Dietetic Internship

How to Apply

Virginia Tech DI Admission Requirements & Applications Procedure

Eligibility - You must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply to the program:

1. Complete a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree by the starting date of the program.
2. Complete a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Program by the starting date of the program and earn a Verification Statement (or Intent to Complete form). Review Recency of Education Policy if you completed your program greater than 5 years before the internship begins.
3. Earn an overall and DPD grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on 4.0 scale.
4. Have experience (paid or volunteer) in a food, nutrition and/or dietetic setting.

Application Process – 3 steps

1. Complete the Dietetic Internship Centralized Application System (DICAS) on-line application. The on-line application system can be accessed between early December and the application due date of February 15 at https://portal.dicas.org. Additional information about DICAS appears at the bottom of this page.

When applying you must select one Virginia Tech program location: Blacksburg or Northern Virginia. The program is listed only once within the DICAS Program Designation Section with the location listed as Blacksburg (based on the mailing address of the program). You will designate your program location when you pay your program application fee and within your personal statement. The program director will sort the applicants for review based on the information you provide in these 2 sources.

As part of your DICAS submission, include a Virginia Tech program-specific personal statement. The statement should be 8000 characters or approximately 1000 words or less. Address the following 6 issues, 5 of which are the standard DICAS questions and one program-specific question:

a. Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
b. Discuss experiences that have helped prepare you for your career?
c. What are your short-term and long-term goals?
d. What are your strengths and or weaknesses or areas needing improvement?
e. What other information do you consider important for the selection decision?
f. Why are you interested in the Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship Program, which location are you applying for and why are you interested in that location?

2. Pay the Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship Program application fee of $50 and identify one program location (Blacksburg or Northern Virginia).
Virginia Tech on-line payment system.

3. Register for the computer matching system which is managed by D&D Digital Systems at http://www.dnddigital.com. The cost of participating in this process is $50 and is not affected by the number of programs you apply. Virginia Tech has two match numbers, 265 for the Northern Virginia site and 488 for the Blacksburg location. Select the number that corresponds to the program location you have identified in your personal statement and when you paid your Virginia Tech program application fee.

Selection process
Applicants must select one Virginia Tech program location when applying . There are two selection committees – one committee reviews applications for the Northern Virginia location and the other reviews applications for the Blacksburg/Southwestern Virginia location. Each application is reviewed by the respective committee and includes faculty members and preceptors. Applicants will be reviewed by only one committee but will be considered for openings at the alternate site if an opening arises after the match and the applicant has not received a match.

Interviews are not conducted as part of the selection process.

The number of applications for the Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship program for recent years is as follows: 

2012 - 147 applications with 73 selecting Blacksburg and 74 selecting Northern Virginia

2011 (first year of DICAS ) –156 applications with 83 selecting Blacksburg and 73 Northern Virginia

2010 - 138 total applications received - 59 preferred Blacksburg and 79 preferred Northern Virginia

2009 - 110 total applications received - 46 preferred Blacksburg and 64 preferred Northern Virginia

Acceptance to the program will be based on academic performance, evidence of maturity, quality of references, work (paid or volunteer) experience, perceived understanding of the field, and compatibility of the applicant's goals to the Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship design.

The final outcome is the result of the computer match process.

Applicants are notified of the results of the computer match on D&D Digital's website on April 7, 2013 using a personal login and password. Matched applicants must e-mail or telephone the Virginia Tech Program Director to confirm acceptance or rejection of the match by April 9, 2013 at 6pm EST.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, gender, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equity and Access.

Information about DICAS -
Dietetic Internship Centralized Application System

Virginia Tech Dietetic Internship participates in the on-line centralized internship application, DICAS, which may be accessed at https://portal.dicas.org The on-line application must be completed by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on February 15, 2013. The fee to use DICAS is $40 for the first application submitted and $20 for each additional application.