Arkansas State University offers three nutrition and dietetics credentials:
- B.S., Nutrition and Dietetics
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics — Registered Dietitian Track
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics — Non-RD Track
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. | $36.2K derived | Not clearly stated | 120 |
| M.S. RD Track | $18.6K | 2 years (as few as 24 months) | 53 |
| M.S. Non-RD | $12.6K | 1 year (as few as 12 months) | 36 |
Arkansas State’s defining feature is that its accredited dietitian pathway does not require a DPD verification statement to enter. A career changer with any bachelor’s degree can reach the RD credential here by completing prerequisite coursework and then the master’s, without ever having majored in dietetics.
The undergraduate degree is a different product. It carries no ACEND accreditation of its own and does not lead to RD eligibility; it is a feeder into the master’s, or a route to non-clinical nutrition work.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | Bachelor’s, master’s (two tracks) |
| Format | Online |
| Credit Hours | 120 (B.S.), 53 (M.S. RD), 36 (M.S. non-RD) |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes, Coordinated Program in Dietetics, covering the M.S. RD track only |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | M.S. RD track only. The B.S. and non-RD master’s do not lead to eligibility |
| Supervised Practice | 1,080 hours across five practicums, inside the M.S. RD track |
| Placement Model | Student supplies preceptor contacts before the first course |
| Enrollment Basis | M.S. RD track is full-time only and cohort-based; no part-time option |
| Intake | M.S. RD track starts Fall 1 and Summer 1 only; other programs have multiple starts |
| GPA Floor | 3.0 (M.S. RD), 2.5 cumulative or 2.75 in last 60 hours (M.S. non-RD), 2.0 transfer (B.S.) |
| Prerequisites | Eight named dietetics foundation courses required before the M.S. RD track |
| Tuition | $302/credit undergraduate, $350/credit graduate, fees included |
| Institutional Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission |
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics at Arkansas State is approximately $36,240 (120 credits at $302/credit, derived). The program requires 120 credits and accepts up to 90 transfer hours, which for a student arriving with an associate degree or substantial prior credit cuts the remaining bill sharply.
Full course details are on the B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics program page.
B.S. Curriculum
The 120 credits break into 38 general education, 16 core science, 48 major, and 18 elective hours. The science core is lighter than a dietitian-track bachelor’s usually carries: two anatomy and physiology courses with labs, a two-credit organic and biochemistry survey, basic nutrition, and health statistics. There is no standalone biochemistry course and no organic chemistry sequence.
What the major covers. The 48 major hours are substantive and clinically oriented despite the lighter science base, running through medical nutrition therapy at two levels, the nutrition care process, nutrition assessment, and counseling.
- Nutritional Biochemistry
- Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II
- The Nutrition Care Process
- Nutrition Assessment
- Nutrition Counseling
- Food Science and Lab
- Quantity Foods and Food Service Management
- Sports Nutrition
Graduates finish ServSafe certified, which is a genuine hiring credential in food service management and is not something every nutrition bachelor’s includes.
You Should Know
- This degree is not an ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics. It produces no verification statement, so it does not open the dietetic internship route at other schools.
- The school positions it as preparation for its own coordinated master’s, and the eight prerequisite courses that master’s requires overlap heavily with this major.
- Advertised career outcomes are community health worker, health education specialist, and dietetic technician, none of which is the RD credential.
- Duration is not published. With up to 90 transfer credits accepted and 7-week terms, time to completion depends almost entirely on what a student brings in.
B.S. Admissions
Admission is at the university level rather than the program level, with several pathways depending on prior credit.
- Transfer students: 13 or more transferable credits, 2.0 cumulative GPA
- First-time freshmen: ACT or SAT required; automatic admission at 3.0 high school GPA, ACT 19 superscore, SAT 990, or top 20% of class
- Non-traditional students out of high school five years or more: diploma plus Accuplacer, ACT, or SAT scores, with high school GPA not considered
- $30 application fee
- Sophia Learning and StraighterLine credits are not accepted
Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Registered Dietitian Track
The estimated tuition for the M.S. RD track at Arkansas State is $18,550 (53 credits at $350/credit, published). The program requires 53 credits and is designed as a two-year, full-time sequence, with a six-year outer limit from admission.
Program details are on the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics Registered Dietitian Track page.
M.S. RD Track Curriculum
The 53 credits divide into 12 core, 15 major, 9 support, and 17 practicum hours. Stripping out the practicum block leaves a 36-credit academic degree that is nearly identical to the non-RD track, which makes the comparison unusually clean: the RD track is the non-RD master’s plus 17 credits of supervised practice, for $5,950 more.
Where the clinical weight sits. Coursework is built around inpatient and critical care rather than community or wellness practice, and pairs that with reimbursement and policy content most master’s programs skip.
- Nutrition in Critical Illness
- Advanced Medical Nutritional Therapy
- Metabolic Nutrition
- Health Care Delivery in the U.S., with emphasis on payment structures for nutrition services
- Nutritional Epidemiology
- Food and Nutrition Public Policy
- Ethics of Health Care
- Graduate Research Methods
Courses run in 7-week terms, with 5-week summer sessions.
M.S. RD Track Supervised Practice
- 1,080 supervised practice hours minimum, above the roughly 1,000-hour CDR standard
- Five practicums: three at 3 credits, two at 4 credits, totaling 17 credits
- Settings span food service, community nutrition, and clinical nutrition
- Practicums average 25 hours per week, and most preceptors work weekday business hours
- ⚠ Students must supply preceptor contacts for supervised practice before registering for their first course
- ServSafe certification, CPR certification, background check, immunization records, liability and auto insurance, and Academy membership are all required before the first course
The accreditation removes the internship match, which is the usual attrition point in the dietitian route, but it does not remove the placement problem. A coordinated program that asks the student to bring preceptor contacts has shifted the search rather than eliminated it, and in a rural state that search is the harder half of the work. Ask the program directly how much placement support it provides and what happens to a student who cannot secure a clinical site.
M.S. RD Track Admissions
The entry rule is the most consequential thing about this program, and the school’s own pages state it two different ways.
- Any bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
- 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA
- No DPD verification statement required, which is unusual and is what makes the program reachable without a dietetics background
- Eight prerequisite courses: lifecycle nutrition, nutritional biochemistry, nutrition assessment, food science, nutrition counseling, community nutrition, medical nutrition therapy, and applied statistics
- Resume and two letters of recommendation
- Cohort starts in Fall 1 and Summer 1 only
- Up to 9 transfer graduate hours, none older than six years at graduation
You Should Know
- The program page states that admission is limited to current A-State students who completed the prerequisites at Arkansas State, while the admissions guidelines below it accept any regionally accredited bachelor’s. The reconciliation is that outside applicants take the prerequisite sequence through A-State Online first, which makes them A-State students before they apply. Confirm the current rule with the program before assuming either version.
- The prerequisite sequence is a real cost, not a formality. Eight 3-credit courses at the undergraduate online rate work out to roughly $7,248 (derived), which is about 39% on top of the published $18,550.
- Part-time study is not available. The program states that working full time while completing practicums is unlikely to be feasible.
- A master’s degree already in hand does not substitute. A graduate degree alone carries no supervised practice and no verification statement.
Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Non-RD Track
The estimated tuition for the M.S. non-RD track at Arkansas State is $12,600 (36 credits at $350/credit, published). The program requires 36 credits and can be completed in as few as 12 months.
Program details are on the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics Non-RD Track page.
M.S. Non-RD Track Curriculum
The 36 credits divide into 12 core, 15 major, and 9 support hours, with no practicum component. The academic content matches the RD track almost course for course, differing only in which research methods course sits in the core. Research training is the emphasis, running through epidemiology, data analysis with SPSS, and research design.
The program serves two distinct groups: people entering nutrition work with no interest in the clinical credential, and practicing dietitians who already hold the credential and need the graduate degree or want the research training. Advertised outcomes are management roles in nutrition, dining, and food services.
M.S. Non-RD Track Admissions
Admission is materially easier than the RD track, which is the clearest signal of how differently the two are gated.
- Any bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
- 2.50 cumulative GPA, or 2.75 in the last 60 hours; students admitted below that must hold a 3.0 across their first 9 credits
- Basic nutrition and statistics completed with a B or better
- Four start dates per year
You Should Know
- This degree does not lead to RD eligibility and includes no supervised practice.
- Choosing it first and switching later is expensive. The RD track is a separate 53-credit program, and only 9 graduate transfer hours are accepted, so most of the non-RD degree would not carry over.
Tuition
Arkansas State prices its online nutrition programs by the credit hour at a flat rate that does not vary by residency: $302 per undergraduate credit and $350 per graduate credit, for all U.S. residents. Both figures are published, and the school states that fees are included in the rate rather than stacked on top of it.
That flat structure is worth understanding, because it removes the variable that dominates cost comparisons at every other public university in the state. An out-of-state student pays what an Arkansan pays.
| Program | Rate | Credits | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics | $302 | 120 | $36,240 derived |
| B.S. with 90 transfer credits | $302 | 30 | $9,060 derived |
| M.S. RD Track | $350 | 53 | $18,550 published |
| M.S. Non-RD Track | $350 | 36 | $12,600 published |
| RD prerequisite sequence | $302 | 24 | $7,248 derived |
Confirmed directly by the university:
- $302 per undergraduate credit hour, $906 per 3-credit course
- $350 per graduate credit hour
- $18,550 total for the M.S. RD track
- $12,600 total for the M.S. non-RD track
- $30 application fee; a one-time $100 document submission fee may apply
Be aware that:
- The prerequisite estimate assumes the eight required courses are taken at the undergraduate online rate and carry 3 credits each. Verify both with the program, since a student missing the underlying science courses would need more than eight.
- Published totals cover tuition only. Background checks, immunizations, ServSafe and CPR certification, Academy membership, liability and auto insurance, and travel to practice sites are all additional and fall mostly in the RD track.
- Rates are subject to annual change, and a two-year cohort program spans at least one increase.
- Campus-based enrollment is billed on the university’s standard resident and non-resident schedule, not the online rate. Confirm which applies before comparing.
For a self-funded student the honest all-in figure for the dietitian route is closer to $25,800 than to $18,550, once prerequisites are counted, plus the cost of a year in which full-time work is not realistic. For someone already holding the prerequisite coursework, the published figure is close to accurate and the program is priced well below what a two-year clinical master’s usually costs.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for career changers who want the dietitian credential but never studied dietetics, and who can clear a year of full-time practicums.
The entry rule is the product. Most accredited routes to the RD assume a verification statement from an undergraduate DPD, which leaves a biology graduate or a mid-career professional needing a second bachelor’s before they can even apply to supervised practice. Arkansas State admits on prerequisite coursework instead. That converts a multi-year detour into a defined course list, and it is the single most useful thing about this school for a reader who is starting over.
Price is predictable and residency-blind. A flat per-credit rate with fees included, identical for every U.S. resident, makes the total knowable in advance. For an out-of-state student, this removes the non-resident penalty entirely, which no campus-based program in Arkansas can match.
The trade-offs are real and concentrated in the practicums. Full-time enrollment is mandatory, practicums average 25 hours a week against weekday preceptor schedules, and the student is expected to arrive with preceptor contacts already identified. The coordinated structure removes the internship match, but it hands back a placement search that a student in a thinly served area may find harder than the match would have been. The undergraduate degree, meanwhile, is not an accredited dietetics program and should be chosen as a feeder or as non-clinical preparation, never as a standalone route to the credential.
Accreditation
Arkansas State University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That accreditation applies to every degree the university awards and governs credit transfer, admission to graduate study elsewhere, and eligibility for federal financial aid.
Programmatic accreditation is narrower. The Coordinated Program in Dietetics is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, the accrediting arm of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. That accreditation covers the RD track of the Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics and nothing else at the university. The program began in 2012 as an undergraduate coordinated program and has since moved to the fully online graduate degree, so older listings describing a bachelor’s-level coordinated option are out of date.
Neither the B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics nor the non-RD master’s carries ACEND accreditation, and the bachelor’s is not a Didactic Program in Dietetics. This is ordinary for degrees of that type, but it has a specific consequence here: without a DPD verification statement, a graduate of the bachelor’s cannot apply to a dietetic internship at another school and would need a coordinated program to reach the credential.
Graduates of the RD track receive a coordinated program verification statement, and on completing the master’s degree together with the supervised practice hours are eligible to sit for the Commission on Dietetic Registration examination. Passing that exam is a separate step from state licensure, and Arkansas licenses dietitians through its own board. Graduates of the bachelor’s or the non-RD master’s are not eligible for the CDR examination on the strength of those degrees alone.
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