The Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition (DCN) program is designed for students with a registered dietitian credential (RDN), with current professional licensure when required by their state, a Master's degree, and currently working in the field of nutrition and dietetics. This advanced degree will broaden the knowledge base and enhance critical thinking skills to keep pace with the medical complexity of today's clinical nutrition practice. Students will expand their interprofessional experiences, communication skills, medical nutrition therapy skills, management and leadership skills, and research. The program is offered by the KU Department of Dietetics.
Graduates will be prepared for leadership roles in clinical nutrition or higher education settings through cutting-edge coursework and completion of outcomes-based research projects. Educators, employers and practitioners recognize the competitive advantage that an advanced degree offers to elevate graduates as experts in the field.
Evidence-based practice requires outcomes research to determine best practices. Advanced-level practitioners need strong research skills to develop and direct appropriate and valuable research projects. Program faculty conduct human nutrition research and are well-equipped to mentor students through the research process.
The program is offered fully online, with one orientation and experiential learning campus visit required. The program faculty are located at the KU Medical Center campus of the University of Kansas, which along with The University of Kansas Health System forms the region's top academic health center. The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and training institution serving as a center for learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor.
The mission of the Doctorate of Clinical Nutrition is to serve the citizens of Kansas, the region, and the nation by producing advanced-level nutrition and dietetic practitioners, transformational leaders and researchers.
Academic Goals of Program
- To graduate students with mastery of applied medical nutrition science for advanced-level practice.
- To produce graduates who apply existing knowledge and research to clinical settings, evaluate and disseminate findings to advance clinical practice.
- To produce graduates with mastery of interprofessional collaboration, critical thinking, communication, management and leadership skills.
Application for admission to the DCN program will be made through the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Application deadlines are February 1 for fall semester entry and September 1 for spring semester entry. Applicants meeting criteria will undergo a standardized screening interview by DN faculty before acceptance. The following materials are required for admission:
1. Be an RDN with current professional licensure when required by their state.
2. A Master’s degree
3. Currently working in the field of nutrition and dietetics (may be part time)
4. Completed graduate application form (including letter of intent with professional goals)
5. Official transcripts from all colleges and/or universities attended with final degrees posted.
6. Three letters of recommendation from supervisors, faculty or advisors in the field within in the last five years. All recommendation letters must be on a professional letterhead.
7. International students must reside in a country that has reciprocity with Commission on Dietetic Registration. Official TOEFL exam scores for international applicants sent directly to KU Medical Center (Institution code 6875). Minimum English proficiency requirements are set by KU Medical Center Office of Graduate Studies and are posted online at https://www.kumc.edu/academic-and-student-affairs/departments/office-of-international-programs/inbound-programs/information-for-students/academic-english-requirements.html
8. Minimum GPA requirements for admission to KU as a graduate student: An undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better is required for regular admission status. Previous graduate coursework must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better for admission.
Degree requirements:
The DCN program would require a total of 48 credit hours. The 39 credits of coursework are offered entirely online. The Advanced Clinical Nutrition Residency and Applied Research Project (see details below) would be completed within a professional workplace with the guidance of their DCN advisor. These courses were specifically selected to enhance communication, collaboration and leadership skills, in addition to research skills and clinical nutrition skills.
- Degree requirements must be completed within a maximum of 8 years.
- Cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for all KU graduate coursework
- Successful completion of the following courses:
Communication, Collaboration and Leadership Core
- DN 920: Nutrition Communication for Advanced Practice, 3 credits.
- DN 910: Leadership Essentials in Clinical Nutrition, 3 credits.
- DN 950: Interprofessional Collaboration, 2 credits.
- DCLS 880: Principles of Interprofessional Education and Practice Theory, 1 credit
Research Core
- DN 930: Evidence Analysis in Clinical Nutrition, 3 credits.
- DN 932: Ethics in Clinical Nutrition Research, 1 credit.
- DN 934: Advanced Methods of Research in Clinical Nutrition, 3 credits.
- DN 941: Applied Nutrition Epidemiology, 3 credits.
- IPHI 850: Introduction to Health Informatics, 2 credits.
Clinical Nutrition Core
- DN 915: Advanced Nutritional Assessment, 3 credits.
- DN 970: Pharmacology in Clinical Nutrition, 3 credits.
- DN 971: Advanced Nutrition Counseling, 3 credits.
- DN 972: Frontiers in Medical Nutrition Therapy, 3 credits
- DN 980: Nutrigenomics & Nutrigenetics in Health and Disease, 3 credits.
- One elective (see list, below), 3 credits.
DN 991: Applied Research Project, 6 credits
DN 992: Advanced Clinical Nutrition Residency, 3 credits (360 hours at workplace)
Select 1 elective class from the following as part of Clinical Nutrition Core Requirements
DN 829 Nutrition in Aging 3 hrs
DN 837 Nutrition in Diabetes 3 hrs
DN 839 Clinical Aspects of Nutrition Support 3 hrs
DN 842 U.S. Public Health Nutrition 3 hrs
DN 865 Nutrition in Sports & Exercise 3 hrs
DN 875 Pediatric Clinical Nutrition 3 hrs
DN 876 Interventions for Prevention & Management of Obesity 3 hrs
DN 880 Dietary and Herbal Supplements 3 hrs
DN 881 Intro to Dietetics and Integrative Medicine 3 hrs
DN 882 Nutrition Approach to Inflammation Immune Regulation 3 hrs
DN 884 Diet, Physical Activity and Cancer 3 hrs
DN 885 Nutritional Biochemistry 3 hrs
DN 895 Advanced Macronutrients and Integrated Metabolism 3 hrs
DN 896 Advanced Micronutrients and Integrated Metabolism 3 hrs
- Advanced Clinical Nutrition Residency (3 hrs): The residency experience is designed to span 360 hours and will be completed within a professional workplace setting. Students will identify an area of practice through which they will provide leadership to develop a research-based clinical initiative or program. Upon completion, the students will provide their clinical team with the program or clinical initiative, along with program evaluation methods.
- Applied Research Project (3 hrs): A planned and approved research project which is advisor-guided, student-directed, and designed to enhance the student’s ability to apply graduate knowledge to achieve tangible and relevant outcomes will be completed. All aspects of this translational research project will be included (i.e., planning, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, preparation, and oral presentation of the project). The goal is a manuscript suitable for publication. Collaborative interprofessional patient care projects are strongly encouraged.
- DCN students actively working on their research project must maintain active enrollment each semester while in the research phase by enrolling in a suitable and repeatable course (DN 990). The final oral defense of the research project will be scheduled after the final draft of the manuscript has been accepted by the student’s graduate committee. The oral examination is a defense of the manuscript and can include questions about knowledge of clinical nutrition concepts and applications.
Upon acceptance into the Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition Program, students are asked to acknowledge their ability to meet these standards with or without accommodations. The following technical standards, in conjunction with the academic standards, are requirements for admission, retention and program completion.
Reasonable accommodation will be considered and may be made to qualified students who disclose a disability, so long as such accommodation does not significantly alter the essential requirements of the curriculum and the training program, or significantly affect the safety of patient care.
Qualified students with a disability who wish to request accommodations should provide appropriate documentation of disability and submit a request for accommodation to:
Academic Accommodations Office
ada-kumc@kumc.edu
913-945-7035
https://www.kumc.edu/academic-accommodations
The Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and the University of Kansas Medical Center have a commitment to nondiscrimination, access and reasonable accommodation of students with disabilities. Therefore, all students admitted to the Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition must be able to meet the following requirements and expectations with or without an accommodation. The Doctorate degree prepares students to practice dietetics and nutrition and to interpret and participate in research in nutrition within academic and health care organizations. Graduates need knowledge and skills to function in diverse practice and research settings.
All students who are admitted into the DCN program must be able to perform the following:
Observation: Candidates must be able to acquire information as presented through lectures, demonstrations, research, and must be able to accurately perform practice situations in the practice and research of health sciences.
Communicate: Students must have the ability to use multiple communication techniques (oral, written, nonverbal) that enable them to communicate with clients, teachers, health providers and faculty. Students must be able to report to members of the team, express accurate information to clients, and teach, explain, direct and counsel people.
Ethical Standards: Students must demonstrate professional attitudes and behaviors and must perform in an ethical manner in dealing with others as outlined in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Code of Ethics for the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession. Personal integrity is required and the adherence to standards that reflect the values and the functions of the profession of dietetics and nutrition. Students are required to abide by student honor codes and research ethics.
Psychomotor: Students must be able to demonstrate the following skills: ability to generate, calculate, record, evaluate and transit information; prepare assignments; deliver public presentations to large and small audiences; collect specimens and perform basic tests and physical assessments on individuals, e.g., anthropometric assessments, finger sticks for blood glucose testing, using glucometers, assessing skin fold thickness, taking blood pressure; and/or working in institutional and food demonstration kitchens.
Intellectual and Cognitive Abilities: Students must be able to measure, calculate reason, analyze, synthesize, integrate, and remember to apply information. Creative problem solving and clinical reasoning requires all of these intellectual abilities.
Professional and Social Attributes: Students must promptly complete all responsibilities required of the program. They must develop mature, sensitive, and effective professional relationships with others. They must be able to tolerate taxing workloads and function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, display flexibility and function in the face of uncertainties and ambiguities.
Concern for others, interpersonal competence and motivation are requisites for the program.
