Requirements and Process to become a Registered Dietitian

Dietetic Colloquium requirements for registration and application of Certification Exam
The National Colloquium Examination Test is offered by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), Division of Colloquium, twice per year (1st run in July and 2nd run in November). Dates are confirmed by the MEHE and communicated to the Department of Nutritional Sciences of every Lebanese University offering the Nutritional Sciences Degree.
The Nutrition Colloquium Computerized Examination has a duration of 50 minutes, during which students are provided with formulas and charts to assist them in answering the questions. These should be returned to the examiners after use. The total number of questions is 50. Questions are available in both French and English languages. The exam results are posted on the same day as the exam at the Lebanese Ministry of Education – Colloquium Division. The exam categories in Nutrition include the following categories: obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, metabolic stress, cancer, enteral and parenteral nutrition, renal disorders, upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders, hepatobiliary and pancreatic disorders, hematology/anemia nutrition in the life cycle- preconception, pregnancy, lactation, pediatrics, adolescence, geriatrics, community nutrition, food service and basic human nutrition.
All Lebanese students are advised to pass the National Colloquium Examination Test, in order to get the license of practice, and to be able to practice the profession of Nutrition and Dietetics in Lebanon. Non-Lebanese candidates are advised to sit for the Colloquium Test. They will be granted a certification when the exam is successfully passed, however they cannot apply for licensure.
In order to apply for the colloquium, the students should complete all requirements for graduation with a BS in Nutritional Sciences. They should register for a 4th year-Clinical and Dietetics Internship Program during which the internship coordinators secure places for students in hospitals in order to perform a clinical training for a minimum duration of 6 months. The Hospital should be affiliated with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, assessed by the internship coordinators and therefore approved by the Department of Nutritional Sciences. At the same time, students need to pass the NUSC 301 course offered in Fall and the NUSC 302 course offered in Spring.
The internship coordinators advise and manage properly to guide students to prepare their files towards the end of the internship period in order to register their names to pass the National Colloquium Examination. Any delay in providing the required documents may result in postponing the exam to the next run.
Applicants are required to get their degree equivalency and to provide the following documents in order to be able to register their names.
The degree equivalency process documents include the following: copy of Lebanese ID, copy of the Lebanese General Secondary Education-Baccalaureate Certificate or official Freshman Equivalency, Degree authentication from the Registrar’s Office, Official Academic transcripts, 8 stamps (10, 000 LBP each), and filled Equivalency application.
The application process documents include the following: The Dietetic Colloquium Registration Form, Copy of the Lebanese ID/passport, Hospital certificate proving that you have completed a minimum of 6 months training, 3 passport-sized photos stamped by the Mokhtar/???English in the area of residence, 160,000 LBP for the registration + stamps, and Copy of the Lebanese General Secondary Education-Baccalaureate Certificate or copy of the official freshman equivalency.

Selection of supervised practice sites and program’s role and responsibility to assist students to ensure timely completion of the program.
The internship coordinators secure places for all students in hospitals in order to perform their 6-months clinical and dietetics internship training. The procedure adopted is described as follows. First of all, the internship coordinators ask the Registrar office to provide them with the cumulative major average (CMA) of all senior students at the end of the Fall semester of their Senior year. Students are ranked as per their CMA. The internship coordinators meet with the students and provide them with all details related to the training sites that the department has affiliation with (location, fees, number of interns, etc.). Students are asked to fill an application form, mentioning their two preferred practice sites (Choice 1, Choice 2), further to consultation with their parents.

After that, the internship coordinators analyze the filled application forms and try their best to accommodate the needs of all students. The latter are fully aware that students with higher CMA are privileged and are considered a priority, where most of the time, they are able to perform their training in the hospitals’ choice 1 category. In case the student is interested in a hospital that is not included in the list, the internship coordinators communicate with the Chair of the Department, who in his turn contact the hospital administration and agree on a first site assessment by Chair and internship coordinators, according to pre-defined criteria set by the Department. If the evaluation was successful and the hospital meets with the Department assessment criteria, the student is granted approval to perform his/her training in the hospital, and therefore both parties (hospital and department) agree to prepare a memorandum of understanding, if required by the Hospital, that clearly states the objectives of their partnership and what they expect from one another, so both parties feel confident about this partnership.