Program Description

Dietetic Internship (DI)
Program Level:  Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
Program Length:  10 months

The DI follows a normal academic year, beginning in August and ending in June. The program consists of one week of orientation, followed by 1112 hours of supervised practice and approximately 160 didactic hours. These hours are distributed as follows:

• 35 weeks of supervised practice, approximately 32 hours each week
• Monday classes, approximately six hours weekly

Program Concentration: Medical Nutrition Therapy

The program concentration of Medical Nutrition Therapy includes instruction in management, clinical rotations, and community settings. Interns are assigned to one hospital site, at the discretion of the DI Director and Selection Committee, where they complete food service, management, and clinical rotations.  They will also complete rotations at other facilities.

Supervised Practice

Clinical services rotations cover conditions such as general medical/surgical, diabetes, cardiac care, nutrition support, clinical management and clinical staff relief, and are completed at the assigned hospital. Rotations in pediatrics and outpatient/counseling may be completed at another facility. 

Food service rotations at the assigned hospital include storeroom, production, tray line, cafeteria, safety and sanitation. Production management and administration provide management experience.

Public Health, school food service, budget, and elective rotations will be completed at non-hospital facilities.

Rotations include: 

• Clinical 1, 2, and 3 (total of ten to eleven weeks)
• Clinical Staff Relief (two weeks)
• Pediatrics (one week)
• Outpatient/Counseling (two weeks)
• Public Health (three to four weeks)
• Clinical Management (two weeks)
• Food Service Management (two weeks)
• Administration (three weeks)
• School Food Service (two weeks)
• Budget (one week)

Elective Rotations (six weeks total):  Interns have the option of choosing up to three rotations from the following choices to meet their personal goals:

• Head Start
• Community College (Counseling)
• Renal
• University Food Service
• Long Term Care
• Eating Disorders
• Diabetes Counseling
• Private Practice
• Research
• Sports Nutrition
• Community Pediatrics

Program Schedule

The Dietetic Internship runs from August to June each year.  The internship does not strictly follow the university's academic calendar.  Internship winter break and spring break may be at different times than the University.  Also, interns may be scheduled to work on academic holidays.

Each intern has a unique schedule and will complete their rotations in a different order. Interns will be given their schedule at orientation.  The program is designed to build on prior learning and practice experiences to progress to more advanced learning activities in rotations. The 2023-24 internship class will start with orientation on August 14, 2023, and is due to end on May 31. 2024.

Important dates 2023-24*

*All dates and schedules subject to change

The 2024-25 internship is anticipated to start orientation in mid-August 2024, and end in early June 2025. However, that schedule has not been finalized at this time.

Partner Hospitals

Current hospital facilities participating in the Dietetic Internship include:

• Chino Valley Medical Center, Chino
• City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte
• Community Hospital of San Bernardino, San Bernardino
• Emanate Health (Intercommunity and Queen of the Valley), Covina
• Harbor/UCLA Medical Center, Torrance
• Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo
• Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Pomona
• St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley
• San Antonio Regional Hospital, Upland
• San Dimas Community Hospital, San Dimas
• St. Bernardine's Medical Center, San Bernardino
• St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton

Hospitals are located up to 60 miles from the Cal Poly Pomona campus. The use of a car is mandatory in order to travel to assigned rotations.  Non-hospital rotations such as Public Health, School Food Service, Community College, and Head Start, will be completed in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and/or Riverside counties.

Interns are responsible for their own living arrangements.

GLADIC Classes 

In addition to supervised practice hours, interns are required to attend Monday classes at a variety of sites in the Greater Los Angeles area. These hours are in addition to the 1112 practice hours in the assigned rotations. Topics covered may include but are not limited to diabetes, laboratory values, counseling, nutritional assessment, drug/nutrient interaction, sports nutrition, personnel issues, labor unions, conflict resolution, state and federal legislation, marketing, communication skills, feeding disabilities, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/California Academy structure and activities, and introduction to community agencies.

Program Completion

The Cal Poly Pomona Dietetic Internship Policy on Program Completion Requirements

Interns are expected to complete the program in 10 months. Interns who are unable to meet completion requirements within 15 months of the start date will be terminated from the program unless there are extenuating circumstances.

All interns who complete the dietetic internship with evaluations of at- or above-entry level will receive a Verification Statement. Receipt of this Statement will allow the graduate to apply to write the examination to become a registered dietitian/registered dietitian nutritionist.

Interns will also receive a certificate of completion from the university.

DI Graduation Requirements:

• Successfully meet all competencies set by ACEND
• Complete 1112 hours of supervised practice (NTR 5600 and NTR 5610)
• Attend a minimum of 85 percent of Monday seminars (NTR 5450)
• Write a paper on an academy position paper and the new research on the topic, and present this to the internship class
• Research, write, and present a case study
• Submission of weekly journals and other assigned projects
• Submission of a professional development plan

RD/RDN Exams Pass Rate

The first-year pass rate for the previous three-years is 93 percent.

Additional program outcomes data are available on request.

Job Placement

Cal Poly Pomona conducts an annual survey of dietetic internship graduates.  In the past, our graduates have mostly obtained positions in clinical dietetics (both acute and long-term care), but we also have graduates who are pursuing careers in sports nutrition, school food service, outpatient counseling, and eating disorders.

Both the institution's state and accreditor require the calculation of a job placement rate for this program.

Accreditor rate: The job placement rate for students who completed this program is 90 percent.

State rate: The job placement rate for students who completed this program is 90 percent.