Dietetic Internship Program
We appreciate your interest in Virginia State University Dietetic Internship (VSU DI) Program. VSU offers an ACEND accredited dietetic internship that begins mid-August each year and ends in April.
The Virginia State University Dietetic Internship Program has a research concentration and provides interns with more than 1000 supervised practice hours and 16 graduate credit hours. Virginia State University is an 1890 land-grant institution; therefore, the program focuses on integrating the tripod mission of teaching, research, and extension. Interns work with researchers in the Agriculture Research Station to conduct state of the art food science and food microbiology research. Also, interns have the opportunity to work with extension specialists on VSU’s 400-acre farm to understand and experience all aspects of the farm to table phenomenon from packaging, harvesting, recipe development and food preparation, and marketing.
The Virginia State University Dietetic Internship Program provides supervised practice experiences to meet the 2022 Accreditation Standards for Nutrition and Dietetics Internship Programs. The VSU DI Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Students who successfully complete this program will be eligible to sit for the Commission on Dietetic Registration credentialing exam for Registered Dietitians.
ACEND can be contacted by:
Webpage: www.eatrightpro.org/acend
Email: ACEND@eatright.org
Phone: 800/877-1600, ext. 5400
Mail: 120 South Riverside Plaza
Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995
For more information on the program, click on the hyperlinks below.
- Program Overview
- Application Process
- Food and Nutrition Science Graduate Certificate
- Current Interns
- Facebook Page
- FAQ
For more information, please contact DI Program Director: Amanda Bianco, MS, RD, (804)524-5160 or abianco@vsu.edu.
"Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor’s degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR's Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement visit CDR's website: www.cdrnet.org/graduatedegree. In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited Dietetic Internship program at Virginia State University are eligible to apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN.
In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. View more information about state licensure requirements. Currently, there is no licensure requirement in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
View more information about educational pathways to become a RDN."
Effective January 31, 2022, Virginia State University will no longer mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for students as a general condition of enrollment or in-person attendance. The university continues to strongly encourage and appeal to students to get vaccinated in efforts to ensure that our campus remains open, healthy, and safe.
Interns may be placed at Supervised Practice Sites that require evidence of COVID-19 vaccination. Interns may not be able to complete the dietetic internship program if COVID-19 documentation is not provided when required.