Skip to Local Navigation
Skip to Content
California State University, Long Beach
FCS Dietetic Internetship
Print this pageAdd this page to your favoritesSelect a font sizeSelect a small fontSelect a medium fontSelect a large font
 

Program: Description & Completion Requirements


FCS 591A

A new class of 12 Interns begins each fall. The practicum (FCS 591A) consists of 1200 hours of full-time experience for 37.5 weeks. This includes both the fall and spring semesters in one academic year and two sessions in the following summer, for example, fall 2012, spring 2013 and summer 2013.

Interns enroll as a graduate student in FCS 591A for 11 non-credit units each semester, fall and spring, and additional units in the summer.

Following the first week of the internship which is Orientation Week, Interns spend the following number of weeks (32 hours/week) in assigned rotations.

  • Nutrition Therapy (8 weeks)
  • Burns (1 week)
  • Outpatient (1 week)
  • Disordered Eating/Obesity (1 week)
  • Community  (6 weeks)
  • AIDS Project LA (4 weeks) OR Head Start (1 week) and Nutrition Education (3 weeks)
  • Pediatrics (1 week)
  • Clinical Research (1 week)
  • Leadership (1 week)
  • Food Service  (6 weeks)
  • School Nutrition Service (3 weeks)
  • Business/Entrepreneurial (2 weeks)
  • Self- Select (2 weeks)
  • Community Service Projects: National Nutrition Month/Non-Profit (Saturdays) (2 days)

The Director assigns Interns to all facilities except Self-Select. Dietetic Interns create a 2-week Self-Select experience independently in the Spring.

 

FCS 591B

Each Intern enrolls in a 1-unit seminar (FCS 591B) consisting of weekly lectures and meetings with the Director. Each Intern is required to complete two graduate courses in nutrition by choosing from three graduate courses:

  • FCS 530A: Carbohydrates, Lipids and Proteins
  • FCS 531: Advanced Community Nutrition
  • FCS 636: Nutrition and the Media

The Intern takes one of these courses each semester. The Intern is not required to complete the M.S. degree in Nutritional Sciences in order to complete the DI, but it is highly recommended.

 

Program Completion

The Intern will complete the DI when the following have been achieved:

  • Completion of 1,200 hours of practicum (FCS 591A) at a minimum of a satisfactory entry-level performance,
  • Completion of the Seminar in Dietetic Practice: FCS 591B with a grade of B or higher, and
  • Completion of two of the three core graduate courses, FCS 530A, 531 or 636 or equivalent with a grade of B or higher.

When the Intern completes the DI, he/she will receive an ACEND Verification Statement signed by the DI Director.  The graduate will then be eligible to write the Registered Dietitian exam.

Graduates of a Dietetic Internship program may be able to count work completed in their Dietetic Internship program toward an M.S. in Nutritional Science degree.  Past work and units completed must be reviewed by the department graduate advisor.

Concentration

The CSULB Dietetic Internship offers a "Nutrition Across the Life Cycle Communication" (NALCC) Concentration.

The concentration (64 hours) is competency-based and designed to develop unique communication, education and health promotion skills.  These skills enhance the ability of graduates to

  • interview, counsel, and guide individuals with nutrition decisions and eating behaviors at all ages across the life cycle,
  • create age-appropriate nutrition education media in the form of a Public Service Announcement, and
  • tailor a ten-year health promotion and chronic disease prevention plan for clients at all ages across the life cycle.

Graduate coursework supports the concentration. The three graduate courses address the science, community nutrition, and nutrition in the media, i.e., FCS 530A, FCS 531 and FCS 636, respectively.