MSNHL Supervised Practice

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Students are required to complete 1,000 hours of Supervised Practice (SP) experience to meet competencies established by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) in addition to coursework. The program’s concentration area is Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity, preparing graduates for entry-level dietetics. Completion of SP hours and the award of a Master of Science degree provides students with “eligibility” to write the national registration examination of the Commission of Dietetics Registration (CDR), that grants the use of the nationally recognized credential, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).

MSNHL Program Information

Announcements

Priority Application Deadline for MSNHL Fall Start Date

January 15

On-Campus vs Online Learning

Students must enroll in one track only
Distance students must be 100 miles from USC
On-campus supervised practice is scheduled by the Internship Coordinators
Distance students will need to identify all supervised practice rotations and provide confirmation of supervised practice sites for the first year of the program, as a condition of program acceptance.

nearly 400

preceptors
across the country

300+

affiliation agreements
with sites across the country including Texas, New York, Hawaii and Florida

95%

of graduates
passed the CDR credentialing exam for dietitians within one year following first attempt

MSNHL Supervised Practice Sites

MSNHL students have been placed in the following facilities in previous semesters. Available sites may vary from year to year.

USC Hospitals-Keck, Norris Cancer Center, Verdugo Hills and Arcadia Hospital
Long Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities
USC Hospitality, USC Sports Nutrition, USC WorkWell Center, and USC Research Labs
USC Head Start, public and private schools, community colleges and non-profit organizations
Private practice, consulting RDNs, and disordered eating, substance abuse programs, and other specialized clinics

Rotation Schedule

Rotation	Possible Sites/Activities	Min/Max Hours Possible	Total Hours/Days (1000 Total Hours)
Professionalization	Professionalization Workshops, Online Self Study Modules, HIPAA and CITI IRB Modules, Policy, Leadership Development, Activities and Field Trips	40 hours	40 hours-80 hours
Retail Food Service	Core Site	128 hours	128 hours/16 days
In-Patient Food Service	Core Site	128 hours	128 hours/16 days
Community Nutrition	Core Site, Care Harbor or Health Fairs, Grocery Store Tours, Research (Community Population)	112 hours	112 hours/14 days
Nutrition Education	Core Site	40 hours	40 hours
Outpatient	Core Site	96 hours	96 hours/12 days
MNT I	Core Site	160 hours	160 hours/20 days
MNT II	Core Site, GROW Conference	160 hours + 40 hours of virtual MNT simulation or 200 hours (without 40 hours of MNT simulation)	160 hours /20 days + 40 hours of simulation or 200 hours/25 days
Specialty Concentration (Elective)	Selected with SP Coordinator, (Renal, Burns, Bariatric, Transplant, Research, Private Practice, Sports Nutrition, etc.)	96 hours	96 hours/12 days

Past Capstone Projects

The MSNHL Capstone Project serves as the program summative experience and is the culminating experience for all MSNHL Coordinated Program students. The purpose of this project is to enable students to demonstrate mastery of a nutrition topic area. Student research may be presented in a variety of forums, such as a presentation at a nutrition or related conference, or published in a peer-reviewed journal or newsletter. Before graduation, students present their research to their professors, preceptors, classmates, and families.

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Preceptor Information

All RD preceptors who participate in training our dietetic interns are eligible to receive up to 3 CPEUs per calendar year. A confirmation statement will be provided by the internship coordinator with the number of CPEUs to be awarded based on student contact hours. Learn how to signup to become a preceptor below.

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