The Graduate Degree Requirement for the RD Exam

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) raised the entry degree for registered dietitians. In its words: "Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement for eligibility to take the registration examination for dietitians changed from a bachelor's degree to a graduate degree. All other didactic and supervised practice eligibility requirements remain the same."

The change affects new candidates, not practicing RDs, and it is a CDR rule, not a state licensing rule. Both points matter when you are planning a license.

Who has to meet the graduate degree requirement?

CDR says it applies to "those seeking to become eligible for the registration examination for dietitians for the first time, on or after January 1, 2024." The degree must be granted by an institution accredited by an agency the US Department of Education recognizes, or be a foreign equivalent.

CDR's November 2023 FAQ adds that the graduate degree can be in any area, just as the bachelor's degree could, as long as it comes from a properly accredited institution. The didactic coursework and supervised practice requirements, through ACEND-accredited programs, are unchanged.

Who is not affected?

• Current RDs and RDNs. "Individuals who are already registered will not be required by CDR to obtain a graduate degree."
• Candidates who established eligibility by December 31, 2023. CDR says they are not required to obtain a graduate degree, even if they had not yet passed the exam.
• Former RDs. People who were registered before January 1, 2024 and lost the credential (by letting it lapse for nonpayment, missing recertification, or voluntarily ending it) "are still exam eligible and therefore can apply for exam reauthorization without meeting any additional academic, didactic, or supervised practice requirements."
• Technicians. CDR did not change the degree requirement for the dietetic technician exam.

Why did CDR make the change?

CDR traces the decision to a 2013 consensus among ACEND, CDR, the Council on Future Practice, the Academy's education committee and the educators' practice group, based on the Council on Future Practice's 2012 Visioning Report. Its stated reasoning is that "almost all other health care professions had already increased entry-level educational standards beyond bachelor's degrees." CDR set the January 1, 2024 date to give students who entered programs in 2014 time to finish.

Does the change apply to state licenses?

Not directly. CDR's FAQ answers this question itself: "Requirements for licensure of dietitians is a state-based activity," and it points candidates to their state boards. State laws were written around the older standard, and many still describe a bachelor's degree. A few examples from statutes and regulations:

• Florida requires "a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree" in nutrition, dietetics or a related field, plus at least 900 hours of preprofessional experience, for its exam route (Fla. Stat. § 468.509(3)).
• Virginia, which protects titles rather than licensing, lists "a baccalaureate or higher degree" plus a CDR-approved supervised clinical program as one way to qualify for the dietitian title (Va. Code § 54.1-2731).
• Medicare defines a qualified dietitian with "a bachelor's or higher degree" and 900 supervised hours, and deems a registered dietitian in good standing to meet both (42 CFR 410.134).

In practice, CDR says "the requirements to obtain the RD credential qualify one for licensure or certification in all states that regulate the practice of dietetics and nutrition," so a new graduate who meets CDR's graduate rule will generally clear a state's degree rule as well. The reverse case is the one to watch: a candidate pursuing a state's non-RD route, such as a nutritionist license, follows that state's own degree rule, which may differ.

How does it relate to the Dietitian Compact?

Closely. The Dietitian Licensure Compact's model law gives non-registered dietitians an alternative to RD registration, and that alternative requires a master's or doctoral degree from a program accredited by ACEND or another recognized dietetics accreditor, plus at least 1,000 hours of accredited supervised practice and a passing registration exam within five years of initial licensure (§ 4.A.1.b). A current RD qualifies without it. No state issues compact privileges yet; CDR expects the first ones sometime in 2027. See who qualifies for the compact.

What should a new graduate do next?

1. Confirm with your program director that your eligibility is submitted to CDR.
2. Check whether your state offers a provisional or limited permit while you wait for the exam. Ohio, for example, has a limited permit, and Georgia a provisional permit. See provisional permits.
3. Plan your first license in the state where you will practice, and any telehealth states, before your first job starts. See your first license as a new graduate.

We prepare provisional permit applications ($349 per state) and first licenses (Full State License Application, $749 per state) and track them; you review, sign, pay the board and submit. See pricing.