Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions • Atlanta, GA • Campus (B.S.) or Online/Hybrid (Graduate) • $4,635/Semester (B.S., Resident)
Georgia State offers 4 Nutritional Sciences credentials:
- B.S., Nutrition (Nutrition Science or Nutrition and Wellness track)
- M.S., Health Sciences, Nutrition (fully online, not ACEND-accredited)
- M.S., Health Sciences, Nutrition — Coordinated Program (ACEND-accredited, hybrid)
- Graduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (fully online, ACEND candidacy)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. | $4,635/semester resident, plus $660 fees (2026-27) | 4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm) | 120 |
| M.S. (Online) | $450/credit, residence-neutral (see Be Aware That) | Not clearly stated as a fixed duration | 36 |
| Coordinated Program | Not separately published; likely standard graduate resident/nonresident rate (unconfirmed) | 16 months full time (with a DPD statement) or 24 months (without one) | 61 (with a DPD statement) or 81 (without one) |
| Graduate DPD | $450/credit, residence-neutral (see Be Aware That) | 22 months full time; 42 months part time | 57 |
Georgia State runs four nutrition credentials, including a genuinely accommodating Coordinated Program that admits students without prior DPD coursework, who simply complete additional hours rather than being turned away. Its tuition picture is unusually tangled, though: Georgia State’s own program pages, a Board of Regents rate change, and its general tuition schedule disagree with each other on multiple figures, and no rate is published specifically for the Coordinated Program itself. The Graduate DPD, Georgia State’s newest pathway, launched in August 2025 and holds ACEND candidacy rather than full accreditation.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | B.S.: Campus. M.S. Health Sciences (non-CP): fully online. Coordinated Program: hybrid, at least 50% online with the remainder on the Atlanta campus. Graduate DPD: fully online |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 120; M.S. (non-CP): 36; Coordinated Program: 61 (DPD-verified) or 81 (non-DPD); Graduate DPD: 57 |
| ACEND Accreditation | Coordinated Program: Yes, full accreditation through June 30, 2027. Graduate DPD: candidacy status (grant date not published; program launched August 2025). M.S. Health Sciences (non-CP): not ACEND-accredited |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the Coordinated Program, which combines coursework and supervised practice in one accredited credential. The Graduate DPD alone produces only a verification statement, without supervised practice |
| Notable Policy | Georgia State states plainly that students should not work while enrolled full time in the Coordinated Program |
| Reported Outcomes | The Coordinated Program publishes ACEND program objectives, minimum targets it commits to meet (for example, “at least 80% one-year pass rate”), not actual achieved results; contact the department directly for real outcome data |
| Intake | Coordinated Program: deadline February 1, late deadline May 15. Graduate DPD: fall-only admission, deadline May 15 |
| Tuition | See Tuition section below; Georgia State’s own pages contain unresolved internal contradictions on graduate and online rates |
| Institutional Accreditation | SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition
The estimated tuition for the B.S. at Georgia State is $4,635 per semester for residents, plus $660 in fees (2026-27). The program requires 120 credits over the standard four-year timeline.
B.S. Curriculum
The B.S. in Nutrition offers two tracks: Nutrition Science and Nutrition and Wellness. Neither track by itself is the DPD; students headed toward the RD credential pursue Georgia State’s graduate-level pathways described below.
B.S. Admissions
- 2.5 cumulative and 2.5 science GPA required to enter 3000/4000-level nutrition coursework
- Application deadline May 1 prior to the intended junior year
M.S. Health Sciences, Nutrition (Online, Non-Coordinated)
The estimated tuition for this online M.S. is $450 per credit, a residence-neutral rate that applies regardless of residency. The degree requires 36 credits, with duration not clearly stated as a fixed figure.
M.S. (Online) Curriculum and Eligibility
This is a general nutrition master’s, delivered fully online, and is not itself ACEND-accredited. It does not include supervised practice or produce a DPD verification statement.
M.S. (Online) Admissions
Application deadlines: Fall May 15, Spring October 1, Summer April 1.
M.S. Health Sciences, Nutrition — Coordinated Program
Georgia State does not publish a Coordinated Program-specific tuition rate; it likely falls under the standard graduate resident or nonresident rate rather than the residence-neutral online rate, though this was not confirmed. The program runs 16 months full time for students with a DPD verification statement (61 credits) or 24 months full time for those without one (81 credits); part-time tracks run 7 to 11 semesters.
Coordinated Program Curriculum
Coursework combines with supervised practice in one accredited credential, delivered hybrid: at least 50% online, with the remainder on the Atlanta campus. Georgia State’s own FAQ states directly that applicants without a DPD verification statement, including those with an unrelated bachelor’s degree, are not required to complete a second undergraduate degree; the additional coursework they need is built into this program at 81 total credits instead of 61.
You Should Know
Georgia State states plainly that students should not work while enrolled full time in this program, a significant financial consideration over a multi-year degree. Separately, the program’s published completion and pass-rate figures are ACEND program objectives, the minimum targets the program commits to meet, not reported results from actual graduates; contact the department directly for real outcome data.
Coordinated Program Admissions
- Application deadline February 1; late deadline May 15
- Open to applicants with or without a completed DPD verification statement
Graduate Didactic Program in Dietetics
The estimated tuition for the Graduate DPD is $450 per credit, the same residence-neutral rate as the online M.S. above. The program requires 57 credits, running about 22 months full time or 42 months part time.
Graduate DPD Curriculum
Delivered fully online, this program leads to an M.S. in Health Sciences (Nutrition concentration) together with a DPD verification statement, rather than an accredited supervised-practice credential on its own. Graduates still need to complete a separate internship or Coordinated Program elsewhere to reach RD eligibility.
You Should Know
This program currently holds ACEND candidacy status, not full accreditation. Georgia State launched it in August 2025, and the date candidacy was formally granted was not published on the pages reviewed. Confirm current accreditation status directly with the department before enrolling.
Graduate DPD Admissions
Fall-only admission; application deadline May 15.
Tuition
Georgia State charges $450 per credit for its residence-neutral online programs (the M.S. Health Sciences and the Graduate DPD), the same rate for all students regardless of where they live.
- $4,635/semester resident undergraduate tuition, plus $660 fees (2026-27)
- $15,450/semester nonresident undergraduate tuition, plus $660 fees
- $450/credit, residence-neutral, for the online M.S. Health Sciences and Graduate DPD (Board of Regents-approved rate, effective fall 2025)
- General graduate tuition (non-online programs): $4,944/semester resident, $16,665/semester nonresident, plus $1,693 in fees and books, per Georgia State’s graduate tuition page
Be aware that:
⚠ Georgia State’s own pages genuinely disagree with each other on several figures. Its online-program pages still show $464 per credit for the M.S. Health Sciences and Graduate DPD, but a February 2025 Board of Regents action approved a new $450 per credit residence-neutral rate effective fall 2025; the program pages simply haven’t been updated. Separately, a general graduate tuition search also surfaced a $408/credit resident and $1,322/credit nonresident figure that doesn’t reconcile with the $4,944/$16,665 per-semester figures on Georgia State’s own graduate tuition page. No page publishes a rate specific to the Coordinated Program. Confirm your exact current rate directly with Georgia State’s Bursar before budgeting.
Official tuition figures are published on Georgia State’s tuition page and its graduate tuition and payments page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want an accredited Coordinated Program that doesn’t require a prior DPD, or who want a fully online path to a DPD verification statement.
Career changers without a DPD can enter the Coordinated Program directly, completing additional coursework within the same 81-credit track rather than earning a second bachelor’s degree first.
Students who want a fully remote path to a DPD verification statement can use the Graduate DPD, though its ACEND candidacy status and its route to actual supervised practice, still a separate step afterward, are worth understanding clearly before enrolling.
The honest trade-off is that Georgia State’s own tuition pages disagree with each other on multiple figures, no rate is published specifically for the Coordinated Program, and its newest pathway is not yet fully accredited. Confirm current cost and accreditation status directly before committing.
Accreditation
Georgia State is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND accredits Georgia State’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics through June 30, 2027. The Graduate DPD holds ACEND candidacy status rather than full accreditation. The B.S. in Nutrition and the online, non-Coordinated M.S. Health Sciences fall outside ACEND’s scope, which is normal for degrees not built around the accredited dietetics pathway.
Graduates of the Coordinated Program are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completing the program, since coursework and supervised practice are combined in one accredited credential. Graduates of the Graduate DPD alone receive only a verification statement and must still complete supervised practice, at Georgia State’s Coordinated Program or elsewhere, plus hold a graduate degree, to pursue the credential.