CUNY Grad School Dietetic Internship

The skyline of Harlem, where the CUNY School of Public Health and CUNY dietetic internship have offices

Happy Tuesday! Hope you’re continuing to stay safe and make smart choices. Today, I wanted to share what I’ve found on a dietetic internship at CUNY, also known as City University of New York. As someone who’s not familiar with CUNY, I was amazed by how complex the system is, so much so that they even have multiple dietetic internships! Today’s post focuses on the in-person internship connected to the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy.

CUNY Dietetic Internship Basics

The CUNY internship offers a nine and a half months long internship (starting in September) The internship does not require a degree, but interns can enroll in CUNY’s MPH in Public Health Nutrition program. Because it’s not required, I’ve included the link but won’t be discussing it in this post. Whether you chose to pursue your MPH or not, the dietetic internship also has a focus on Food and Nutrition in Public Health.

The program accepts a total of 30 students each spring match period. 10 of those spots are for on-site rotations, the other 20 are distance rotations. You do get to pick one while applying. If you choose the distance rotation, you must include a supplemental application plus letters of intent from preceptors. Overall about 112 people apply each year for those 30 spots.

On-site rotations are for credit and in the New York City metro area. The distance rotations, which the school refers to as online, can be for-credit or non-credit. Completing a for-credit internship earns you 12 graduate level credits. If, however, you are looking for an inexpensive internship and not interested in earning credits, the CUNY Online Dietetic Internship is a great choice, at only $4,500. The on-site internship is relatively inexpensive for NY State residents as well, coming in at just under $7,000. Keep in mind when considering what you can afford that New York is not a cheap place to live.

On-site CUNY Rotations

Like all internship, the CUNY dietetic internship offers rotations in clinical, food service, and public health settings. Because these are the basic rotations, they compose the majority of interns’ hours. CUNY also highlights a few other nutrition-related rotation blocks. For example, interns will spend four weeks working on public health research with School of Public Health faculty. They can also work for two weeks on food policy at the CUNY Food Policy Institute. Finally, one week of rotations is for informatics, which is the important study of data and information processing.

Based on the different example sites, interns work with hospitals dialysis centers, food banks, and of course, the sites mentioned above.

What Stands out About the CUNY Dietetic Internship?

Something unique I noticed about the CUNY Grad School Dietetic Internship is their flexibility. The program allows Prior Assessed Learning (PAL), which is in place at some internships that wish to offer it. PAL uses previous intern experiences to count towards their internship hours. These experiences are similar to what an entry-level dietitian might perform and have to fulfill certain objectives to qualify. While the internship doesn’t determine PAL credits until after accepting interns, applicants can discuss the PAL paperwork with the CUNY internship director before submission.

CUNY is also flexible when it comes to the amount of time needed for the internship. Although they desire for interns to complete the internship within the program calendar, they are willing to give more time under certain circumstances.

Why Choose the CUNY Dietetic Internship?

The CUNY Dietetic Internship’s mission is to prepare “entry level Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in a collaborative and accessible environment to provide nutrition care and services for the diverse populations of New York City, nationally, and the world.” Therefore, based on that statement and what I’ve read, consider if CUNY is right for you if…

  • Want to work in public health and have experiences that reflect that
  • Are interested in working with many different populations
  • Would like a flexible, inexpensive internship
  • Would like to live in New York and learn more about working with urban populations of all kinds

Resources

Interested in learning more about CUNY and their dietetic internship? Here’s some websites that I sourced for information or found useful!

Interested in the CUNY Dietetic Internship? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

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