Ability to distance learn Nutritional Science?

Question

I currently live in Albany NY and want to become a registered Dietitian but the only school near me that offers Nutritional Science is Sage which is about $26,000 a year in tuition not including books and equipment. The next closest college that offers the degree program is 1 ½ hours away much to far for me to attend.

As a result I have been looking into the possibility oon-linene schools to take my classes but am not sure how labs would work, for example if I have to dissect an animal or anything along those lines. Also I am not sure of what the most legitimate of these institutions. I wanted second opinions from those with experience as I have seen some pretty bad stories of people who thought or were told one thing by a college and are in a bad spot as a result.

Thanks for any opinions

Answer 1

The Registered Dietitians have a virtual lock on the term nutritionist because of a strong lobby at the state level. This means that there are limits on what you can call yourself in various states.

There are programs for nutrition that are not affiliated with the ADA (not CADE accredited). A google search on "Nutrition Education" will yield some surprising results for you. Bear in mind that accreditation is generally considered the standard by which institutions claim legitimacy.  However, I know of one institution (Hawthorn University) that is only a few years old, is working towards accreditation and offers Holistic Nutrition, which is not currently recognized by the ADA and the program does not qualify you to sit for the RD exam. This institution however provides the curriculum you need to sit for the NANP and HNCB exams. They have excellent and highly qualified faculty.

I am sure that any reputable institution that delivers curriculum at a distance will have well-established protocols for lab work.

What I will suggest is that you do your homework on any institution, look at the cost of tuition, time needed to complete a degree, graduates' testimonials, talk to the staff and faculty, and ALWAYS read the fine print carefully. Reputable institutions will not 'promise' you anything such as a guarantee of a job upon graduation.

You have chosen a noble field, and it is growing. I will offer my opinion that there is more to nutrition than what is taught to RDs.......