Students begin the 16-month program in the Fall semester and are enrolled concurrently in graduate courses and the Internship. Interns complete a ~6-week orientation at the beginning of the Fall semester and transition to supervised practice after orientation is complete. Supervised practice experiences continue through Spring and Summer and are completed near the end of the Summer. Graduate coursework continues throughout and into an additional Fall semester to finish the Master’s degree.
The proposed course order shows the courses needed for those completing the Dietetic Internship with or without a Master's degree. We have also prioritized the required courses for the Master's degrees to be taken in-person/synchronously with the majority of electives available online. Didactic classes are scheduled on Mondays, online, or via video to the TWU Houston from our Denton faculty. The course order and plan of study can be tailored to meet the students preferences upon discussion with the assigned advisor. See proposed course order and plan of study here.
Didactic classes are scheduled on Mondays, evenings, or online, or via video to the TWU Houston campus from our Denton faculty. Supervised practice experiences are then scheduled Tuesday through Friday (~32 hours/week) by the DI Director. A personal computer and access to reliable internet is required for program completion. Courses will be managed through an online learning management system (Canvas). The Houston Library has a computer lab with available equipment and supplies for use while on-campus. There is also technology support available for Canvas and other IT troubleshooting needs.
The internship program follows the TWU Academic Calendar for major Holiday breaks (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break), unless otherwise coordinated with the DI Director, rotation site and student during Supervised Practice experiences. Individual Holidays are followed per the assigned rotation site’s calendar at the time the Holiday occurs. There is no break in rotations between the Spring and Summer semesters
In supervised practice experiences, interns receive one-on-one instruction with experienced preceptors. Affiliated facilities providing the major supervised practice experiences are located in the greater Houston metropolitan area within 60 miles of the TWU-Houston campus. The DI Director schedules the supervised practice rotations at sites with which the university has formalized affiliation agreements. Note that availability of sites can vary from year to year. Interns also have an elective rotation where they are encouraged to select an experience that reflects their area of interest and career goals as well as a staffing opportunity to return to a site of previous experience for extended growth and learning. In some specialty rotations, preceptors without large office space may have students complete some of the rotation projects from home with frequent contact via phone, video conference, or email. If any virtual/remote rotations are offered, they will compose less than 15% of the 1100 required internship hours.
Supervised Practice content areas and sites
- Content Areas
- Foodservice Management
- Core Required Rotations
- Memorial Hermann Health System
- St. Joseph Medical Center
- Harris Health System
- Houston Methodist
- DaVita Dialysis centers
- Houston Independent School District
- Fort Bend Independent School District
- Galena Park Independent School District
- Houston Food Bank
- Harris County Public Health-WIC
- Houston Family Nutrition
- Menninger Clinic’s “The Gathering Place”
- Elective Rotation Practice Areas
- Eating Disorders
- Burn, Transplant, Neuro, Cardiovascular, Surgical Intensive Care
- Sports (ESN Students only)
- Project Management
- Nutrition Communications
- Private Practice
- Community Garden/Culinary Nutrition
Page last updated 2:59 PM, April 19, 2024