CWU Dietetic Internship Program

Central Washington University (CWU) offers an accredited Dietetic Internship (DI) Program through the Department of Health Sciences. The Dietetic Internship is currently granted full accreditation (through Dec. 31, 2026) by Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, 312-899-0040 ext. 5400. https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend This program provides:

• A Certificate of completion of performance requirements for entry level dietitians through a 1200+ hour supervised practice and didactic experience
• A Concentration in Community Nutrition
• Accredited supervised practice experience required to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)
• Graduates are eligible to take the RDN examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR).

Please visit Eatright.org to learn The 5 Steps to Become an RDN.  This program meets the requirement for Step 2: An ACEND Supervised Practice Dietetic Internship

Mission, Goals, Objectives

CWU DI's Mission, Goals and Objectives align with the ACEND 2017 Accreditation Standards and can be viewed here: https://www.cwu.edu/health-science/sites/cts.cwu.edu.health-science/files/RE%203.2%20REVISED.docx

Program outcomes data are available upon request.

2017.2018 Job Placement Data: According to an Alumni Survey completed by the class of 2017.18: "Of graduates who seek employment, 100% were employed in nutrition or dietetics or related field within 12 months of program completion."

Community Nutrition Emphasis

The Community Nutrition emphasis builds on the routine activities of the WIC clinics and the School Food Service rotations. Interns work in the community to establish collaborative relationships and provide nutrition and health information to the community at large. They actively participate in community health/wellness groups, present public presentations on health and wellness, and plan and implement community outreach events. An annual Community Outreach event is planned with community partners and the Dietetic Interns, providing activities and healthy nutrition messages to event attendees. From 2006-2014, interns participated in Family Field Day.  In 2015 & 2016, interns participated in an event called Kids Fish In, delivering healthful messages to 1000 children and their families.  Beginning in 2017, CWU DI partnered with Kittitas County Food Access Coalition and the Kittitas County Farmers Market to implement CWU-DI's Annual Day at the Market, to be held at the end of June each year, to "Focus on the Food".

Program Contact

DI Director: Dana Ogan, MS, RDN, CD dana.ogan@cwu.edu