Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Certificate
The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition. Once the DPD is completed, students receive an ACEND Verification Statement which enables them to apply to an accredited Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Dietetic Internship, the completion of which is the final prerequisite to taking the national registration exam to obtain the status of Registered Dietitian.
Students can also complete the DPD by earning a second bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Food Science-Dietetics. Typically, students who earn the AND certificate, as opposed to the second bachelor's degree, are simultaneously enrolled in the Master's in Nutrition and Food Science program (since courses from the master's program can be substituted for some courses in the AND certificate program). For students who are not also enrolled in the master's program, the second bachelor's degree is usually a better option. Students in the AND certificate program pay graduate tuition to take the DPD courses; students in the second bachelor's program pay undergraduate tuition to take these same courses, but are also required to complete a minimum of 32 credits at Montclair State. Students should determine whether to choose the second bachelor's in nutrition or the post-graduate AND certificate based on the number of DPD courses they have left to complete (courses from a student's previous undergraduate program can sometimes be substituted for courses in the DPD) and the cost of graduate vs. undergraduate tuition.

