KU's graduate certificate in dietetics and integrative medicine offers an opportunity for working professionals or graduate students to acquire knowledge to function as a skilled advisor to the patient and a collaborative member of interprofessional health care teams. The program is open to students with bachelor's or master's degrees in dietetics, nutrition, biological sciences or other health care professions.

The program explores a personalized approach to prevention and treatment of chronic disease that embraces conventional and complementary therapies. It reaffirms the importance of the therapeutic relationship, a focus on the whole person, lifestyle, biochemical individuality and environmental influences.

This is an online program only with no campus visits required. The 12 credit hours are delivered as web-based courses, affording great flexibility to students. The program is administered by the KU Department of Dietetics and Nutrition.

This program is open to students with bachelor's or master's degrees in dietetics, nutrition, biological sciences or other healthcare professions. Applications are accepted online. Detailed instructions on how to apply are available on the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition website. Application deadlines are July 1 for fall semester, October 30 for spring semester, and March 31 for summer semester.

Admission requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution is required and must be documented by submission of official transcript indicating the degree has been conferred before entering the program. Official transcripts for all courses from all institutions attended are also required. The bachelor’s degree may be in any field.
• Students with degrees from outside the U.S. require transcript evaluation indicating the degree is equivalent to a U.S. degree and meets the minimum cumulative grade-point average requirement.
• Students must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in his or her bachelor's degree program.
• Applicants who are not native speakers of English, whether domestic or international, must demonstrate they meet the minimum English proficiency requirement.
• Students must possess the registered dietitian license (or other health care professional certification) and/or be enrolled in a health professions degree program at the graduate level at the time of application.
• A résumé or curriculum vitae is required and must include prior employment, participation in professional and/or voluntary organizations (e.g., hospital, alumni or nonprofit).
• A statement of career goals will be submitted with the application or may be included in the résumé document.
• Three references are required. The references must be from faculty, advisors, employers, or others familiar with the applicant's work and character. The recommendations may not be obtained from family members, friends, etc.
• The Joint Commission requires all incoming students to pay for a background check. This one-time fee must be paid directly to the company performing the background investigation. For more information, please see the School of Health Professions Background Check Instructions.

Applicants will be assessed based on these requirements. After an applicant has been admitted, a program may defer an applicant's admission for one year after which time the applicant must submit a new application.  Admission requirements are subject to change. In most cases, use the catalog of the year a student entered the program. Other years’ catalogs».

Certificate Program information:
No student may work toward a graduate certificate without being accepted as a graduate certificate student in a specific graduate certificate program. Graduate certificates are not granted retroactively. An individual who is not currently a degree-seeking graduate student at KU must apply and may be admitted directly to a graduate certificate program.

The graduate certificate program is not a means of entry into a graduate degree program. If students admitted to a graduate certificate program are later admitted to a graduate degree program as degree-seeking, applicable courses taken for the graduate certificate program may, upon recommendation of the department and within general guidelines, be approved by the Office of Graduate Studies to be counted toward the degree.

While the courses comprising a graduate certificate may be used as evidence in support of a student’s application for admission to a graduate degree program, the certificate itself is not considered to be a prerequisite and does not guarantee admission into any graduate degree program. The certificate program is not intended to serve as a default system for students in a degree program who find that they are not able to complete the degree for academic or other reasons. Should a student drop out of a degree program and seek admission to a certificate program, all certificate admission requirements must be followed for admission and conferral.

Graduate credit from another institution may not be transferred to a graduate certificate program.

This certificate program is only offered online and no campus visits are required. The 12 credit hours are delivered as web-based courses, affording great flexibility to students. The curriculum includes the four courses below with one course offered per semester. The program may be started fall, spring or summer semester.

Typical Plan of Study (Fall semester start)

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer	Hours
DN 880	3	DN 881	3	DN 882	3
	3		3		3
Year 2
Fall	Hours
DN 980	3
	3
Total Hours 12

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.  Students who disclose that they have a disability are considered for the program if they are otherwise qualified.  Qualified students with a disability who wish to request accommodations should provide appropriate documentation of disability and submit a request for accommodation to:

The Office for Academic Accommodations

Cyn Ukoko, Senior Coordinator of Academic Accommodations

913-945-7035 or 711 TTY

cukoko@kumc.edu

The Department of Dietetics & 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 Dietetics and Integrative Medicine Certificate program in Dietetics & Nutrition must be able to meet the following requirements and expectations with or without an accommodation. The certificate prepares students to practice dietetics and nutrition and to interpret and participate in research in nutrition within academic and healthcare organizations. Graduates need knowledge and skills to function in diverse practice and research settings. All students who are admitted into the certificate program in Dietetics & Nutrition are able to do the following:

Observe: Students must be able to observe lectures, demonstrations, research, and practice situations in the practice and research of health sciences.

Communicate: Students must have the ability to use multiple communication techniques (oral, written, nonverbal) to enable communication 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: Candidates must demonstrate professional attitudes and behaviors and must perform in an ethical manner in dealing with others. Personal integrity is required and the adherence to standards that reflect the values and functions of the profession of dietetics. Candidates are required to abide by the professional code of ethics for dietetics and student honor codes.

Psychomotor: Students must have sufficient motor capacities and motilities to execute various tasks and physical maneuvers such as: collecting specimens and perform basic tests and physical assessments on individuals, e.g., finger sticks for blood glucose testing, using glucometers, skin fold thickness, blood pressure, and placing feeding tubes; working in institutional and food demonstration kitchens to prepare foods and direct employees involved in food services; and conducting patient visits individually and with health care team members to provide nutrition care.  Graduate students who are not involved with clinical experiences are expected to demonstrate during their research assistantship sufficient motor capabilities and motilities to execute various tasks similar to those in the clinical rotations. 

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 exercise good judgment and promptly complete all responsibilities required of the program. They must develop mature, sensitive, and effective professional relationships with others. They must 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.