American Nutrition Association

Specialty Certifications

The Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists administers the
Certified Ketogenic Nutrition SpecialistSM (CKNSSM) credential.  

CKNS

 
 
What is the CKNSSM?

 

The Certified Ketogenic Nutrition Specialist (CKNS) certification will help identify you as a trained professional in the Ketogenic Diet. By successfully completing the Advanced Ketogenic Nutrition Program offered by the American Nutrition Association (ANA), you have completed the first step to earn this credential. 

How do I get the CKNSSM?

There are three eligibility requirements to earn the CKNS: Education, Examination, and Experience.

1. Education

Degree and Training Requirements

Degree Requirement: The candidate must hold one of the following:

  • Masters of Science degree in the field of nutrition or dietetics from a United States regionally accredited college or university, or it's foreign equivalent; or
  • Doctoral degree in the field of nutrition, dietetics, related health science or medicine, from a United States regionally accredited college or university, or its foreign equivalent; or
  • Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) credential or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential or licensed/certified as nutritionist/dietitian (LDN, CDN); or
  • License as a healthcare practitioner in the U.S. with nutrition in legal scope of practice, including MD/DO, DC, ND, NP, PA, RN, PharmD, Doctor of Nursing or foreign equivalent.

“Regionally accredited” means an institution that was accredited, at the time the degree was awarded, by a regional accreditation body in the United States which is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education.

Degrees from institutions outside the U.S. must be from that country’s equivalent of a regionally accredited U.S. institution and translated. Licenses from countries outside of the U.S. must be translated and have nutrition in legal scope of practice.

Training Requirement: All candidates must have completed all six modules of the American Nutrition Association (ANA) Ketogenic Nutrition Training program. Please do not apply to sit for the exam until you have completed the training program.

2. Examination

The candidate must achieve a passing score of 75% or higher on the Certification Examination for Ketogenic Nutrition Specialists. The exam is offered online once the training is completed. 

The Certification Examination for Ketogenic Nutrition Specialists is designed to test the knowledge and skills acquired by those who have successfully completed the educational requirements outlined above. The examination contains 60 multiple-choice, single answer questions. Candidates have 90 minutes to complete the exam. No exceptions. It is a closed-book exam, no study materials may be used.

The CKNS Certification Fee is $250

CKNS Exam Content Outline

CKNS Exam Registration

How to apply for the Certified Ketogenic Nutrition Specialist Exam: Log into My Portal.

  • Pay the CKNS Certification fee in My Portal by following these steps:
    1. Click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings
    2. Click on Payments
    3. Click on the 5th blue bar "CKNS Certificant & Candidate Fees"
    4. Choose CKNS Certification Fee ($250)
  • Complete the CKNS Exam Registration Form and save it
  • Upload the Exam Registration in My Portal by following these steps:
    1. Click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings
    2. Click on Forms
    3. On the left side pulldown menu (Select Form), choose CKNS Exam Registration
    4. On the right side, click Upload Files
    5. Choose the CKNS Exam Registration Form from your desktop
    6. Click Submit
  • If any information is missing, notification will be sent via email
  • Notification with exam information will be sent to you via email. This will include details about the exam date, how to access the exam and how to pay the $150 exam fee.

3. Experience

Beginning with candidates sitting for the June 2022 exam, all candidates must complete one Personalized Nutrition Case Data Collection and one Personalized Case Report to document one case study. They may be submitted along with the Exam Registration or after taking the exam. Candidates have up to 6 months after passing the exam to submit these reports. Upon submission and approval of these documents, candidates will then be awarded the CKNS certification.

CKNS Re-Exam

To re-take the CKNS exam, pay the re-exam fee of $100 by logging into My Portal, click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings, click on Payments, click on the 4th blue bar "CKNS Certificant and Candidate Fees", and choose CKNS Re-examination fee ($100). You may retake the CKNS exam 45 days after failed exam. Please email asmith@theana.org for details on re-examination. 

CKNS Re-Examination Registration 

Recertification

The mandatory recertification process provides the opportunity to demonstrate the retention, reinforcement, and expansion of knowledge and skills pertaining to new advances over the full spectrum of ketogenic nutrition science and nutrition care.

Each CKNS must recertify their credential every five years. This includes obtaining 30 Continuing Education (CE) credits and documenting them in the CKNS Recertification Application. Applications should then be submitted via the portal for review. There is a $125 recertification fee every five years.

CKNS certificants who earned the credential in March 2022 or before will be required to submit 1 PN Case Data Collection and 1 PN Case Report to the BCNS with their Recertification application.

Here is a list of organizations that offer CE activities for CKNS (this is not a complete list.)

Individuals may earn CEs in a variety of ways, such as:

  • Participating in professional and structured educational activity specific to ketogenic nutrition.
  • Teaching ketogenic nutrition courses at a regionally accredited institution
    • Such courses are eligible for 1 CE credit per lecture hour.
    • Documentation of eligible teaching will consist of a letter describing the course and the number of lecture hours taught by the submitting CKNS.
    • A maximum of 15 CE credits can be awarded in this category.
  • Authoring or co-authoring books and articles in the field of ketogenic nutrition. The following are eligible for CE credits at the listed equivalencies:
    • Advanced level professional book or textbook on ketogenic nutrition: 40 CE credits
    • Professional review article or book chapter that is published in a peer-reviewed journal or in an advanced professional book: 25 CE credits
    • Full original research article published in a peer-reviewed journal (Primary author: 10 CE credits | Contributing author: 5 CE credits)
    • Abstract of a scientific work or case history published in a peer-reviewed journal (Primary author: 2 CE credits | Contributing author: 1 CE credit)
    • Non-professional publication that is peer reviewed or reviewed by BCNS credentials council and based on rigorous scientific research (Primary author: 10 CE credits | Contributing author: 5 CE credits)
  • Presenting on ketogenic nutrition at a conference
    • Such courses are eligible for 1 CE credit per lecture hour.
    • Documentation of eligible teaching will consist of a letter describing the course and the number of lecture hours taught by the submitting CKNS.
    • A maximum of 15 CE credits can be awarded in this category.

The Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists administers the
Certified Nutritional Genomics SpecialistSM (CNGSSM) credential.  

CNGS logo
What is the CNGSSM?

The Certified Nutritional Genomics Specialist (CNGS) certification will help identify you as a trained professional in Nutritional Genomics. By successfully completing the Nutritional Genomics Training Program offered by the American Nutrition Association (ANA), you have completed the first step to earn this credential.

 

How do I get the CNGSSM?

 

There are three eligibility requirements to earn the CNGS: Education, Experience, and Examination.

1. Education

Degree and Training Requirements

Degree Requirement: The candidate must hold one of the following:

  • Masters of Science degree in the field of nutrition or dietetics from a United States regionally accredited college or university, or it's foreign equivalent; or
  • Doctoral degree in the field of nutrition, dietetics, related health science or medicine, from a United States regionally accredited college or university, or its foreign equivalent; or
  • Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) credential or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential or licensed/certified as nutritionist/dietitian (LDN, CDN); or
  • License as a healthcare practitioner in the U.S. with nutrition in legal scope of practice, including MD/DO, DC, ND, NP, PA, RN, PharmD, Doctor of Nursing or foreign equivalent.

“Regionally accredited” means an institution that was accredited, at the time the degree was awarded, by a regional accreditation body in the United States which is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education.

Degrees from institutions outside the U.S. must be from that country’s equivalent of a regionally accredited U.S. institution and translated. Licenses from countries outside of the U.S. must be translated and have nutrition in legal scope of practice.

Training Requirement: All candidates must have completed all five modules of the American Nutrition Association (ANA) Nutritional Genomics Training program. Please do not apply to sit for the exam until you have completed the training program.

2. Experience

Experiential Requirement: All candidates must complete one Personalized Nutrition Case Data Collection and one Personalized Nutrition Case Report . They may be submitted along with the exam application, or after the exam is taken. Candidates have up to 6 months after passing the exam to submit these reports. Upon submission and approval of these reports, candidates will then be awarded the CNGS certification.

3. Examination

The candidate must achieve a passing score of 75% or higher on the Certification Examination for Nutritional Genomics Specialists. The exam is offered online once the training is completed. 

The Certification Examination for Nutritional Genomics Specialists is designed to test the knowledge and skills acquired by those who have successfully completed the educational requirements outlined above. The examination contains 60 multiple-choice, single-answer questions. Candidates have 90 minutes to complete the exam. No exceptions. It is a closed-book exam, no study materials may be used.

The CNGS Certification Fee is $250

CNGS Exam Content Outline

CNGS Exam Registration

How to register for the Certified Nutritional Genomics Specialist Exam:

  1. Log into My Portal.
  2. Pay the CNGS Certification Fee in My Portal by following these steps:
    1. Click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings
    2. Click on Payments
    3. Click on the 5th blue bar "CNGS Certificant & Candidate Fees"
    4. Choose CNGS Certification Fee ($250)
  3. Download the CNGS Exam Registration to your desktop
  4. Complete the Exam Application and save it
  5. Upload the Exam Registration Form in My Portal by following these steps:
    1. Click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings
    2. Click on Forms
    3. On the left side pulldown menu (Select Form), choose CNGS Exam Registration
    4. On the right side, click Upload Files
    5. Choose the CNGS Exam Registration from your desktop
    6. Click Submit
  6. If any information is missing, notification will be sent via email
  7. Information on the exam will be sent to you via email. This will include details about the exam date, how to access the exam and how to pay the $150 exam fee.

CNGS Re-Exam

To re-take the CNGS exam, pay the re-exam fee of $100 by logging into My Portal, click on Memberships, Certifications & Trainings, click on Payments, click on the 4th blue bar "CKNS Certificant and Candidate Fees", and choose CNGS Re-examination fee ($100). You may retake the CNGS exam 45 days after failed exam. Please email asmith@theana.org for details on re-examination. 

CNGS Re-Examination Registration 

Recertification

The mandatory recertification process provides the opportunity to demonstrate the retention, reinforcement, and expansion of knowledge and skills pertaining to new advances over the full spectrum of ketogenic nutrition science and nutrition care.

Each CNGS must recertify their credential every five years. This includes obtaining 30 Continuing Education (CE) credits and documenting them in the CNGS Recertification application. Applications should then be submitted via the portal for review. There is a $125 recertification fee every five years.

Individuals may earn CEs in a variety of ways, such as:

Participating in professional and structured educational activity specific to nutritional genomics.

Teaching nutritional genomics courses at a regionally accredited institution

Such courses are eligible for 1 CE credit per lecture hour.

Documentation of eligible teaching will consist of a letter describing the course and the number of lecture hours taught by the submitting CNGS.

A maximum of 15 CE credits can be awarded in this category.

Authoring or co-authoring books and articles in the field of nutritional genomics. The following are eligible for CE credits at the listed equivalencies:

Advanced level professional book or textbook on nutritional genomics: 40 CE credits

Professional review article or book chapter that is published in a peer-reviewed journal or in an advanced professional book: 25 CE credits

Full original research article published in a peer-reviewed journal (Primary author: 10 CE credits | Contributing author: 5 CE credits)

Abstract of a scientific work or case history published in a peer-reviewed journal (Primary author: 2 CE credits | Contributing author: 1 CE credit)

Non-professional publication that is peer reviewed or reviewed by BCNS credentials council and based on rigorous scientific research (Primary author: 10 CE credits | Contributing author: 5 CE credits)

Presenting on nutritional genomics at a conference

Such courses are eligible for 1 CE credit per lecture hour.

Documentation of eligible teaching will consist of a letter describing the course and the number of lecture hours taught by the submitting CNGS.

A maximum of 15 CE credits can be awarded in this category.