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Internship Tracks
Maricopa County's Dietetic Internship offers a public health focused supervised practice program with two tracks: (i) a full time track and (ii) a AZ WIC track for qualified Women, Infants and Children (WIC) employees working in an Arizona local agency. The AZ WIC track allows the AZ WIC staff to work toward completion of internship competencies while retaining their employment with their AZ WIC local agency.
Interns in both tracks will work with dietitians from a wide variety of disciplines and be exposed to a wide range of nutrition services from metropolitan and rural areas.
Duties
Interns interact with individuals and groups from multi-ethnic backgrounds representing all ages and levels of education. Clinical, food and nutrition management, community and specialty experiences challenge interns to integrate knowledge gained from dedicated study. Although the ability to speak Spanish is not a requirement, Spanish-speaking interns are highly valued by preceptors at our rotation sites due to the great diversity of Maricopa County residents.
Application
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health Dietetic Internship is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. All applicants for both tracks will apply through the DICAS online system. The applicants to the full time track must participate in D&D Digital computer matching. WIC track applicants will not participate in the computer match.
2024 Master's Degree Requirements
Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor’s degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR's Registration Eligibility Processing System (REPS) before 12:00 midnight Central Time, December 31, 2023. For more information about this requirement visit CDR's website: https://www.cdrnet.org/graduatedegree. In addition, CDR requires that individuals complete coursework and supervised practice in program(s) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). Graduates who successfully complete the ACEND-accredited dietetic internship program at Maricopa County Department of Public Health are eligible to apply to take the CDR credentialing exam to become an RDN.
Internship Track Details
| Number of Interns Accepted | 7 | 6 |
| Eligible Applicants | Graduate of an accredited university with DPD program requirements verified | Graduate from an accredited university with DPD program requirements verified. Must have worked full time for at least one year in any contracted Arizona WIC Local Agency prior to the internship application due date. |
| Required GPA | A minimum of 2.8 |
| Program Concentration | Community and Public Health |
| Program Location | Primarily Maricopa County. Some rotations may require travel and lodging in another county. | Determined based on participant's geographic location. Some travel may be required. |
| Tuition (not including books) | $4,500 | Not Applicable |
| Hours of Supervised Practice | 1000 | 1000 (880 plus 120 hours of pre-approved prior assessed learning) |
| Estimated Time Frame | September-May | September-June |
| Upon Completion student receives | Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics verification statement of dietetic internship completion |
| Application Deadline | February 15 | January 15 |
Checklist
Please use this checklist to ensure you have completed all the required steps of the application process. The checklist is for your own use and does not need to be submitted through DICAS.
