Harper College will be closed Monday, December 23 through Wednesday, January 1 for Winter Break.
About:
The Harper College Dietetic Internship is located in Palatine, Illinois, 30 minutes outside of Chicago. This area has convenient access to housing, highways, malls, restaurants, and shopping. Harper College offers a 9-month, Dietetic Internship with a concentration in wellness. Harper College has a state-of-the-art health and recreation facility on campus that the internship utilizes for experiences including one-on-one nutrition counseling, wellness presentations, and experience working with collegiate athletes, students, faculty and community members. In addition, Harper College has a state-of-the-art nutrition lab, used for additional educational experiences.
The internship provides 1064 supervised practice hours which may include but is not limited to time in hospitals, long-term care facilities, dialysis centers, food service operations, health clubs, park districts, grocery stores, food science laboratories, and community gardens.
On January 1, 2024, The Commission on Dietetic Registration will require a minimum of a master’s degree to take the credentialing exam for registered dietitians. To assist interns in this process, the Harper College Dietetic Internship provides three tracks interns can choose from:
The Harper College Dietetic Internship partnered with the following Universities to seamlessly provide our incoming interns with a master’s degree. Interns are not required to attend these three universities; however, they are preferred partners.
Graduation Requirements:
Once you successfully meet the Harper College Dietetic Internship graduation requirements, you will receive a verification statement. This allows you to sit for the Registration Examination for Dietitians. Licensure is dependent on the state you work in. Illinois requires licensure of all registered dietitian nutritionists.
Review this link from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for licensure statutes and board information by state: https://www.cdrnet.org/LicensureMap
While state interpretations of statutes may vary, it is ACEND's considered opinion that the program meets the educational requirements for dietetics licensure and certification in all states. However, completing an ACEND-accredited academic program alone does not qualify an individual for licensure or certification as a dietitian in any state. Individuals should review their state's licensing statutes and regulations to understand the specific requirements, including supervised practice and examinations, needed to obtain a dietetics license. More information about state licensure and certification can be found at this link: State Licensure.
Program Completion Timeline:
The length of the internship will depend on the track the intern chooses. The Harper College timeline for completing a certificate is a maximum of 10 years, however, interns in the Dietetic Internship program are expected to complete the program in the following timeframe below:
All interns will complete their rotations in a consecutive 9 months. The extended length of the internship for tracks B and C is for completion of a master’s degree. The internship rotations do not take place during summer months. This must be considered when extending length of the internship.
Distance Education and Technology Requirements
The program requires distance education for very few educational experiences. When distance education is required, the intern must have their web camera on during distance instruction to verify their identity.
The Dietetic Internship requires basic computer skills to be successful. This includes creating and saving documents, organizing files and folders on storage devices, performing Internet searches, sending email messages and using word processing programs. The College uses Blackboard and training can be provided on that, if needed. In addition to those skills, an intern in the program will need the following:
The college has a loaner program through the library which can be found here:
https://www.harpercollege.edu/library/services/semester-loan-technology.php
Interns needing assistance with technology can contact the Student Service Desk: https://www.harpercollege.edu/services/techsupport/index.php
Accreditation Status:
The Harper College Dietetic Internship is accredited by the Accreditation Council
for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).
Located at:
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
120 South Riverside Plaza, Ste 2190
Chicago, IL, 60606-6995
P: 800-877-1600 P: 312-899-0040
https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend
For more information about the Dietetic Internship Program, please contact:
Interim Director
Rachael Costello, MS, RDN, LDN
Email: rcostel1@harpercollege.edu