Supervised Practice Experiences
Learn in the places where nutrition happens.
You may enter the program with a clear career goal. You may discover a new direction once you get here. Either way, supervised practice is where you see the profession from the inside.
1,000+ hoursCompleted across the 12-month program in professional settings throughout Memphis and the surrounding region.
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More Than Hours
Supervised practice is where graduate education becomes professional practice.
You will work alongside Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, healthcare professionals, food service leaders, community partners, researchers, coaches, and educators who use nutrition in very different ways. You will observe, participate, ask questions, solve problems, and take on greater responsibility as your skills develop.
The goal is not to log a required number of hours. It is to leave the program knowing how to think, communicate, collaborate, and practice as an entry-level RDN.
Your Experience Begins Right Away
Supervised practice starts in your first semester and continues through summer, fall, and spring, at the same time as your graduate coursework. That means you can apply what you are learning immediately.
A counseling strategy discussed in class may show up in a client interaction that week. A clinical case may give new meaning to something you learned in medical nutrition therapy. A question from a community or sports nutrition rotation may become the starting point for your applied project.
Some of Your Best Experiences Are Right Here on Campus
Several Supervised Practice Experiences happen without leaving the University of Memphis. Our students learn from experienced RDNs working across campus in food service, wellness, sports nutrition, and culinary education — professionals who know our program, know our students, and are invested in preparing the next generation of practitioners.
Campus Dining and Food Service
Build food service management skills with Heidi Stokar, MS, RDN, LDN, Registered Dietitian with Chartwells, the University's campus dining partner. An inside look at the nutrition, food safety, operations, and systems required to feed a large university campus.
Tiger Food Lab
The College of Health and Human Sciences' teaching kitchen. Work with Melissa Petersen, MS, and Chef Eric Etter on culinary education, food production, program development, and how teaching kitchens function as a tool for health promotion.
Student Wellness and Nutrition Counseling
Gain one-on-one counseling experience with Hannah Peters, MS, RDN, LDN, CSO in the Student Wellness Center, developing assessment, education, and communication skills while supporting the nutrition needs of a university population.
Tiger Athletics: Football Nutrition
Work with Janasia Phillips, MS, RDN, LDN and step into the fast-paced world of Division I sports nutrition — fueling, hydration, recovery, performance, and athlete health.
Tiger Athletics: Olympic Sports
Additional performance nutrition opportunities with Adria Butler, MS, RDN, LDN, working across athletes with different sports, training demands, schedules, and nutrition needs.
One campus. Many ways to practice nutrition. You may move from graduate coursework to the Tiger Food Lab, Student Wellness Center, campus dining, or Tiger Athletics without ever leaving campus — and your professional network can start before you do.
Explore the Profession
Every student receives broad preparation across the major areas of dietetics practice, with room to discover what excites you.
Clinical Nutrition
Nutrition assessment, medical nutrition therapy, interdisciplinary care, documentation, patient education, and clinical decision-making across acute care, outpatient, specialty services, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
Pediatrics
How nutrition needs change across infancy, childhood, and adolescence, plus pediatric assessment, family-centered care, and specialized nutrition concerns.
Community and Public Health
Improving health at the community and population level through community programs, food access initiatives, public health organizations, nutrition education, and chronic disease prevention.
Sports and Performance Nutrition
Fueling, recovery, performance, body composition, hydration, and athlete health within collegiate athletics, performance nutrition programs, and athlete education.
Food Service and Management
Running safe, effective, financially responsible food and nutrition services — production, procurement, menu planning, sanitation, quality improvement, budgeting, personnel management, and leadership.
Wellness and Health Promotion
Prevention, behavior change, employee wellness, lifestyle intervention, individual counseling, and health education.
Culinary Nutrition and Teaching Kitchens
Where nutrition science meets the practical skills people need to act on it — culinary education, teaching kitchens, recipe development, and cooking as a tool for health promotion.
Research and Program Evaluation
How nutrition professionals ask good questions and use data to improve practice, including data collection, literature review, outcomes assessment, and dissemination.
Specialty and Emerging Areas
Nutrition keeps evolving, and so do RDN careers. When opportunities are available, students may explore additional areas that align with their goals.
Your Experience Should Reflect Your Goals
Every student develops the broad competencies required to become an RDN. That does not mean every student's rotations look identical.
We get to know your interests throughout the program, and we look for opportunities to help you pursue them while still meeting required competencies. Sometimes that means an elective experience. Sometimes it means connecting your applied project to a practice site. Sometimes it means introducing you to a preceptor whose work reflects the direction you are considering.
And sometimes the rotation you were sure would not interest you turns out to be the one that changes your plans. That is part of graduate education too.
Memphis Gives You Options
Few metropolitan areas offer this range of professional experience in one place. The region includes major healthcare systems, pediatric care, collegiate athletics, community and public health organizations, food service operations, wellness programs, and a growing network of professionals working at the intersection of food and health.
Just as important, Memphis lets you work with people from different backgrounds and communities, and see firsthand how health, food access, culture, environment, and resources shape nutrition.
Learn From Our Preceptors
Preceptors are practicing professionals who welcome students into their work, share their expertise, provide feedback, and show you what the profession actually looks like. You will learn from RDNs and others across clinical care, community nutrition, food service, management, sports nutrition, wellness, research, and specialty practice.
Many of these relationships outlast a single rotation. Preceptors become mentors, references, collaborators, and connections within the nutrition community, and those connections can lead to research opportunities, professional referrals, and sometimes a first job.
From Observation to Independence
Your responsibilities grow as you do.
Early experiences may involve observation, orientation, and guided practice. As your skills develop, you will take a more active role in assessment, education, communication, problem-solving, documentation, and management. Faculty and preceptors give feedback throughout so you can recognize your strengths, identify areas for growth, and keep building competence.
By the end of the program, you will be ready to step into entry-level practice with confidence and sound professional judgment.
Questions About Supervised Practice?
Sara Foley, MS, RDN, LDN
Clinical Associate Professor | Clinical Coordinator
MS in Integrated Nutrition
sfoley@memphis.edu