Application Procedures - Health and Human Development

Graduates with degrees from ACEND-accredited didactic programs in dietetics with a Verification Statement may apply to MDI. All qualified applicants must provide an official copy of their Verification Statement or a completed Declaration of Intent to Complete Degree Statement to MDI during the application process through DICAS.

Montana Dietetic Internship Application Requirements 2019-20

The Montana Dietetic Internship (MDI) integrates experiences in clinical and community nutrition, foodservice management, and a concentration in sustainable food systems to provide a unique and progressive supervised dietetic practice experience to future registered dietitians. The MDI program meets the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics Competencies for preparing knowledgeable professionals in the practice of dietetics. The MDI program activities include 1,315 hours of supervised practice in various clinical and non-clinical settings, a weekly webinar-based didactic course to support supervised practice learning, and 12 non-degree graduate internship credits. In addition to completing practice experiences at Montana State University (MSU)-Bozeman, interns will be assigned to one of six geographic areas in the state of Montana or one in Wyoming to fulfill the majority of their required supervised practice hours. The areas are: Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula in Montana and Sheridan in Wyoming. Initially, MDI interns complete four weeks of program orientation/professional development/sustainable food systems foundation work in Bozeman in August, and then progress to supervised practice as noted above through May 2020. The final week of the internship includes attendance at the annual Montana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Summit, plus a graduation celebration. The MDI selection process allows for slots to be filled through the preselect procedure and from the national pool of applicants; there are 22-24 slots available in total. Graduates with degrees from Montana State University’s Food and Nutrition Program, with appropriate Verification Statements qualify to apply to MDI in the preselect category. All applications are reviewed by the MDI selection committee to determine final interns.

Application Deadlines

To be considered for MDI in thepreselect category:

Complete, or near completion of, a degree from MSU with the appropriate Verification Statement from the Department of Health and Human Development Didactic Program in Dietetics.
Submit your application through the DICAS Portal indicating MDI as a choice by January 4, 2019, 5:00 pm MST.
Preselect candidates only applying to MDI do not need to register with D&D Digital.

To be considered for MDI in the national selection category:

Submit your application through the DICAS Portal indicating MDI as a choice
Register online at www.dnddigital.com and enter MDI in your list of dietetic internship preferences by 11:59 pm CST, February 15, 2019.

Applicant Notification

Applicants in the pre-select category will be notified of the committee decision by Friday, January 18, 2019, and must confirm acceptance of the match appointment with the MDI Director by Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 5:00 pm MST. A non-refundable $1,000 deposit is required by Monday, January 28, 2019 to hold your slot in the program.
Applicants in the national selection category will be notified beginning at 6:00pm, CST, on Sunday, April 7, 2019, and must confirm acceptance of match appointment on or before Monday, April 8, 2019, 6:00 pm MST. A non-refundable $1,000 deposit is required by Wednesday, April 10, 2019 to hold your slot in the program.

To successfully apply to MDI you are asked to complete the following:

1. To be considered, an application fee of $50 needs to be sent directly to MDI upon submission of application to DICAS:

Attn: Coleen Kaiser

Montana Dietetic Internship

Montana State University

PO Box 173370

Bozeman, MT 59717-3370

Make checks payable to Montana Dietetic Internship. **Please note that the Application Fee is NONREFUNDABLE** This is a separate fee from the D&D Digital and DICAS fees.

2. Submit application materials through the Dietetic Internship Computer Application Service (DICAS) by January 4, 2019 for pre-select and by February 15, 2019 for the national selection.

The DICAS application portal can be found at https://portal.dicas.org.

Resources including instructional videos for using DICAS are available from ACEND.

Note – individuals accepting a match appointment with MDI will be required to complete a background check. Applicants shall include in the ‘Background Section’ of their DICAS application any information that could appear in a background check. Background checks are comprehensive and can include findings such as all arrests and criminal charges even if dismissed or deferred, as well as expunged records. Failure to disclose a discrepancy could have worse consequences than not disclosing on DICAS if discovered later upon review of a background check report, and may be cause for termination from the program.

3. Submit through DICAS an official Verification Statement from an ACEND accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) or a completed Declaration of Intent to Complete Degree statement, and official transcript(s).

4.In the DICAS application personal statement section please title your statement specifically for MDI and address the following questions:

a. Why have you selected a career in the field of dietetics?

b. How does your background and experience strengthen your ability to succeed in the internship and your potential to contribute to the food and nutrition profession?

c. State your professional goals: short-term (1-3 years) and longer (3-5 years). How will the MDI program help you achieve these goals?

d. How would a sustainable food systems background benefit you as a dietetic professional? What is the importance of considering sustainable food systemsto the profession?

e. Describe how you would be successful living and working in rural communities in Montana. Include your experience and/or philosophy in working with Native or minority populations.

f. Address any weaknessesin your application.

g. Why should you be selected as an intern for the MDI program?

**In addition to answering the questions listed please identify your top two preferred regions for the majority of your rotation placement (Billings, Butte, Helena, Kalispell, Great Falls, Missoula or Sheridan or Gilette, WY). Preferences will be taken into account, but there is no guarantee for a particular placement. Interns will be given their rotation placement prior to the beginning of the internship for the purposes of planning logistics.

5. Three letters of recommendation are required and will be submitted through DICAS in an electronic format. References should be written by:

One or two collegiate professors (RDN or non-RDN)
Employer, (RDN or Non-RDN) and/or an RDN with whom you have worked or volunteered
Please notify your references that once their contact information has been provided to DICAS an email is generated requesting them to complete a reference for you. Refer your references to an instructional video for further clarification, Submitting Reference Letters to Centralized DI Application System

6. For national selection applicants – in addition to submitting your application to MDI through DICAS and sending the application fee to MDI/MSU, each national applicant must also register through D&D Digital and include MDI in their prioritized list.

Download a PDF of the MDI Application Requirements

Program costs (PDF)