The Dietetics program mission is to provide the foundation knowledge and skills in dietetics for successful preparation of students for supervised practice leading to eligibility for the CDR credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist with an emphasis on community nutrition and an appreciation for the unique cultural environment of Hawai‘i and US Affiliated Pacific Region.

Program outcomes data are available upon request. Please contact the Dietetics Program Director for data.

Students must meet the following requirements to be admitted into the Dietetics degree program. There is no application required. Your CTAHR advisor will determine eligibility and process admittance into the Dietetics degree program once all of the following requirements are met. Prior to admission into the Dietetics degree program, students should enroll as a major in one of the available Food Science Human Nutrition (FSHN) degree programs.

• 60 earned credits (Junior standing)
• Minimum total GPA of 3.0 
• Completed FSHN 185 with a grade of B (not B-) or better
• Completed the following courses with a grade of C (not C-) or better
  • MATH 140 (or higher)
  • PHYL 141 & 141 Lab
  • PHYL 142 & 142 Lab
  • CHEM 161 & 161 Lab
  • CHEM 162 & 162 Lab

All Dietetics students are required to meet with the DPD Director the semester they are admitted to the Dietetics program. DPD Director Advising Calendar: http://bit.ly/UHMDPDadvising 

Costs and Financial Assistance 2020-21

 This does not take into account living or possible additional expenses such as a $5 fee to join the FSHN Student Council.

Please see http://manoa.hawaii.edu/records/tuition_fees/tuition.html for the most updated tuition and fees.

The University and CTAHR offer some financial assistance.  Please see CTAHR's scholarship website here:
https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/students/scholarships.aspx

Nutrition and Food Science scholarships are also available; however, most are for Juniors and Seniors with a grade point average above 3.0.  Check out the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences scholarships website:
https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hnfas2/Academics/UndergraduatePrograms/Scholarships.aspx

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation has scholarships available for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics student members. Scholarships vary from year to year, each with a value range of $500 to $10,000 each. Please see the Academy Foundation website here: https://eatrightfoundation.org/why-it-matters/scholarships/

General Undergraduate Foundation and Core Requirements
A complete list is available online at http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/corerequirements/index.html

University Academic Calendar: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/records/calendar/

Foundations Requirement:  12 credits

The Foundations requirements are intended to give students skills and perspectives that are fundamental to undertaking higher education.  Students complete the Foundations requirements during their first year at UHM.  Courses taken to fulfill the Foundations requirements may not be used to fulfill Diversification or Focus requirements.

Written Communication (FW):  3 credits

Written Communication courses introduce students to the rhetorical, conceptual, and stylistic demands of writing at the college level; courses give instruction in composing processes, search strategies, and comprising from sources.  Courses also provide students with experiences in the library and on the internet and enhance their skills in accessing and using various types of primary and secondary materials.

FW Course Options Include:

• AMST 111 Introduction to American Studies Writing
• ENG 100, 100A Composition I
• ENG 190 Composition for Transfer Students
• ELI 100 Expository Writing:  A Guided Approach

Symbolic Reasoning (FS):  3 credits

Symbolic Reasoning courses expose students to the beauty and power of formal systems, as well as to their clarity and precision; courses do not focus solely on computational skills.  Students learn the concept of proof as a chain of inferences.  They learn to apply formal rules or algorithms, engage in hypothetical reasoning, and traverse a bridge between theory and practice.  In addition, students develop the ability to use appropriate symbolic techniques in the context of problem solving and to present and critically evaluate evidence.

FS Course Options Include:

• MATH 140** Pre-calculus
• MATH 161 Pre-calculus and Elements of Calculus for Economics and the Social Sciences
• MATH 203** Calculus for Business and Social Sciences
• MATH 215** Applied Calculus I
• MATH 241** Calculus I
• MATH 251A** Accelerated Calculus I
• NREM 203 Applied Calculus for Management, Life Sciences, and Human Resources* has a pre-requisite

** Denotes requirement of placement by the Math Department's Pre-calculus Assessment; visit http://www.math.hawaii.edu

Global and Multi-cultural Perspectives (FG):  2 courses, 6 credits

Global and Multi-cultural Perspectives courses provided thematic treatments of global processes and cross-cultural interactions from a variety of perspectives.  Students will gain a sense of human development from prehistory to modern times through consideration of narratives and artifacts from diverse cultures.  At least one component of each of these courses will involve the indigenous cultures of Hawai'i, the Pacific, or Asia.

FG Courses

To satisfy this requirement, students must take a total of six credits; the six credits must come from two different groups.

Group A Options Include (FGA; courses cover the time period prehistory to 1500):?

• ANTH 151, 151A Emerging Humanity
• ART 175 Survey of Global Art I
• HIST 151 World History to 1500
• HIST 161A World Cultures in Perspective
• WS 175 History of Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Global Perspectives to 1500 CE

Group B Options Include (FGB; courses cover the time period 1500 to modern times):

• AMST 150 America and the World
• ANTH 152, 152A Culture and Humanity
• ART 176 Survey of Global Art II
• FSHN 141 Culture and Cuisine:  The Global Diversity of Food
• GEOG 102 World Regional Geography
• HAW 100 Language in Hawai'i:  A Microcosm of Global Language Issues
• HIST 152 World History since 1500
• HIST 162A World Cultures in Perspective
• LING 105 Language Endangerment, Globalization, and Indigenous Peoples
• TIM 102 Food and World Cultures
• WS 176 History of Gender, Sex and Sexuality in Global Perspective, 1500 CE to the Present

Group C Options Include (FGC; courses cover the time period prehistory to modern times):

• GEOG 151, 151A Geography and Contemporary Society
• LLL 150 Literature and Social Change
• MUS 107 Music in World Cultures
• REL 150, 150A Introduction to the World's Major Religions

For Non-UH System Transfer Students Only

Students who transfer from a non-UH System school with one or more western civilization courses will be required to take only three credits of Global and Multi-cultural Perspectives.  If the course or courses that they have taken are time-period specific, the credits that they take at UHM must cover a different time period.

Diversification Requirement:  19 credits

The Diversification requirements are intended to assure that every student has exposure to different domains of academic knowledge, while at the same time allowing flexibility in choice of courses for students with different goals and interests.

UHM Graduation Requirements

Focus Requirements

The Focus requirements identify important additional skills and knowledge necessary for living and working in diverse communities.  Courses fulfilling Focus requirements are offered in departments across the curriculum and vary each semester.  To meet a Focus requirement, a course must have official UHM Focus designation during the semester in which it is taken.  Courses taken outside the UH System cannot be used to fulfill Focus requirements.  Instead, non-UH System transfer students' Focus requirements are adjusted according to the number of credit hours awarded by UHM for non-UH System courses.

*Designation of Writing Intensive courses may change from year to year

University of Hawai'i at Manoa (UHM) Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Requirements

The UHM  DPD is based on requirements mandated by the College and University requirements and the Standards of Education of the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics.  Due to the large number of required courses, especially those courses that have prerequisites, scheduling can be challenging.  As an entering freshman you can complete the dietetics undergraduate program at the UHM in four years if you closely follow the course sequence on the sample four year plan.  This plan specifies all required coursework including the University undergraduate core requirements.  Many of the courses required in the first two years are offered at the community colleges.

A link to a sample 4-year plan is below:
http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/2017-2018PDFs/FourYearPlans/CTAHR/BSFSHNHNDietics4.pdf

*Please note always refer to the UH catalog and current Schedule of Courses as scheduling and prerequisites are subject to change

Distance and In-Person Learning Opportunities

More than 50% of the UHM dietetics courses are offered in a face to face, synchronous learning environment. Most courses have temporarily moved to distance offering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please check the UHM resources for requirements for on campus activities and other updates.

Dietetics Course List

If you are applying to dietetic internships you will be required  to include as part of the application the Supplemental DPD Course List form listing UHM DPD course requirements.  In the past many students and internship directors had to guess where courses "fit" within the dietetics internship application - designating it either a DPD Professional or DPD Science course.  With the help of this Supplemental DPD Course List form the information is already available to you.

DPD Course List
Required Supplemental Form to be completed by the DPD Program Director

Dietetics Program Sheet 2017-18

A sample Dietetics 4-year plan can be found at http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/2017-2018PDFs/FourYearPlans/CTAHR/BSFSHNHNDietics4.pdf

Food Science Human Nutrition Council

Hawaii Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (National)

Evaluation

Evaluation is a critical continuous process that is an integral component of the UHM DPD.  Faculty and students are each given opportunities to offer their input.  Constructive suggestions and recommendations are always encouraged.  A variety of mechanisms exist to ensure that this evaluation process takes place:

1. At the end of each dietetic required course, students will be given the opportunity to evaluate the instructor's performance and the course itself.
2. Students have the right to give input to the given professor, student advisor, dietetics program director, department chairperson, and college dean of student and academic affairs.
3. At the end of the DPD, students are given an "exit survey" administered by the college and are asked to evaluate the quality of the education they received while attending UHM.

Grievance Procedure

It is the policy of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa that faculty and students be provided consistent and equitable treatment in resolving disputes arising from the academic relationship between faculty and student(s).  Student(s) who wish to appeal a decision or grade by faculty members are advised to utilize the Academic Grievance Procedure.  Information on the Academic Grievance Procedure is available from the UHM Dean of Students, who is the campus responsible for facilitating the grievance process.  Their site is:
http://studentaffairs.manoa.hawaii.edu/policies/academic_grievance/

Students who have a grievance related to the DPD program should contact the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend/public-notices-and-announcements/filing-a-complaint-with-acend

120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190
Chicago, IL 60606-6995
(800) 877-1600 ext. 5400

Retention, Remediation, and Disciplinary Action

As will all students who fail to meet the academic requirements of UHM, students may be placed on probation, suspended, or dismissed.  The guidelines for these procedures are found in the UH catalog.  Further information may also be obtained from the UH student academic services office, http://manoa.hawaii.edu/undergrad/oavcue/academic-action/.  Dietetic students are encouraged to develop a collaborative relationship with their advisors so if necessary, they can work together to proactively develop positive strategies to avoid negative disciplinary action.

The UHM Dietetics Advisory Committee (DAC) is comprised of practicing Registered Dietitians, preceptors, and university faculty and staff. The DAC meets annually to review program policies and procedures to ensure program quality. If you are interested in serving on the DAC please email the program director, Monica Esquivel at monicake@hawaii.edu.

A big MAHALO to our current DAC members:

Dietetics Advisory Committee Members, March 2021

Carol J Boushey PhD MPH RDN, Associate Research Professor, University of Hawaii Cancer Center

Clementina D. Ceria-Ulep PhD MSN RN, Professor & Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM)

Jen Draper MA RDN LD, Lecturer, Nutritional Sciences, UHM

Marie Kainoa Fialkowski Revilla PhD MS RDN LD IBC, Associate Professor in Human Nutrition, UHM

Lara Hackney MS RDN, Instructor, UHM

Laura Morihara RDN IBCLC, Local Agency Coordinator, Wahiawa WIC Program

Rachel Novotny PhD RDN LD, Professor and Graduate Chair, Nutritional Sciences, UHM

Iris Takahashi MPH RDN CLC, Clinic Operations Section Chief. Hawaii State WIC

Amy Tousman MPH RDN, ISPP Instructor/Lecturer, UHM

Jinzeng Yang PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, UHM

Eva Young RDN CNSC, Clinical Nutrition Manager, Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center

Food Science and Human Nutrition Council, Student Board President, HNFAS, CTAHR, UHM

Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway, Intern Representative, Didactic Program in Dietetics, HNFAS, CTAHR, UHM

Ricardo Custodio, Associate Professor of Health Science, University of Hawaii West Oahu 

Kaiulani Odom, Roots Program Director, Kokua Kalihi Valley 

Tammy Smith, Dietary Manager for The King Lunalilo Trust and Home 

Mele Kalama-Kingma, UHM Alumni

Jamie Boyd, Professor Windward Community College

Jackie Ng-Osorio, State Plan Native Hawaiian Culture Case Study Manager 

Shelly Enos, Research Coordinator, Waianae Coast Community Health Center

Candi Medina, UHM Alumni

Kimi Maeda, Waipahu High School Teacher

Dayna Takahashi, UHM Alumni

Allison Calabrese, Kamehameha School Teacher