Human Nutrition Graduate Programs, School of Medicine • Portland, OR • Campus • $858/Credit
OHSU offers 3 Nutritional Sciences credentials:
- M.S., Human Nutrition, Coordinated Program (ACEND Coordinated Program)
- M.S., Food Systems and Society with Dietetic Internship
- Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.S. Coordinated Program | ~$46.3K total ($858/credit, derived) | 2 years, full time only | 54 |
| M.S. Food Systems & Society + DI | $772-858/credit (exact split not confirmed) | 2 years | 72 (50 MS + 22 DI) |
| DI Certificate | ~$18.9K total ($858/credit, derived) | 9 months | 22 |
OHSU restructured its nutrition programs in 2026. The M.S. in Human Nutrition is now itself an ACEND-accredited Coordinated Program with 1,014 hours of supervised practice built directly in, no longer a research-only track without practice hours as it may still be described on other sites or in older materials. OHSU also added a new M.S. in Food Systems and Society with a Dietetic Internship track, which reported a 100 percent first-time RD exam pass rate for 2024.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus in Portland; supervised-practice rotations span a 300-plus site Oregon network, not limited to OHSU Hospital |
| Credit Hours | Coordinated Program: 54; M.S. Food Systems & Society + DI: 72 (50 MS, 22 DI); DI Certificate: 22 |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — Coordinated Program accredited through December 31, 2031; MS+DI and DI Certificate accredited through December 31, 2033 |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, for all three current tracks. This changed in 2026: the plain M.S. is no longer a non-accredited standalone research degree |
| Reported Outcome | 100% first-time RD exam pass rate for the MS+DI track, 2024 |
| Supervised Practice | Coordinated Program: 1,014 hours built in; MS+DI and DI Certificate: 1,056 hours; rotations across 300-plus Oregon sites including OHSU Hospital, VA Portland Health Care System, and community/rural sites in Bend, Medford, and Klamath Falls |
| Intake | Priority deadline October 10, final deadline January 10, for the following fall or summer start; cohort size not published |
| Prerequisites | Coordinated Program: a DPD verification statement, or prerequisite coursework as a substitute; MS+DI and DI Certificate: a DPD verification statement required; all tracks: 3.0 GPA minimum, 3 letters of recommendation |
| Tuition | $858/credit for the Coordinated Program and DI Certificate, same rate for residents and nonresidents; MS+DI: $772 to $858/credit range, exact split not confirmed |
| Institutional Accreditation | NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities) |
M.S. in Human Nutrition, Coordinated Program
The estimated tuition for OHSU’s M.S. in Human Nutrition Coordinated Program is approximately $46,332 before fees (54 credits at $858/credit). The program runs 2 years, full time only.
Coordinated Program Curriculum
Coursework combines with 1,014 hours of supervised practice in one accredited program, and students complete either a thesis or a capstone.
You Should Know
⚠ This program changed materially in 2026. Previously, OHSU’s plain M.S. in Human Nutrition was a 45-credit, non-ACEND-accredited standalone research degree with no supervised practice, suited to students who wanted nutrition science rather than clinical credentialing. As of 2026, ACEND accredits it as a Coordinated Program with 1,014 built-in supervised-practice hours, making it RD-eligible. If you’re relying on older descriptions of this program, including ones on other sites, confirm you’re looking at OHSU’s current structure.
Coordinated Program Admissions
- DPD verification statement, or prerequisite coursework as a substitute for applicants without one
- 3.0 GPA minimum
- 3 letters of recommendation
- Priority deadline October 10; final deadline January 10
M.S. in Food Systems and Society with Dietetic Internship
OHSU’s own tuition page lists a $772 to $858 per-credit range for this track without stating exactly which courses fall at which rate. At 72 total credits, the range implies a total between roughly $55,600 and $61,800 before fees. The program runs 2 years.
MS+DI Curriculum
The 72 credits split into 50 M.S. credits in Food Systems and Society and 22 Dietetic Internship credits. OHSU reports a 100 percent first-time RD exam pass rate for this track’s 2024 graduates.
MS+DI Supervised Practice
- 1,056 hours
- Rotations across OHSU’s Oregon network, including OHSU Hospital, VA Portland Health Care System, and rural and community sites
MS+DI Admissions
- DPD verification statement required before starting
- 3.0 GPA minimum
- 3 letters of recommendation
- Priority deadline October 10; final deadline January 10
Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate
The estimated tuition for the DI Graduate Certificate is approximately $18,876 before fees (22 credits at $858/credit). The program runs 9 months.
DI Certificate Curriculum and Eligibility
This certificate is for applicants who already hold, or are currently enrolled in, a graduate degree, distinguishing it from the MS+DI track built for students who need both the degree and supervised practice together.
DI Certificate Supervised Practice
- 1,056 hours
- Same statewide rotation network as the MS+DI track
DI Certificate Admissions
- DPD verification statement required
- 3.0 GPA minimum
- 3 letters of recommendation
- Priority deadline October 10; final deadline January 10
Tuition
OHSU charges $858 per credit for the Coordinated Program and the DI Certificate, the same rate for residents and nonresidents. The MS+DI track lists a $772 to $858 per-credit range without a stated breakdown by course.
- $858/credit, Coordinated Program and DI Certificate, uniform for residents and nonresidents
- $772-$858/credit, M.S. Food Systems and Society with DI (exact split not published)
- ~$46,332 total for the 54-credit Coordinated Program (derived)
- ~$18,876 total for the 22-credit DI Certificate (derived)
Be aware that:
OHSU restructured these programs in 2026. A previously published rate of $842 per credit, along with a 45-credit standalone M.S. and a 67-credit MS+DI, described the pre-2026 structure and no longer applies. If you find those older figures elsewhere, including on other guides to Oregon’s nutrition programs, they are out of date.
Official tuition figures are published on OHSU’s Human Nutrition Graduate Programs page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want a hospital-network-based graduate program in Portland rather than Oregon State’s Corvallis-based, partly online M.S. Professional Dietetics.
Applicants without a DPD can enter the Coordinated Program through prerequisite coursework rather than needing a verification statement first, unlike OHSU’s other two tracks, which both require one.
Compared with Oregon State’s MS Professional Dietetics, OHSU’s Coordinated Program is fully campus-based in Portland rather than delivering coursework online, and its rotation network spans more than 300 statewide sites rather than being concentrated around one university town.
The honest trade-off is cost: at roughly $46,000 for the Coordinated Program alone before fees and living expenses, OHSU runs well above Oregon State’s per-credit rates, and the MS+DI track’s exact cost isn’t fully published since its per-credit range isn’t broken down by course.
Accreditation
OHSU 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 M.S. in Human Nutrition as a Coordinated Program through December 31, 2031, and separately accredits the M.S. in Food Systems and Society with Dietetic Internship and the DI Graduate Certificate, both through December 31, 2033. OHSU offers no undergraduate nutrition program; all study here begins at the graduate level.
Graduates of any of OHSU’s three current tracks are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completion, since each combines a graduate degree with supervised practice, whether built directly into the degree or added through the internship certificate.