the dietetic curriculum, developed students' Spanish-language skills, and focused on Latino culture as well as food and health issues.
The program objectives were:
- Create and evaluate a novel curricular approach to training dietetic students, which produces dietetic students who are better able to serve the Hispanic community.
- To produce dietetic students who are more culturally competent and comfortable working with the Hispanic community.
- To develop three dietetic training modules focused on major nutrition issues affecting the Hispanic population and integrate and evaluate them within the curriculum.
- To increase recruitment and retention of Hispanic students into the dietetic major.
Post-Baccalaureate Application support
The only way to be eligible to take the RD exam is to successfully be accepted into and complete a Dietetic Internship (DI), which is also called a Supervised Practice.
The dietetic internship (DI) is a post-baccalaureate supervised practice program. An ACEND-accredited DI is typically a full-time and non-paid commitment for the duration of six to twelve months. Upon completion of a DI, students are eligible to take the National Registration Examination for Dietitians administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
The selection process for DI applicants is very competitive. Students should plan ahead in order to build an effective career portfolio during their undergraduate experience. To meet the minimum eligibility requirements for a DI, individuals must complete the ACEND-accredited DPD coursework and earn their bachelor's degree.
In addition, strong applicants usually have a grade point average at or above 3.2; paid and volunteer work experiences in dietetics; demonstrated effective leadership, professional, and communication skills; shown commitment to community service and the practice of dietetics; and received strong recommendations from faculty and employers. The student must have met the minimum requirements and obtained a Verification Statement by the time the DI begins.
There are two application times each year. For programs beginning in January-February, applications are to be completed in September. For programs beginning in July-September, applications will be completed in February. Applying to programs that complement your qualifications and skills will increase your chances of being accepted to a DI. DPD students are encouraged to apply to a DI anywhere in the nation. They are advised to find a DI that fits their financial, academic and geographic needs.
To better assist students, the DPD program at Cal Poly Pomona provides information workshops twice a year to discuss the DI application and decision-making processes. The department also offers a one-unit course every fall (NTR 4310 – Dietetic Internship Exploration) to provide students with the information needed to successfully pursue a DI. Students are also strongly encouraged to meet individually with the DPD program director and faculty to help them assess their potential to obtain a DI.
Almost all dietetic internships will be using the online dietetic internship centralized application process (DICAS) in addition to specific requirements for each dietetic internship. Please refer to the dietetic internship’s website for any additional instructions regarding the application
For the DICAS instructional video, visit DICAS Application Overview.
Most dietetic internships participate in the computer match, applicants would need to register and submit all the internship program they plan to apply to D&D Digital by Feb. 15 for the April match and Sept. 15 for the Fall match at 11:59 p.m. central time.
For questions about the centralized application, please contact DICAS customer support at 617-612-2855 or dicasinfo@dicas.org.
For assistance with computer matching, please contact D&D Digital customer support at 515-292-0490 or dnd@singler.com.
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2024-25 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2023-24 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2022-23 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2021-22 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2020-21 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2019-20 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2018-19 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2017-18 (PDF)
CPP DPD Course List Form for 2016-17 (PDF)
Students who successfully complete the DPD coursework at Cal Poly, and have earned a bachelor's degree, are eligible to take the DTR examination. If you're interested in becoming a Registered Dietetic Technician, see below.
DTR Exam process:
- Please order and have a set of Official Transcripts* emailed to dpd@cpp.edu OR a sealed official transcript mailed directly from the Cal Poly Registrar's Office to my address listed below.
*Note: The date that your BS degree was conferred must appear at the top of the first page of the Official Transcripts.
Emily Kiresich, PhD, RD
Director, Didactic Program in Dietetics
Department of Nutrition and Food Science
Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
- Pay the $25 nonrefundable DTR exam processing fee via E-Market https://commerce.cashnet.com/Nutrition_Food
- Upon receipt of the transcript and the payment, I will email you to schedule an appointment to complete the additional required paperwork via Zoom