Steps to Become a Registered Dietitian in Georgia

Follow the step by step process or choose what situation that best describes you:

1. Get Your Georgia Registered Dietitian Education
2. Apply for your Dietetic Internship (DI) in Georgia
3. Take and Pass the CDR Registration Exam for (RD)’s
4. Apply for Licensure as a Dietitian in Georgia
5. Maintain Your Licensure and Registration as a Dietitian in Georgia

Licensed Dietitian Job Info in Georgia

According to the Commission on Dietetic Registration, there were 2,574 Registered Dietitians (RDs) and Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) in Georgia as of April 2022. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that dietitians and nutritionists in Georgia earned an average salary of $51,480 as of May 2021. Early career professionals here earned about $29,570, while those with extensive experience earned about $78,380 during this time.

Big metro areas often report salaries that exceed the state average. For example, the Atlanta metro area reported an average salary of $57,400 for dietitians and nutritionists as of May 2021 – that’s about $6,000 higher than the state average.*

The Georgia Dietetic Association lists many and varied areas in which registered, licensed dietitians in Georgia work. They include corporate wellness programs; sports nutrition centers; food and/or nutrition-related businesses; research areas in food companies, pharmaceutical organizations, hospitals and universities; medical centers and universities as instructors; community and public health organizations; and private practice.

Becoming a registered dietitian in Georgia takes hard work over a period of a few years but is an attainable goal for those who work hard. Read on to discover how to become a registered dietitian in Georgia through education and experience.

Get Your Registered Dietitian Education in Georgia

The Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians requires that all dietitians who plan to work in Georgia become licensed. In order to receive a dietitian license, you must complete registered dietitian education in Georgia. This education must be accredited the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)’s Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics.

Georgia ACEND-Accredited Programs Leading to Registered Dietitian (RD) Licensure:

• • • Coordinated Programs in Dietetics (CP) – A CP includes coursework and an internship, fulfilling the CDR’s requirement for education and experience. Georgia CPs are:
      • Georgia State University, Atlanta
        • Master of Science in Dietetics
    • Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPD)-A DPD provides coursework required by the CDR, but you must still fulfill the experience requirement after. DPDs in Georgia are:
      • University of Georgia, Athens
        • Bachelor of Science in Dietetics
      • Life University, Marietta
        • Bachelor of Science in Dietetics
      • Georgia Southern University, Statesboro
        • Bachelor of Science in Dietetics

The following bachelors and Master’s programs offer career-focused instruction delivered by trained nutritionists with experience in the field. Find out more what each individual course of study offers through the locations below.

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Apply to a Dietetic Internship (DI) in Georgia

With your undergraduate or graduate degree in dietetics or a related major that satisfies the CDR’s educational requirement, you are now ready to tackle their internship requirement. You must complete a Dietetic Internship (DI) in Georgia, which, under Georgia’s licensing law for dietitians, must be at least 900 hours in length. DIs in Georgia include:

• University of Georgia, Athens
  • 25 month long full-time degree program
  • Degree granted is Master of Science in Dietetics or PhD in Dietetics
  • Emphasis is on Community Intervention and Research and Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Emory Healthcare, Atlanta
  • 9 month long full-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis is on Nutrition Therapy
• Georgia Department of Public Health, Atlanta
  • 12 month long part-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis on Community
• Augusta University Dietetic Internship, Augusta
  • 21 months long full-time degree program
  • Degree granted is Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Emphasis is Clinical
• Life University, Marietta
  • 10 month long full-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis is on Clinical
• Southern Regional Medical Center, Riverdale
  • 10 months long full-time or part-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis on Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Morrison Healthcare Distance Education Dietetic Internship, Sandy Springs
  • 9 months long full-time non-degree program
  • 13 months long part-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis for both programs on Clinical Nutrition, Healthcare Food & Nutrition Services Management, Long-Term Care
• Georgia Southern University, Statesboro
  • 12 month long full-time non-degree program
  • Emphasis is on Community Nutrition, School Nutrition

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Take CDR Registration Exam for Registered Dietitians

When your internship is done and your education complete, you must pass the CDR’s Registered Dietitian Examination before licensure in Georgia can occur. This computerized, multiple-choice exam takes 180 minutes to finish. The CDR’s  Comprehensive Study Outline and Study Guide and the Registration Examination for Dietitians Handbook for Candidates are helpful in preparing to take the exam. You must answer a minimum of 125 questions for the exam to be scored. You are not permitted to skip questions, review answers or change answers once you have answered a question.  
The exam costs $200 and is payable online through the CDR website. You will receive an email from PSI Exam Centers once the CDR receives your payment. Pearson VUE Exam Centers will help you schedule your exam. Georgia test centers include:

• Albany – 2410 Westgate Drive, Suite 102
• Atlanta- 2 Corporate Blvd NE, Suite 150
• Atlanta – 1117 Perimeter Center West, Suite 311 East
• Augusta- One 10th St., Suite 640, Augusta Riverfront Ctr
• Macon- 6055 Lakeside Commons Drive, Suite 110, Lakeside Commons I Bldg
• Savannah- 785 King George Blvd, Suite C, Georgetown Ctr
• Stockbridge – 239 Village Ctr Pkwy, Suite 280, The Grand Professional Bldg

Make sure to bring a printed copy of your scheduling confirmation email from Pearson VUE along with your driver’s license or other government-issued photo identification card on exam day.
Questions on the exam are based in these areas of Dietetics and Nutrition:

• Food and Nutrition Sciences
• Nutrition Care for Individuals and Groups
• Management of Food and Nutrition Services and Programs
• Food Service Systems

A proctor at the Pearson VUE Exam Center will give you your score on the exam after you have finished taking it. A scaled score of 25 or better (on a scale of 0 to 50) is required to pass. Those who fail are allowed to re-take the exam in 45 days, by contacting the CDR to reschedule. After passing the CDR Registered Dietitian exam, you are permitted to use the credentials RD (Registered Dietitian) behind your name.  

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Apply for Licensure as a Dietitian in Georgia

When you pass the CDR Registered Dietitian Examination and receive your Registered Dietitian title, you may apply for licensure as a dietitian in Georgia.

1. Download the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians Application for Licensure
2. Enclose the application fee via a check or money order for $75 payable to the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians
3. Complete the application in its entirety – incomplete applications will not be processed.
4. Enclose a copy of your current signed CDR card showing that you are a Registered Dietitian
5. Enclose an original of the Verification Statement from ACEND showing that you have completed your supervised experience
6. Mail the application in a 9 x 12 envelope – do not staple or fold the application – and fee to: Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians, 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, GA 31217
7. When your application is processed, you may officially use the title “licensed dietitian” in Georgia.

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Licensure and Registration as a Dietitian in Georgia

Maintaining Your Georgia Dietitian License

You must renew your Georgia license as a dietitian every two years. The fee for renewal is $50, payable via check or money order to the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians. During each two-year licensing period, you must complete 30 hours of continuing professional education (CPE). Keep all documentation of your CPE for five years in case the Board audits you. This includes certificates of completion, attendance, transcripts etc. CPE is acceptable to the Board if it meets the requirements of the Board, the American Dietetic Association, the CDR, and other approved dietary organizations. Activities that may be counted as CPE for the Board’s purposes include:

• Academic coursework – may account for all 30 CPE units (CPEUs)in a renewal period
• Case presentations – may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Dietetics-related Certificate Programs- may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Viewing learning through dietetics related exhibits – may account for up to 6 CPEUs in a renewal period
• Experiential skill development training – may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Interactive workshops – may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Journal club activities – may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Attending lectures and seminars – may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Attending learning through dietetics related poster sessions – may account for up to 6 CPEUs
• Professional leadership in dietetics-related organizations – may account for up to 6 CPEUs
• Professional reading of dietetics-related articles from peer-reviewed professional journals – may account for up to 6 CPEUs
• Conducting research related to dietetics- may account for up to 20 CPEUs in a renewal period
• Dietetics related, post-bachelor’s Residency and Fellowship programs- may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Sponsored independent learning activities- may account for up to 20 CPEUs
• Dietetics study groups- may account for up to 20 CPEUs
• Earning dietetics-related certification approved by CDR- may account for all 30 CPEUs
• Pre-approved self-study – may account for all 30 CPEUs

Maintaining your CDR Registration as a Registered Dietitian in Georgia

Your registration as a Registered Dietitian in Georgia with the CDR is renewable every five years. During this time, you must complete 75 hours of CPEUs, many of which are the same as the Board requires (see above) The CDR’s PDP Guide   and  CPE database assist you in finding applicable CPE activities and in keeping track of them online.

View how to become a nutritionist in Georgia here.

*2021 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures and job growth projections for dietitians and nutritionists reflect state data not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Salary statistics representing entry-level/early career = 25th percentile; senior-level/highly experienced = 90^th percentile. Data accessed April 2022.

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