The non-degree option allows students with an existing bachelor's degree in any field to pursue a verification statement required for dietetic internships. Students may begin taking courses in the program during fall, winter, or spring quarters.
In order to obtain a verification statement, the course of study requires students to complete requirements for the Didactic Program in Dietetics, or DPD, and maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 upon program completion. Eligible students should work with the DPD Director to determine specific program requirements as determined by a transcript review. However, regardless of course transfer eligibility, completion of a minimum of four Nutrition and Dietetics courses taken at Seattle Pacific University is required. More information about the transcript review process is provided below.
Program Costs
Tuition and other associated costs for post-bac students are the same as for undergraduate students. Students who opt to complete the requirements for a second baccalaureate degree may be eligible for federal student financial aid. Non-degree or approved certificate-seeking students are not eligible for financial aid.
Transcript Review Process
The DPD Director reviews all transcripts for students wishing to transfer into the DPD program as a post-baccalaureate (non-degree seeking) student or second degree-seeking student. Before transfer and/or degree evaluation may take place, students must request a transcript review in writing, and provide official transcripts containing relevant nutrition courses to the DPD Director. Students may be also asked to submit course syllabi for evaluation. Upon submission of the required materials, the DPD Director will carefully evaluate each course for transfer eligibility and submit documentation of the transcript review results. Results are generally returned to the student within one to two weeks of request submission. All potential transfer course will be subjected to recency requirements listed below.
COURSE RECENCY REQUIREMENTS
Course requirements for non-degree seeking post-baccalaureate students desiring DPD verification are the same as those for the undergraduate dietetics emphasis, except that FCS 1050 and FCS 3240 are omitted.
A transcript review by the DPD director will determine the courses that must be completed to fulfill the DPD requirements. Past coursework must meet the recency requirements listed below. The Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics reserves the right to make final decisions regarding recency of coursework.
Coursework completed in the past five years:
- FCS 2375 Food Production and Management
- FCS 3321 Nutrition through the Life Cycle
- FCS 3310 The Profession of Dietetics
- FCS 3340 Human Nutrition
- FCS 3352 Nutrition Education and Counseling
- FCS 3365 Meal Planning
- FCS 4330 Advanced Nutrition and Metabolism
- FCS 4352 Community Nutrition
- FCS 4340 Medical Nutrition Therapy 1
- FCS 4342 Medical Nutrition Therapy 2
Coursework completed in the past 10 years:
- SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology
- PSY 1180 General Psychology: Individual in Growth
- CHM 1310 Survey of General Chemistry
- CHM 1330 Survey of Organic Chemistry
- CHM 1360 Survey of Biological Chemistry
- BIO 2129 Human Anatomy & Physiology
- BIO 2130 Human Anatomy & Physiology
- ANT 2250 Cultural Anthropology
- MAT 2360 Introduction to Statistics for Sciences
- ACCT 2361 Financial Accounting
- FCS 2365 Food Science
- BIO 3351 General Microbiology
- BUS 3614 Organizational Behavior for Managers
- BUS 3657 Human Resource Management
- FCS 4367 Experimental Foods
- FCS 4370 Nutrition Research
International students and students with foreign degrees
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Seattle Pacific University provides guidance for international students interested in pursuing a degree here. Please read this information carefully if you are an international student.
STUDENTS WITH FOREIGN DEGREES
Individuals who have completed degree(s) in foreign countries are required to have their degree(s) validated as equivalent to a bachelor and/or master’s degree conferred by a US-regionally accredited college or university. Organizations that provide this service are found on the ACEND webpage for students with foreign degrees.
The DPD director will review the degree evaluation and the official transcripts and may also require individual course syllabi to determine which SPU DPD courses have been completed. If the international degree evaluation indicates that the degree is not minimally equivalent to a bachelor’s degree US-regionally accredited college or university, the student must meet all SPU undergraduate degree requirements in order to receive the verification statement.
Only courses that meet the course recency requirements will be considered for meeting DPD requirements. In order to receive the verification statement, international students will be required to complete a minimum of four required courses at Seattle Pacific University:
- FCS 2375 Food Production and Management
- FCS 4340 Medical Nutrition Therapy I
- FCS 4341 Medical Nutrition Therapy II
- FCS 4352 Community Nutrition
Additional courses will also be required if they were not previously completed or are deemed not substantially equivalent to the comparable Seattle Pacific University courses. Meeting with the DPD Director after the degree evaluation is complete is a good way to learn about the program requirements and course scheduling.