The Dietetics Major, which includes a 40-week internship (Stage) as part of its degree requirements, is a professional program that leads to membership in a provincial regulatory body and professional licensure as a dietitian/nutritionist.
Graduates are qualified for challenging professional and leadership positions related to food and health, as dietitians, nutritionists, and food administrators.
The designations "Dietitian" and "Nutritionist" are reserved titles associated with reserved acts in the province of Quebec. As clinical nutritionists, dietitians may work in health-care settings, nutrition counselling centres, clinics, and private practice. As community nutritionists, dietitians are involved in nutrition education programs through school boards, sports centres, and local and international health agencies. The dietitian in the food service sector participates in all aspects of management to assure quality food products and services. The duration of this undergraduate program is a minimum 3.5 years due to the sequencing of courses and Professional Practice (Stage). Professional Practice (Stage) is integrated into each year. Prerequisites are firmly applied. Postgraduate programs are available to qualified graduates.
Successful graduates are qualified to apply for membership with the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec (O.P.D.Q.) and/or other provincial regulatory bodies, as well as Dietitians of Canada. Forty weeks of supervised professional experience, "Stage", in clinical and community nutrition and food service systems management are included in the undergraduate program.
Refer to section 6.3.4 “Minimum Credit Requirement”, in this publication for prerequisites and minimum credit requirements.
The School firmly applies prerequisite requirements for registration in all required courses in the Dietetics Major.
* Note: Successful completion of each rotation of each level of Stage (Professional Practice) is required to pass that level of Stage. Each level is a prerequisite for the next level and must be passed with a minimum grade of C. Professional Practice (Stage) registration is restricted to students in the Dietetics Major with a CGPA greater than or equal to 3.0. Students in the Dietetics Major who have a CGPA below a 3.0 for two consecutive years will not be permitted to continue in the program.
Visiting and Special students must contact the Academic Advising Coordinator (Dietetics) regarding course registration approval.
Students are reminded that ethical conduct on Professional Practice (Stage) rotations is required. The Faculty reserves the right to require the withdrawal of any student if at any time the Faculty feels the student has displayed unprofessional conduct or demonstrates incompetence.
Required courses and Professional Practice (Stage) courses are sequenced in a specific order over nine terms (3.5-year program). See
www.mcgill.ca/dietetics for detailed information regarding the undergraduate program plan.
Students who need to improve their proficiency in either English or French are strongly encouraged to choose their electives for that purpose. Students who wish to take language courses should check with the French Language Centre, Faculty of Arts, as placement testing may be required. As French is the official language of Quebec, all Professional Practice (Stage) placement sites expect students to be able to converse in French. Students are encouraged to develop a working knowledge of French in order to optimize their participation and learning in Professional Practice (Stage).
Alternate elective choices may include, but are not limited to:
A compulsory immunization program exists at McGill which is required for Dietetics students to practice. Students should complete their immunization before or soon after arriving at Macdonald campus; confirmation of medical/health documentation will be sent by the health nurse to the University Coordinator (Stage) and must be complete prior to commencement of Stage. Certain deadlines may apply.
