The Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department offers two bachelor’s degrees in dietetics.
The Nutrition and Dietetics Program partially satisfies the requirements for becoming a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and requires an internship with master’s degree to complete requirements. The second bachelor degree is the B.S. in Dietetics. The BS, Dietetics, when combined with the MS, Dietetics satisfies all the educational and experiential learning requirements for eligibility to sit for the RDN credentialing exam.
Both programs are currently granted accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (800) 877-1600, ext. 5400. http://www.eatright.org/ACEND.
The Nutrition and Dietetics program provides the academic course work and graduates of the program apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program (Internship Program in Nutrition and Dietetics or Individualized Supervised Practice Pathways) to fulfill the supervised practice requirement. Upon completion of both, an individual is eligible to take the registration examination.
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 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). In most states, graduates also must obtain licensure or certification to practice. Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics at Buffalo State are eligible to apply to an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program/apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN.
Nutrition and Dietetics Mission, Goals, and Verification Statement
Nutrition and Dietetics Handbook
The handbook meets ACEND requirements (standard 9) about the program for students and the public.
Length of Program
Freshman Students: Nutrition and Dietetics students starting as freshman may complete the curriculum in four years.
Transfer Students: Transfer students should contact the Program Director to discuss such variables as transfer credits, sequence of courses, prerequisites, course availability and length of program. These variables may increase program completion time to 3-4 years.
Articulation agreements and transfer credit database exist to facilitate transfer credit.
For more information, contact Katie Manis, MS, RD-AP, CDN, CNSC.
In 2024, the Commission on Dietetics Registration (CDR) will require a master’s degree for the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credential. In response to this new CDR requirement, the SUNY Buffalo State BS Dietetics (formerly Dietitian Education Program-DEP) has been reorganized into the prerequisite degree for a Future Education Model (FEM) MS Dietetics degree. The in-person BS Dietetics together with the online MS Dietetics have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and provide students with all the academic, experiential learning, and planned work experience required entry-level dietitians/nutritionists. Enrollment in SUNY Buffalo State BS Dietetics allows highly qualified students to work on the Master of Science in Dietetics while completing their bachelor’s degree.
BS/MS Handbook
Mission, Goals, and Objectives
Length of Program
BS/MS students who join the department as freshman may complete the curriculum in five years plus two summers. The time completion for transfer students varies based on the number of credits transferred and the courses accepted by the college.
Future Education Model (FEM) BS/MS, Dietetics
SUNY Buffalo State BS/MS, Dietetics has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) as a Future Education Model (FEM). Accreditation Standards for FEM (see Future Education Model ) integrate classroom coursework with supervised experiential learning in a competency-based curriculum designed to prepare nutrition and dietetics practitioners for future practice. 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). SUNY Buffalo State’s FEM BS/MS includes a master’s degree.
For more information, contact Dr. Tina Colaizzo-Anas, PhD, RD-AP, CDN, CNSC, FAND, colaiztm@buffalostate.edu
The Masters of Science in Dietetics completes the didactic and supervised experiential learning requirements with the undergraduate Dietetics, B.S. (formerly the Dietitian Education Program) for the Registered Dietitian Nutrition credential and has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) as Future Education Model (FEM) graduate program (www.eatrightpro.org/FutureModel). FEM accreditation standards integrate didactic coursework with supervised experiential learning in a competency-based curriculum designed to prepare nutrition and dietetics practitioners for future practice. 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 addition, the M.S. is structured in a way that students who have a dietetics background may also be eligible to earn the degree. The M.S. Dietetics is offered 100 percent online.
Mission, Goals, and Objectives
Length of Program
BS/MS students who join the department as freshman may complete the curriculum in five years plus two summers. The time completion for transfer students varies based on the number of credits transferred and the courses accepted by the college.
Recent graduates have been hired as dietitians, consultants, or supervisors of food service by hospitals, wellness centers, and food service operations. Graduates also may work as educators or consultants in corporate wellness programs, sports nutrition, news media, health clubs and spas, health-care organizations, community agencies, food- and nutrition-related businesses, and private practice. Others work in research or development for the pharmaceutical or food industries or government agencies. Some graduates pursue advanced degrees and/or research in nutrition, medicine, or related health-care fields.
The path to becoming an RDN may be found in the DEP and DPND handbooks. New York State prides itself in the high quality of its licensed and certified professionals. For the protection of its citizens, each license and certificate has requirements that individuals must meet in order to be licensed or certified in New York State. SUNY’s academic programs leading to licensure or certification are carefully designed to meet and exceed these State requirements. This is a role SUNY plays in protecting the public. Other states frequently have their own requirements, so if your goal is to practice in another state, this disclosure will help you check to see what that state requires.
Per U.S. Federal Regulations, §668.43 (2019 Rule), and in compliance with the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) Manual version 19.2, SUNY Buffalo State College provides the following disclosure related to the educational requirements for professional licensure and certification.(1)
This Disclosure is strictly limited to SUNY Buffalo State College’s determination of whether its Dietitian Education Program, if successfully completed, would be sufficient to meet the education and supervised planned work experience for certification requirements in another state for dietitian licensure/certification.(2) SUNY Buffalo State College cannot provide verification of an individual’s ability to meet licensure or certification requirements unrelated to its educational programming. Such individual determinations are made by state licensing boards and are fact-specific determinations.
This disclosure does not provide any guarantee that any state licensure or certification entity will approve or deny your application. Furthermore, this disclosure does not account for changes in state law or regulation that may affect your application for licensure and occur after this disclosure has been made. Enrolled students and prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact their State’s licensure entity using the links provided to review all licensure and certification requirements imposed by their state(s) of choice.
SUNY Buffalo State College has designed Undergraduate and Graduate curricular programs that, if successfully completed, are sufficient to meet the curricular requirements for dietitian certification in New York State. SUNY Buffalo State College has designed Undergraduate and Graduate a Dietitian Preparation curricular programs and currently has made no determination that these curricular programs are insufficient to meet the curricular requirements for dietitian licensure/certification in any of the 50 states and territories.
After making all reasonable efforts, SUNY Buffalo State College cannot determine whether its Undergraduate and Graduate a Dietitian Preparation curricular programs, if successfully completed, are sufficient to meet the curricular requirements for dietitian licensure/certification in the following states(3): Licensure Listings.
(1) The terms related to Dietitian Preparation, including licensure and certification, among others, vary by state and your state may use different terms.
(2) This determination is based on the educational and curricular requirements of each state for certification/licensure (i.e., excluding any special, temporary licensure that may be granted) and does not imply that other requirements for licensure do not exist or have been determined to have been met by this program or that any necessary approvals for clinical placements have been secured at the time of enrollment.
(3) This does not mean the educational program will not ultimately be approved by the state entity, or that licensure could not result from attending this program.
It is ACEND's considered opinion that the program is designed to and does meet all state dietetics licensure and certification laws as some states may interpret their statutes differently. More information about state licensure and certification is available at this link: State Licensure
The B.S. in health and wellness program provides students with the skills to pursue research, scholarship, grant, and publication activities; design, implement, and evaluate community service projects; participate in local, state, and national disciplinary conferences; interact with professionals in all domains of health promotion; structure a professional portfolio; and explore post-graduate employment and education options.
You’ll learn how to:
Recent graduates have been hired as corporate wellness directors, wellness program administrators, certified personal trainers, wellness programmers, directors of campus health and wellness services, and coordinators of health and wellness programming. Typical hiring firms include large industrial firms, adult education programs, community health agencies, national nonprofit agencies, resorts, health spas, government health agencies, colleges, and insurance companies.
Recent graduates have been hired by companies such as the Ford Motor Company, DuPont, Independent Health, Becker Advertising (health-related sales), Binghamton University, the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo and Western New York, the American Lung Association, World Gym, Bally Total Fitness, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Alzheimer's Association of Western New York, and Buffalo Athletic Club.
The exercise science minor emphasizes that physical activity is inextricably linked to longevity and disease prevention. Individuals with an exercise science minor will be prepared to pursue a career in personal training, corporate fitness, strength and conditioning, or graduate school in applied exercise, physical therapy, kinesiology, or clinical exercise physiology.
