The Dietetic Internship is housed within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. It is a 2-year graduate level practicum program, incorporating supervised practice with graduate coursework. Completion of the program requires 39 hours of graduate credit for non-thesis option and additional 3 credits for thesis option. Successful completion will result in a Master of Science degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in dietetics. Graduates are eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians. Interns must complete all the master’s degree combined with dietetic internship requirements within 3 years.
Sites for supervised practice rotations vary and include locations throughout southern New Mexico approximately 130 miles from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Interns must participate in a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practice in assigned supervised practice facilities for 32 hours per week during the first summer (optional), second fall, and spring semesters. At times, interns may have to work beyond 32 hours to complete their assignments. The daily work schedule can vary from one site to another. Dietetic interns are scheduled to attend various sites to learn from the preceptor and the staff. Scheduling interns to various sites does not imply replacing an employee by interns. Rather, the intern position at a site is an addition to the existing employee schedule and not a substitute for employees scheduled.
Rotations during the internship include: acute care clinical, nutrition support, child nutrition programs, acute care foodservice management, school foodservice management, school nutrition, food bank, and a concentration in Cooperative Extension Service nutrition programs. In addition, interns gain other skills through a variety of experiences and activities, including: Health Promotion & Education intervention, Recruiting, Community Health Activities, Menu Planning, Professional Development, Leadership Activities, Public Policy, and Research.
Information About NMSU
With the majestic purple Organ Mountains to the east and the Rio Grande to the west, Las Cruces stands at the junction of I-10 and I-25. New Mexico State University makes its home in Las Cruces, among fine art galleries, informative museums, and high desert terrain. The sun almost always seems to be shining, in fact, New Mexico's second largest city enjoys on average 350 days of clear blue skies per year. If you are looking to visit Las Cruces, please visit one of the many attractions of Las Cruces.
To learn more about New Mexico State University please visit the NMSU Prospective Students Page for information and resources, including why more than 23,000 students have chosen to become Aggies, getting to know NMSU and Las Cruces, becoming a future Aggie, and how to pay for school.
