Application Process

1. Our Ideal Applicant
2. Application
3. Telephone Interviews
4. 2024 Spring Match Application Checklist and Timeline

Our Ideal Applicant

Admission and Selection Criteria

Our ideal applicant demonstrates interest in community nutrition, public health, and/or population health. A successful application must include all of the required information outlined below. We rank the parts of your application in the following order of importance:

1. Work Experience/Volunteer Experience
2. Personal Essay
3. Letters of Recommendation
4. Dietetics GPA
5. Professional Portfolio
6. Telephone Interview

We are looking for your work/volunteer experience, personal essay, portfolio, and telephone interview to demonstrate the following characteristics:

• Interest in community nutrition, public health, and population health
• Self-direction and independence
• Flexibility
• Good organizational and communication skills
• Responsibility
• Creativity

While we don’t have a GPA cut-off, applicants with lower grades will need to impress us in other ways. (Our current intern class has an overall average GPA of 3.36)

Application

MSDI: Pre-Select Application Instructions

Pre-select applicants should apply online using the Keene State College Graduate School Application.

Transcripts

Professional Resume

Letters of Recommendation

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required and should be completed by individuals familiar with your academic ability and professional work experience. Letters of recommendation must be submitted online through the Keene State College Application.

Statement of Professional and Career Goals

Specific questions we want you to address in your personal statement for KSC:

• Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
• What are some experiences that have helped to prepare you for your career? Give a specific example of how you have demonstrated each of the following characteristics (if possible, relate your examples to work you have done within the community or in public health settings): -Flexibility
  • Teamwork
  • Self-direction
  • Organizational skills
  • Communication skills
• What are your short- and long-term goals?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses/areas needing improvement? What have you learned from your successes? Your mistakes?
• Because we consider leadership skills important, describe a situation or project in which you took a leadership role. How did you move the project forward? What roadblocks did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
• What other information do you consider important for the selection decision?

Application Fee

Application Fees have been waived for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Interview

Once applications are received and reviewed, candidates will be asked to participate in a brief virtual interview with the MSDI Director.

DPD Verification Statement

MSDI applicants should be currently working towards their DPD Verification Statement or already have one. While the DPD Verification Statement does not need to be submitted when applying, it must be completed and sent to the MSDI Director prior to the start of the academic program.

Pre-select applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through January 15th. Pre-select applicants will be notified of their admission decision by January 26th. A non-refundable $500 deposit is due upon receipt of your acceptance.

MSDI DICAS Match Application Instructions:

Applying to the program is a multi-step process completed through the Dietetic Internship Computerized Application Services (DICAS), D&D Digital, and the College. 

Dietetic Internship Computerized Application Services (DICAS)

We will be participating in the online centralized internship application, DICAS, which may be found here, for any remaining openings in the MSDI program. DICAS will be available in early December for the Spring match. The online application must be completed for our program by 11:59 p.m. central time on February 15. These dates may vary; please make sure to check the DICAS website to verify. The DICAS fee is $50 for the first application you submit and $25 for each additional application.

The following are components of your application that will be done in DICAS:

• Complete the sections for personal and academic information.
• Personal statement: In DICAS you have the ability to write multiple personal statements so that each one is tailored to the specific program for which you are applying (maximum 1,000 words per statement).
• Send Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended should be sent to:**

DICAS - Transcript Dept.
PO Box 9118
Watertown, MA 02472

Be sure to follow the DICAS instructions for mailing in your transcripts so DICAS receives them in a timely fashion.

Specific questions we want you to address in your personal statement for KSC:

• Why do you want to enter the dietetics profession?
• What are some experiences that have helped to prepare you for your career? Give a specific example of how you have demonstrated each of the following characteristics (if possible, relate your examples to work you have done within the community or in public health settings):
  • Flexibility
  • Teamwork
  • Self-direction
  • Organizational skills
  • Communication skills
• What are your short- and long-term goals?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses/areas needing improvement? What have you learned from your successes? Your mistakes?
• Because we consider leadership skills important, describe a situation or project in which you took a leadership role. How did you move the project forward? What roadblocks did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
• What other information do you consider important for the selection decision?

References - When completing the application form, applicants must include the name and email address for each reference. An email will be sent to the reference requesting the completion of a reference form. The form will be completed online. Students applying to more than one program will need to use the same individuals as references for each application. Include three references in your DICAS application; of those three, one should be from a teacher/professor, one from a work or volunteer supervisor, and one other reference of your choice.

For any questions regarding DICAS, please email DICASinfo@DICAS.org

D&D Digital

The KSC MSDI selects applicants through a computer matching process. Applicants must register on the D&D Digital website, pay the $55.00 computer matching fee with a credit card and submit their prioritized list of selected programs online to D&D Digital before the designated deadline dates. You can obtain the instruction packet from your Didactic Program advisor or by contacting D&D Digital at dnd@sigler.com. Applicants should call D&D Digital prior to the deadline if they do not receive an e-mail with login information.

D&D Digital Program Code - 245 

Telephone Interviews

Once applicants are screened, some of you will be called to schedule a telephone interview. Current interns conduct and record the interviews in order for the selection committee to listen to them later.

2024 Spring Match Application Checklist and Timeline

• Oct 2, 2023: DICAS Application opens to allow applicants to begin their application. DICAS application fee for the first designation is $50 and $25 for each additional designation.
• Dec 1, 2023: D&D Digital opens to allow applicants to register on their website at www.dnddigital.com, D&D registration fee is $65. Only Dietetic Internships participate in the computer match process and use D&D Digital to match to their applicants.
• Feb 15, 2024: Applicants must register online at www.dnddigital.com, pay the computer match fee by credit card and enter their contact information and Dietetic Internship preferences by 11:59 pm Central Time February 15, 2023.
• Feb 15, 2024: DICAS Application Portal will close for Dietetic Internship Programs. Applications to Dietetic Internship Programs must be submitted by 11:59 pm Central Time on February 15, 2023. Feb 15, 2021: Supplemental Application Form, application fee (TBA) and portfolio must be sent to KSC MSDI Program Manager, postmarked for Feb 15
• March 17-23, 2024: Applicants who have registered for the match by the deadline can reorder DI priority rankings; however, no additional internships can be added to the list. No changes in DI rankings may be made after 11:59 pm CT on March 27, 2023. If you make other arrangements and will be withdrawing from the match, you must notify D&D Digital in writing of your decision to withdraw from DI matching by March 27, 2023 11:59 pm CT. The matching fee is not refundable.
• Apr 7, 2024, 6:00 PM CT: Match Day! Results available on D&D Digital.
• Apr, 8, 2024, 11:00 AM ET: Appointment Day. Matched applicants must contact the Dietetic Internship program by telephone, FAX or e-mail on or before 6:00 PM (time zone of the program), April 3, 2023, to confirm acceptance of the MATCH. After this time, the program is under no obligation to hold the opening for the matched applicant.