The Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists administers the
Certified Ketogenic Nutrition SpecialistSM (CKNSSM) credential.
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
“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
How to apply for the Certified Ketogenic Nutrition Specialist Exam: Log into My Portal.
- Pay the CKNS Certification fee here
- Complete the CKNS Exam Registration Form and email it to BCNSCertifications@theana.org
- 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
- 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.
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.
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.
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
“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
- 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.
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
How to register for the Certified Nutritional Genomics Specialist Exam:
- Pay the CNGS Certification Fee here
- Download the CNGS Exam Registration to your desktop
- Complete the Exam Application and save it
- Upload the Exam Registration Form and email it to BCNSCertifications@theana.org
- If any information is missing, notification will be sent via email
- 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.