Cal Poly Pomona Nutrition Programs

Department of Nutrition and Food Science • Pomona, CA • Campus (B.S., DI) or Online (M.S.) • $825/Credit (Online M.S.)

Cal Poly Pomona offers 3 Nutritional Sciences credentials:

  • B.S., Nutrition, Dietetics Option (DPD)
  • Dietetic Internship (a separate ACEND-accredited credential)
  • Online M.S. in Dietetics: 30 units, asynchronous

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S.$6,838/yr in-state (CSU systemwide) + ~$1,728/yr campus fees4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm)Not clearly stated
DIBilled via whatever program the intern is enrolled in; certificate itself is 12 unitsNot clearly stated12 (includes 3 required graduate courses)
M.S.~$24.75K total (derived: 30 units at $825/unit, self-support billing)1 year full time, or 2 years part time30

Cal Poly Pomona’s online M.S. in Dietetics is billed separately from the CSU systemwide graduate rate other schools in this guide use: it’s a self-support program at $825 per unit, about $24,750 for the full 30 units, not the $8,548/year state-supported rate. The M.S. and the Dietetic Internship also cannot be completed at the same time, though M.S. graduates can apply to the internship the year they finish.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesB.S. (ACEND DPD, through June 2029); Dietetic Internship (ACEND DI, separate accreditation); Online M.S. in Dietetics (ACEND status inconsistently described, see Accreditation)
FormatCampus (B.S., DI); Online, asynchronous (M.S.)
Credit HoursB.S.: not clearly stated; DI: 12 units, including 3 required graduate courses; M.S.: 30 units
ACEND AccreditationB.S.: Yes, through June 30, 2029. DI: Yes, separately accredited. M.S.: Cal Poly Pomona’s own page contradicts itself, see Accreditation
RD/RDN EligibilityYes, via the DI together with a graduate degree (Cal Poly Pomona’s own M.S. or one from elsewhere); the M.S. alone does not include supervised practice
Supervised PracticeHours not separately published; the DI includes 3 required graduate-level clinical courses (NTR 5450, 5600, 5610) for every intern, regardless of where their master’s was earned
IntakeDI: up to 15 interns a year via the national DICAS match; February 1 deadline, single annual cycle
PrerequisitesDPD verification statement required for the DI; the M.S. and DI cannot be completed concurrently
TuitionB.S.: $6,838/yr CSU systemwide, plus about $1,728/yr Cal Poly Pomona campus fees; M.S.: $825/unit self-support billing, about $24,750 total for 30 units
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Nutrition (Dietetics Option)

The estimated tuition for the B.S. at Cal Poly Pomona is $6,838 per year in-state, the CSU systemwide undergraduate rate, plus about $1,728 a year in Cal Poly Pomona’s own mandatory campus fees. The Dietetics Option follows the standard four-year, 120-credit bachelor’s timeline.

B.S. Curriculum

The Dietetics Option is Cal Poly Pomona’s ACEND-accredited DPD, currently accredited through June 30, 2029.

B.S. Admissions

Admission follows standard CSU freshman and transfer requirements; students declare the Dietetics Option to be on the DPD track.

Dietetic Internship

Cal Poly Pomona’s Dietetic Internship is a 12-unit certificate rather than a stand-alone tuition line; its cost depends on whatever program the intern is enrolled in while completing it. Hours and total duration were not separately published on the pages reviewed.

DI Curriculum

The 12-unit certificate includes 3 required graduate-level clinical courses, NTR 5450 (Current Topics in Clinical Practice), NTR 5600 (Clinical Practice I), and NTR 5610 (Clinical Practice II), required of every intern regardless of where they earned their master’s degree.

DI Admissions

  • DPD verification statement required
  • Application via the national DICAS match
  • Up to 15 interns admitted a year
  • February 1 deadline (11:59pm Central time), single annual cycle
You Should Know

Cal Poly Pomona’s own admission policy states plainly that students cannot complete the online M.S. in Dietetics at the same time as the Dietetic Internship, but M.S. graduates can apply to the internship the year they finish, through the same competitive DICAS process as any other applicant. There is no stated admissions priority for Cal Poly Pomona’s own M.S. graduates.

Online Master of Science in Dietetics

The estimated tuition for the online M.S. in Dietetics at Cal Poly Pomona is approximately $24,750 total, billed at $825 per unit for 30 units through the self-support College of Professional and Global Education, not the CSU state-supported graduate rate. The program is fully online and asynchronous, completed in about 1 year full time or 2 years part time.

M.S. Curriculum

The M.S. satisfies the graduate-degree requirement the Commission on Dietetic Registration now requires, but it is explicitly not itself a supervised-practice program; that step comes from the separate Dietetic Internship, at Cal Poly Pomona or elsewhere.

You Should Know

Cal Poly Pomona’s own program page describes this M.S.’s ACEND status inconsistently. One part of the page markets it as “ACEND-accredited,” referring to “accredited curriculum,” while a separate callout states plainly: “the MSD is not an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program.” Both statements come from the same Cal Poly Pomona page and were not fully reconciled in this research; confirm the program’s exact accreditation scope directly with the department before assuming either framing.

M.S. Admissions

Standard graduate admission requirements apply through Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Professional and Global Education; the program admits students without requiring the Dietetic Internship to be completed first or concurrently.

Tuition

Cal Poly Pomona’s online M.S. is billed at a genuine per-unit rate, $825, through its self-support College of Professional and Global Education. The B.S. and Dietetic Internship instead follow the CSU systemwide flat-rate model.

  • $6,838/year in-state CSU systemwide tuition for the B.S., plus about $1,728/year in Cal Poly Pomona’s own mandatory campus fees
  • $825/unit for the online M.S. in Dietetics, about $24,750 total for the full 30-unit program
  • The $8,548/year CSU systemwide graduate rate other schools in this guide use does not apply to this self-support M.S.

Be aware that:

A figure of $8,548 per year is sometimes quoted for CSU graduate programs generally, but it does not apply to Cal Poly Pomona’s online M.S. in Dietetics, which is a self-support program billed separately at $825 per unit. Confirm which billing model applies before comparing this program’s cost to a state-supported CSU master’s elsewhere.

Official tuition figures are published on Cal Poly Pomona’s M.S. in Dietetics tuition and fees page and Cal Poly Pomona’s undergraduate tuition page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want to complete the graduate-degree requirement online on their own schedule, then pursue supervised practice as a separate, sequential step.

Students who already have a path to supervised practice, whether through another school’s Coordinated Program or a separate internship they plan to apply to, can use Cal Poly Pomona’s asynchronous M.S. to satisfy the graduate-degree requirement on a flexible schedule.

DPD graduates planning to apply nationally for internships can use Cal Poly Pomona’s own campus Dietetic Internship, which recruits through the standard DICAS match rather than being restricted to Cal Poly Pomona’s own students.

The honest trade-off is cost and clarity: the online M.S.’s real price, about $24,750, is notably higher than the CSU state-supported graduate rate quoted for other schools in this guide, and Cal Poly Pomona’s own page does not clearly resolve whether the M.S. carries ACEND accreditation or not.

Accreditation

Cal Poly Pomona is institutionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the campus.

ACEND accredits Cal Poly Pomona’s Didactic Program in Dietetics, within the B.S.’s Dietetics Option, through June 30, 2029, and separately accredits its Dietetic Internship. The online M.S. in Dietetics is described inconsistently on Cal Poly Pomona’s own program page: one section calls it “ACEND-accredited,” while a separate callout states it “is not an ACEND-accredited supervised practice program.” These statements are not contradictory if read narrowly, since a program’s curriculum and its supervised-practice status are two different things ACEND evaluates separately, but Cal Poly Pomona’s own page does not spell out that distinction clearly, so applicants should confirm the M.S.’s exact accreditation scope directly with the department.

Graduates of the Dietetic Internship are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam once the graduate degree, ACEND-accredited coursework, and supervised practice are all complete. Graduates of the DPD alone are not RD-eligible and must complete a Dietetic Internship, at Cal Poly Pomona or elsewhere, plus a graduate degree, to pursue the credential. The online M.S. alone, without a separate internship, does not lead to RD eligibility.

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