Objectives and Goals of the Nutrition Science DPD Program

Goal #1– The UIC Didactic Program will provide academic preparation which supports successful placement into a supervised practice program, as well as subsequent success on passing the Registration Examination for Dietitians.

  • 70% of DPD students will apply for a dietetic internship within 12 months of graduation
  • 80% of DPD students who apply for a dietetic internship will receive an offer within 12 months of graduation
  • Annual overall scaled scores and domain specific scores on the registration exam will exceed the national average over a 5 year period
  • >85% of didactic program students will successfully complete the program annually within 3 years of beginning the program
  • 80% of graduates over a 5 year period will pass the national Registration Exam within one year of first attempt
  • Over 5 years, >80% of dietetic internship directors who respond to our survey will report that the UIC intern was either thoroughly prepared (rating=4) or mostly prepared (rating=3) in terms of the overall knowledge and skill set of the UIC DPD program graduates.

Goal #2 – The UIC Didactic Program will prepare graduates to serve the nutritional needs of urban underserved communities.

  • 30% of alumni who received a dietetic internship participate or work in community nutrition setting in an underserved setting within 2.5 years of graduation.
  • 50% of graduates will report participation in food or nutrition related community engagement activities in an underserved area during their time as a DPD student at UIC.

Goal #3 – The UIC Didactic Program will integrate research into the curriculum for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge related to nutrition as an applied science.

  • >90% of students will respond that the program more than adequately prepared them with a strong scientific foundation in the field of nutrition/dietetics
  • All of our clinical and assessment nutrition courses (HN 200, 311, HN 320, HN 420 and HN 422) will include at least two assignments that utilize the Nutrition Care Manual, the eNCPT and/or the Evidence Analysis Library

Goal #4 – The UIC Didactic Program will prepare graduates with a strong base in clinical nutrition therapy.

  • >40% of didactic program alumni will obtain clinical nutrition position within 6 months of completing an accredited internship
  • Annual clinical nutrition domain specific scores on the registration exam will exceed the national average