Pennsylvania is one of the deepest states in the country for dietetics education, with roughly nine accredited undergraduate programmes and eleven graduate programmes across public universities, private colleges, and major research institutions.
The state has also moved decisively toward the Future Education Model. Pitt, Drexel, Marywood, and Seton Hill all run graduate programmes with supervised practice built in, which means Pennsylvania students have more routes that avoid the internship match than almost anywhere else.
Nutrition Programs in Pennsylvania — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Route | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh |
Dietitian Nutritionist Program — Future Education Model graduate degree, 1,200+ practice hours, three entry points BS Nutrition Science — science degree, not the accredited route |
FEM graduate | Yes — practice built in; seven-year reaccreditation |
| Seton Hill University Greensburg |
BS/MS Nutrition and Dietetics — coordinated, with the master’s phase delivered online | Coordinated BS/MS | Yes — practice built in |
| Drexel University Philadelphia |
MS Nutrition and Dietetics — Future Education Model with integrated supervised practice BS Nutrition and Foods MS Human Nutrition PhD — not ACEND-accredited |
FEM graduate plus didactic | Yes — via the MS Nutrition and Dietetics |
| Marywood University Scranton |
BS Nutrition and Dietetics — accredited DPD Master’s Dietetic Internship Program — coordinated master’s under Future Education Model standards |
Didactic and coordinated | Yes — both stages |
| Immaculata University Immaculata |
BS Nutrition and Dietetics — accredited DPD MS Clinical Nutrition with Dietetic Internship |
Didactic and combined | Yes — both stages |
| Pennsylvania State University University Park |
BS Nutritional Sciences, nutrition and dietetics option — accredited DPD Master of Professional Studies in Nutritional Sciences |
Didactic | Yes — via the dietetics option only |
| Penn State Harrisburg Middletown |
Nutrition programmes — confirm accreditation and level directly | Confirm | Confirm directly |
| West Chester University West Chester |
BS Nutrition and Dietetics — accredited DPD | Didactic | Yes — didactic only |
| Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana |
BS Nutrition, dietetics track — accredited DPD MS Human Nutrition — online |
Didactic | Yes — didactic; the online master’s is separate |
| Cedar Crest College Allentown |
Dietetic Internship Pathway — for holders of a bachelor’s in any field plus accredited DPD coursework | Internship | Yes — supervised practice for DPD graduates |
| Messiah University Mechanicsburg |
BS Nutrition and Dietetics — accredited DPD | Didactic, private | Yes — didactic only |
| Temple University Philadelphia |
Nutrition and dietetics — accredited; confirm level directly | Didactic | Yes — confirm which programme |
| La Salle University Philadelphia |
Nutrition and dietetics — accredited; confirm level directly | Didactic | Yes — confirm which programme |
| Mansfield University Mansfield |
BS Nutrition, dietetics concentration — accredited DPD | Didactic | Yes — via the dietetics concentration |
Pennsylvania’s public universities, state-related institutions like Penn State and Pitt, and private colleges price very differently, so compare net price at each rather than relying on a state average. Confirm current accreditation status, level, and term with each programme before applying.
Which Pennsylvania Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose Pitt if outcomes matter most to you. Its Dietitian Nutritionist Program reports a 100 percent job placement rate one year after graduation since 2005 and a five-year first-time exam pass rate of 96 percent. ACEND granted it full reaccreditation for seven years, citing abundant supervised practice sites and a low student-to-faculty ratio.
Choose Seton Hill if you want a coordinated route with online flexibility. Its BS/MS runs the master’s phase online, which is unusual for a coordinated programme and helps if you are working or cannot relocate for the graduate years.
Choose Cedar Crest if you already hold a degree in another field. Its Dietetic Internship Pathway accepts a bachelor’s in any subject provided you have completed accredited didactic coursework, with a minimum 3.0 cumulative and didactic GPA.
Choose Marywood or Immaculata if you want both stages at one institution. Each runs an accredited bachelor’s feeding its own graduate programme with supervised practice, so you need not change university partway.
Choose Penn State or West Chester if you want a strong public didactic programme. Both are well-established accredited routes; plan the master’s and internship separately.
Pennsylvania Nutrition Schools
Graduate programmes with supervised practice
Pennsylvania has moved further toward the Future Education Model than most states, and these programmes combine the master’s and the practice hours.
The University of Pittsburgh runs its Dietitian Nutritionist Program through the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, following Future Education Model graduate standards with more than 1,200 hours of hands-on clinical experience. It offers three entry points: an accelerated MS for qualified Pitt undergraduates taking three years across six terms, a post-baccalaureate route, and a two-year, 60-credit route for graduates of didactic programmes at other institutions.
Rotations cover community and public health nutrition, food service management, and clinical practice, with specialty options in oncology nutrition, maternal and paediatric nutrition, sports nutrition, and eating disorders. Supervised practice runs through the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center among other sites. Note that Pitt’s BS in Nutrition Science is a science degree oriented toward medical, PA, and dental school applicants — it is not the accredited dietetics route.
Seton Hill University in Greensburg runs a coordinated BS/MS in Nutrition and Dietetics with the master’s phase delivered online. Faculty include licensed dietitian-nutritionists and certified diabetes care and education specialists, and the programme emphasises management and leadership alongside clinical practice.
Drexel University in Philadelphia offers an MS in Nutrition and Dietetics built to Future Education Model standards with integrated supervised practice, alongside a BS in Nutrition and Foods and an MS in Human Nutrition. Its PhD is not ACEND-accredited and is one of only two doctoral programmes of its kind in the state.
Marywood University in Scranton runs a Master’s Dietetic Internship Program as a coordinated master’s under Future Education Model standards, fed by its own accredited bachelor’s.
Immaculata University pairs its accredited bachelor’s with an MS in Clinical Nutrition incorporating a dietetic internship.
Accredited undergraduate programmes
These produce a verification statement; supervised practice is a separate application unless you continue into one of the graduate routes above.
Penn State houses the accredited route in the nutrition and dietetics option of its Nutritional Sciences major at University Park. The option combines biological, social and behavioural sciences with business principles. Other options under the same major are not the accredited programme, so confirm which you are entering.
West Chester University is clear about what its degree does and does not do: the degree and verification statement establish eligibility to apply for an accredited supervised practice programme, and it is completion of that practice plus a master’s that qualifies you for the exam. That framing is more honest than most departments offer.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania runs a dietetics track within its BS in Nutrition, plus a separate online MS in Human Nutrition. Messiah University, Mansfield University, Temple University, and La Salle University all hold accreditation; confirm the level and current term with each, since our sourcing establishes accreditation but not always the precise structure.
Penn State Harrisburg appears on this page from the previous listing, but we cannot establish what accredited nutrition programme it currently offers. Confirm directly before treating it as a credential route.
Dietetic internships
Cedar Crest College in Allentown runs a Dietetic Internship Pathway with an entry rule worth knowing: your bachelor’s does not have to be in nutrition. What it requires is a degree plus successful completion of accredited didactic coursework, with a minimum 3.0 cumulative and didactic GPA. For career changers who have completed a post-baccalaureate DPD, that is a clear route in.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Pennsylvania
Ask for outcome data, because some programmes publish it
Pitt publishes a 100 percent job placement rate at one year since 2005 and a 96 percent five-year first-time exam pass rate. Most departments publish ACEND objectives instead — minimum thresholds they commit to, not results. When a programme gives you real numbers, that is worth weighting; when it does not, ask, since ACEND requires programmes to collect the data.
Pennsylvania has unusually many routes that skip the match
Pitt, Seton Hill, Drexel, Marywood, and Immaculata all offer graduate programmes with supervised practice included. Nationally, roughly half of internship applicants do not match on first attempt. If certainty matters to you, Pennsylvania gives you five options to compare rather than one to hope for.
Check the option, not the university
Penn State runs the accredited programme in one option of a broader major, Pitt’s BS in Nutrition Science is deliberately not the dietetics route, and Drexel’s PhD is not accredited. In each case a reputable institution offers both accredited and non-accredited nutrition degrees, and the names do not distinguish them.
The master’s requirement changed in 2024
Since January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration has required a master’s degree in any field, plus a verification statement from an ACEND-accredited programme, to sit for the RDN exam, with at least 1,000 supervised practice hours. Pennsylvania’s Future Education Model programmes were designed around this, which is why so many of its newer routes sit at graduate level.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania licenses dietitian-nutritionists. Registered dietitians may apply for licensure in Pennsylvania or for credentialing in other states, and West Chester notes that passing the registration exam produces the RDN credential and eligibility to apply for state licensure where it exists.
The national CDR requirements apply alongside: an ACEND verification statement, a master’s degree, supervised practice hours, and a passing exam score. Confirm current Pennsylvania licensure requirements and fees with the state board before relying on them.
Before applying anywhere in Pennsylvania, verify three things directly with the school: whether the specific degree is the accredited one, since Pitt, Penn State, and Drexel all offer nutrition degrees that are not the credential route, the current accreditation level and term at Temple, La Salle, Mansfield, and Penn State Harrisburg, where our sourcing is a state listing rather than the institution’s own accreditation statement, and which entry point into a Future Education Model programme fits your stage, since Pitt alone runs three with different lengths. Individual school profiles for these programs are in progress and will be linked here as they publish.