If you completed an APD in Australia, or for US applicants, both an ACEND accredited degree and practicum which are based in the US, click on the appropriate link below:
All applicants to the College,
regardless of where they were educated, must meet the same
registration requirements to practice as a dietitian in Ontario. The requirements include demonstrating that you meet the Canadian standards for academic and practical training in dietetics.
Getting Started
If you are an internationally educated applicant, the College strongly recommends that you review the
Canadian Dietetic Practice Orientation and Self-Assessment Tool. It will give you a general overview of dietetic practice in Canada and will help you assess your knowledge and skills against the standards required to practice dietetics in Canada.
There are two ways that the College may assess your education:
- A prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) process, or
- A paper-based credential assessment.
Before you begin your application with the College there are two important steps you must take:
- Add the College’s domain (@collegeofdietitians.org) to your email service’s safe senders list (also called white list). The College sends many important communications by email (some of them automated). If your email provider blocks the automated emails or sends them to your junk folder, you may not receive important information about your application.
- Review the information on this page about the registration requirements and required documents to ensure that your application is complete and you have arranged for all documents to be sent to the College.
For any questions, please email
registration@collegeofdietitians.org
Response Timelines: The registration team will respond to your inquiry (received by email or phone) within 5 business days. We appreciate your patience until we respond to your inquiry.
The Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is made up of several steps, including a multiple-choice examination and a performance-based assessment, which are designed to assess your current knowledge, skills, and judgment against the national entry to practice standards for Canadian graduates.
The College considers the PLAR process to be a more fair and valid assessment of your dietetic knowledge because it directly assesses what you currently know and can do, and is not affected by factors outside of your control (for example incomplete course descriptions, or poor translations which don’t reflect the full content of your degree). In addition, the PLAR process provides a way for the College to recognize knowledge and skills that you gained after your degree, through continuing education or in practice.
This is the assessment to choose if you are considering making an application to Ryerson University’s Certificate for Internationally-Educated Professionals in Nutrition (IEPN) bridging program or an accredited practicum in Ontario.
Learn more about the PLAR process.
Application Instructions for PLAR.
In a credential assessment, the Registration Committee will review transcripts, course descriptions, and information about the formal structure and learning objectives of your practical training against the national standards for dietetics education and training programs in Canada.
This is the assessment to choose if you have been directed by a university to have the College conduct an academic assessment as part of the admissions process for a Canadian accredited internship or practicum.
Learn more about the credential assessment.
Application Instructions for a credential assessment.