Project 9: Preparing Study Suite® for the 2027 RD Exam Updates
Big changes are coming to the RD and DTR Exam content outlines in 2027, and Study Suite is getting ready. Internally, I’m calling this work “Project 9,” because it will become the next major version of Dietitian Exam Study Suite. This post explains what is changing, what we’ll be updating, and what students can expect over the next several months.
If you are testing in 2026, don’t worry. The current Study Suite structure will remain in place while these updates are being prepared, and many of the content updates will still be helpful because much of the underlying material overlaps between cycles.
A little background on Project 9
Every five years, CDR updates the exam content outlines to the Registration Exam testing criteria. Many refer to these as testing cycles. At the time of writing this post, we are currently in the 2022-2026 testing cycle, and the new 2027-2031 cycle will begin in January 2027.
What does this ultimately mean? Does it mean the RD Exam and DTR Exam will drastically change starting in January? Since 2005 when I started Visual Veggies Software, I’ve experienced four new testing cycles. This coming January will be the fifth. For as long as I can remember, the RD Exam has been made up of 4 domains: Principles of Dietetics, Clinical, Management, and Foodservice. In each new testing cycle, the main domains remained mostly the same. Domain 1 has gone through some name changes over the cycles, but it’s mostly always contained the same basic principles: Food & Nutrition Sciences, Education, and Research. Updating the software’s database was easy. Topics basically were just shifted around into different subcategories, but for the most part, they followed a similar structure. Sure, I’ve had to make content updates to include topics not yet present in the software and also update things like the DGAs and other time-sensitive material. But the 2027 changes are a bit different…
- Domain 1 is now Fundamentals of Dietetics Practice (23%): This is NOT just a name change. It appears Domain 1 will now contain topics of Management (’22-’26 cycle this is in Domain 3), Research (still Domain 1), and Professional Practice (things like Code of Ethics and SOPs, Domain 3 topics)
- Domain 2 is now Community and Public Health Nutrition (22%): This is a BRAND NEW domain that was not present in previous testing cycles. When I say this is “brand new”, I don’t mean students were never tested on Community Nutrition. Topics in the new Domain 2 Community were covered in previous testing cycles but were split between Domains 1 and 2. IMO, the addition of a Community domain as its own domain is long overdue
- Domain 3 is now Human Nutrition and Medical Nutrition Therapy (40%): The four subcategories of Domain 2 in the 2022-2026 cycle (Screening and Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning and Intervention, and Monitoring and Evaluation) are now included in the upcoming Domain 3, along with Fundamentals of Human Nutrition and Physiology (topics covered in Domain 1 in the 2022-2026 cycle)
- Domain 4 is now Food Science and Food Systems (15%): Pretty much the same topics as the 2022-2026 Domain 4 Foodservice Systems, just a different name and some recategorization
What is Project 9?
Project 9 is the name of the next major version update coming to Study Suite, which will be major version 9.
Over the past couple of new testing cycles, I planned a major update to the software. Major updates include things like new and updated content, new and improved software features, and design updates.
Here are some of the plans for the upcoming major version 9 and when to expect them:
- Content updates: This will be a task starting this Summer and lasting until early Fall. I will be reviewing the new content outline and adding and revising content as needed to match what students will be expected to know starting in January. Although these updates will be coming over the next few months, students testing in 2026 may still benefit since you can see above that a lot of what will be tested on in the near future can very well be fair game for 2026 test takers
- New & improved software features and updated UI: These tasks will begin in late Summer/early Fall. The anticipated availability will be November-December. Delaying the major UI changes (including restructuring the database content) will allow 2026 test takers to still use the features and database structure as it currently stands so it continues to be pertinent to their exam. An early Winter launch will also allow 2027 test takers to start to get their hands on the new database structure with the content outlined as they would expect in their January and beyond exam.
Here are some teasers of the planned features for version 9:
- Bulk up the Study Sessions feature so students can reorganize the order of domains and block off dates they do not want included in their study plan, such as birthdays, major holidays, or scheduled vacations.
- Daily activity exercises, such as identifying the question stem, identifying the distractors, and decoding a question to find exactly what it is asking
- Intro terms: A glossary of terms to define before starting a section to study. This can help students feel more comfortable about the terminology instead of jumping right into the material and wondering what that term means
- Additional study structure: Preview > Study > Practice > Review
- Weekly recaps: At the end of each week, students can go back and re-review material they learned that week. Will also be able to re-review past weeks’ work
What about the DTR Exam?
Yes, a lot of what you read in this post is RD Exam-related, including the major version number (and the name of the project). Not to worry. The Diet Tech Exam Study Suite will be receiving the same love and attention as the Dietitian Exam Study Suite. The Diet Tech Exam Study Suite will be major version 7.
And here is what the new domains will look like for the DTR Exam:
- Domain 1 will now be Human Nutrition and Clinical Care for Individuals (40%): This domain follows the same suit as Domain 1 in the current cycle
- Domain 2 will now be Community Nutrition and Wellness (30%): Similar to the RD Exam, Domain 2 is the new Community domain in the 2027-2031 cycle. And also similar to the points above, Community Nutrition is already covered in other domains, so while this is a new domain, the content is already present in the current testing cycle
- Domain 3 will now be Management and Foodservice Operations (30%): This new Domain 3 is a combination of the current Domains 2 and 3 in the DTR Exam. The current 2022-2026 cycle has Food Science and Food Service in Domain 2 and Management of Food and Nutrition Services in Domain 3
As you can see, the DTR Exam will consist of 3 domains, which is consistent with the current 2022-2026 testing cycle of also containing 3 domains.
Project 9 is a big undertaking, but it is also an exciting one. My goal is to make sure Study Suite continues to match the way students are expected to prepare for the RD and DTR Exams, while also adding tools that make studying feel more organized, structured, and manageable. I’ll continue sharing updates as the project moves forward.
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