Special Requirements

Any student admitted to JMU can declare dietetics as their major and will be permitted to enroll in NUTR 280 and NUTR 295. However, to make progress in the major beyond the first few courses, students need to apply and be admitted to the major. Students wishing to be admitted to the dietetics major at JMU must apply in the spring semester during which requirements will be met, usually in the sophomore year.

Current students at JMU who change their major to dietetics will follow the application procedure outlined. A change after the sophomore year may result in a delay of graduation beyond the traditional four years.

All students who have successfully completed the application process and all prerequisite courses as outlined above with at least a 2.7 prerequisite GPA  will be invited to an interview with dietetic program representatives. The overall criteria considered for admission includes a complete application, prerequisite GPA, interview scoring based on a rubric, and experience noted in the application. More information is available in the student handbook (MSWord).

Students who are not admitted to the major may reapply in subsequent years if they meet the admission criteria. If all courses are not yet completed, provisional admission may be offered contingent upon successfully meeting course requirements prior to start of the fall semester. While students will indicate a preferred concentration (Professional or Preprofessional) for admission, admission to the other concentration may be offered if capacity for the preferred concentration has been met. 

The application deadline is February 15 of each year.

No Prior Learning Policy

The DPD does not have a prior learning policy so transcripts of students who are not attending JMU are not evaluated for DPD completion. The university does not admit students to undergraduate programs if they possess a Baccalaureate degree. Therefore, the DPD at JMU cannot admit these students to the program nor issue Verification Statements to them.

New Transfer Student Admission

New transfer students with junior status or higher who have earned JMU transfer credit for the prerequisite courses should apply for admission to JMU for the fall semester and submit the Dietetics application packet by the February 15 deadline. Eligible students who do not apply early to JMU or to Dietetics will be allowed to apply to the major at orientation or during their first semester of enrollment on a space-available basis. New transfer students without junior status and completion of program prerequisites will complete the application process as outlined. Information about course equivalents is available on the Transferology Website or please contact the Registrar. For more information about the Dietetics program, please contact the Undergraduate Program Director.