School of Nutrition and Public Health • Corvallis, OR • Campus (B.S.) or Online (M.S.) • $409/Credit (Online B.S.)
Oregon State offers 4 Nutritional Sciences credentials:
- B.S., Nutrition, Dietetics Option (DPD)
- M.S., Nutrition – Professional Dietetics (bundles supervised practice)
- M.S., Nutrition – Advanced Dietetics (for those who already hold an RDN or DPD)
- Dietetic Internship (standalone, non-credit)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. | ~$13,440/yr resident on-campus (tuition only); $409/credit online, flat, no nonresident premium | 4 years | 180 quarter credits (about 120 semester credits) |
| MS-PD | $609/credit online | 22 months | Not clearly stated |
| MS Advanced | $609/credit online | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated |
| DI | Not separately confirmed | 9.5 months (September through June) | Non-credit, non-degree |
Oregon State runs the only ACEND-accredited undergraduate dietetics program in Oregon through its Dietetics option, one of three B.S. options, only one of which carries accreditation. Its MS Professional Dietetics bundles supervised practice with online coursework and in-state rotations in a small cohort of up to 12. OSU also reports an unusually strong RDN exam record: 97th percentile nationally on first-attempt mean score over the past five years, and a 97 percent pass rate within one year over the past three years, two distinct statistics worth not conflating.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | B.S. (3 options, only Dietetics is ACEND DPD); M.S. Professional Dietetics (bundles supervised practice); M.S. Advanced Dietetics (for those who already hold an RDN or DPD); standalone Dietetic Internship |
| Format | B.S.: Campus in Corvallis. M.S. tracks: online coursework via Ecampus, with in-person Oregon rotations for MS-PD; DI: in-person |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 180 quarter credits (about 120 semester credits); M.S. tracks and DI: not clearly stated |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — B.S. Dietetics option is Oregon’s only accredited undergraduate DPD; MS-PD and the standalone DI are both ACEND-accredited (MS-PD’s exact ACEND category was not confirmed in OSU’s own language); MS Advanced Dietetics is not itself a supervised-practice program |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the B.S. Dietetics DPD plus MS-PD (bundled), or the standalone DI for applicants who already hold both a DPD verification statement and a completed graduate degree |
| Reported Outcome | 97th percentile nationally for first-attempt mean RDN exam score (5-year window); 97% pass rate within 1 year of first attempt (3-year window) |
| Supervised Practice | MS-PD: minimum 1,000 hours, online coursework plus in-person Oregon rotations; DI: hours not separately confirmed, 9.5 months, 56 or more preceptors |
| Intake | MS-PD: cohort of up to 12; application deadline September 15 via DICAS |
| Tuition | B.S.: ~$13,440/yr resident on-campus (tuition only); $409/credit online (flat, no nonresident premium); M.S.: $609/credit online |
| Institutional Accreditation | NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition (Dietetics Option)
The estimated tuition for the B.S. at Oregon State is about $13,440 per year for resident students on campus (tuition only, excludes mandatory fees), or $409 per credit through Ecampus online, a flat rate with no nonresident premium. The Dietetics option requires 180 quarter credits, about 120 semester credits, over the standard four-year timeline.
B.S. Curriculum
The B.S. in Nutrition has three options: Dietetics, Nutrition and Health Sciences, and Nutrition in Foodservice, Culinary and Food Systems (which itself splits into a culinary track and a food systems track). Only the Dietetics option carries ACEND DPD accreditation, and OSU’s own page describes it as the only accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics in Oregon. The Foodservice, Culinary and Food Systems option’s culinary coursework is taken through Linn-Benton Community College, alongside OSU’s own upper-division nutrition coursework.
You Should Know
The B.S. in Nutrition has three options, not four as sometimes described elsewhere; the Foodservice/Culinary and Food Systems tracks sit inside one option rather than forming two separate ones. Only the Dietetics option is ACEND-accredited.
B.S. Admissions
Admission follows Oregon State’s standard undergraduate admission process; students declare the Dietetics option to be on the DPD track.
M.S. Nutrition, Professional Dietetics (MS-PD)
The estimated tuition for MS-PD at Oregon State is $609 per credit online. The program runs about 22 months.
MS-PD Curriculum
Coursework is delivered online through Ecampus, with supervised-practice rotations placed in person in Oregon. MS-PD satisfies both the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s graduate-degree requirement and the supervised-practice requirement together, rather than requiring a separate internship application afterward.
You Should Know
OSU’s own pages describe MS-PD as “accredited” without using the specific term “Coordinated Program.” The precise ACEND category was not confirmed in OSU’s own language for this research; confirm the exact designation directly with the School of Nutrition and Public Health if it matters for your planning.
MS-PD Supervised Practice
- Minimum 1,000 hours
- Rotations placed in person in Oregon while coursework stays online
MS-PD Admissions
- Cohort of up to 12 students
- Application deadline September 15, via DICAS
M.S. Nutrition, Advanced Dietetics
The estimated tuition for MS Advanced Dietetics is $609 per credit online. Program duration was not clearly stated on the pages reviewed.
MS Advanced Dietetics Curriculum
This track is delivered fully online and does not include a supervised-practice component of its own.
MS Advanced Dietetics Admissions
OSU’s own page states eligibility requires either a current RD/RDN certification or a verification statement from an accredited DPD program. This track is not an entry point for career changers without prior dietetics credentials.
Dietetic Internship (Standalone)
Oregon State’s standalone Dietetic Internship is non-credit and non-degree; tuition was not separately confirmed on the pages reviewed. The program runs 9.5 months, mid-September through June.
DI Curriculum and Eligibility
Eligibility requires applicants to already hold both a DPD verification statement and a completed graduate degree. That makes this internship the supervised-practice complement to MS Advanced Dietetics graduates, or to DPD graduates who earned a master’s elsewhere, rather than a standalone entry point for someone who has neither.
DI Supervised Practice
- 56 or more qualified preceptors
- Total required hours not separately confirmed on the pages reviewed
DI Admissions
Requires a DPD verification statement and a completed graduate degree; contact the School of Nutrition and Public Health directly for current application details.
Tuition
Oregon State’s online rates are genuinely per-credit and unusually structured: $409 per credit for undergraduates, with no nonresident premium at all, and $609 per credit for the online graduate tracks.
- ~$13,440/year resident on-campus undergraduate tuition (excludes mandatory fees)
- $409/credit online undergraduate tuition, flat rate regardless of residency
- $609/credit online graduate tuition (MS-PD and MS Advanced Dietetics)
Be aware that:
Nonresident on-campus undergraduate tuition, and on-campus graduate tuition (for students who don’t use Ecampus), were not confirmed in this research; confirm both directly with Oregon State before budgeting.
Official tuition figures are published on Oregon State Ecampus’s tuition rates page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students starting from Oregon’s only accredited undergraduate route, or graduate-level applicants choosing between a bundled supervised-practice track and a research-oriented one.
Students starting from high school have exactly one in-state accredited option: OSU’s Dietetics B.S., which reports strong RDN exam outcomes.
DPD graduates or RDNs from elsewhere can use MS Advanced Dietetics for the graduate-degree requirement alone, or the standalone DI if they already hold both a DPD and a completed master’s.
The honest trade-off is that MS-PD’s cohort is small, up to 12 students, so treat admission as competitive and have a second route in mind, and the standalone DI is not a true entry point for applicants without both a DPD and a completed graduate degree already in hand.
Accreditation
Oregon State is institutionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND accredits the B.S.’s Dietetics option as Oregon’s only undergraduate DPD, and separately accredits MS-PD and the standalone Dietetic Internship. The B.S.’s other two options, Nutrition and Health Sciences and Nutrition in Foodservice, Culinary and Food Systems, fall outside ACEND’s scope, which is normal for degrees not built around the clinical dietetics pathway. MS Advanced Dietetics is not itself an ACEND-accredited supervised-practice program.
Graduates of MS-PD are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completing the program, since coursework, the graduate degree, and supervised practice are all satisfied together. Graduates of the DPD alone are not RD-eligible and must complete a graduate degree and supervised practice, whether through MS-PD, MS Advanced Dietetics plus the standalone DI, or an equivalent pathway elsewhere.