Department of Agriculture and Nutrition Science • Cedar City, UT • Campus • $303/Credit (Undergraduate, Resident, Est.)
SUU offers 2 nutrition-related bachelor’s pathways:
- B.S., Nutrition – Allied Health Emphasis (not the RD pathway)
- B.S., Nutrition – Dietetics Emphasis, joint with an M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics, candidacy status)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Allied Health Emphasis | About $7,267/yr resident (2026-27) | 4 years | 120 (59 major) |
| B.S./M.S. Dietetics Emphasis | About $7,267/yr resident undergraduate, then $10,739/yr resident graduate | 5 years (4+1, lockstep) | 150 (120 B.S. + 30 M.S.) |
SUU renamed its nutrition programs at some point after the 2024-25 catalog: the old “Human Nutrition” title is gone from current program pages, replaced by two separate emphases under a plain “Nutrition” bachelor’s. Its differentiator is a competitive, lockstep 4+1 BS/MS that holds ACEND candidacy for a Didactic Program in Dietetics, alongside a non-competitive Allied Health emphasis open to any student.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus; the Dietetics M.S. runs on-campus with a block schedule combining in-person and some asynchronous components |
| Credit Hours | Allied Health: 120 total, 59 major; Dietetics B.S./M.S.: 150 total (120 B.S. plus 30 M.S.) |
| ACEND Accreditation | Candidacy status only, granted April 2023, for the Didactic Program in Dietetics; not full accreditation. Checked every ACEND decisions page 2022 through 2026; SUU appears only in the 2023 page |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Not directly: the Dietetics track issues a DPD verification statement, and graduates must separately match into an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship (1,000 hours) to become RDN-eligible. The Allied Health emphasis is not an RD pathway at all |
| Dietetics Admissions | Competitive, limited space: 3.0 cumulative GPA, 3.0 GPA in foundational and required support courses with no grade below C, all general-education requirements complete, 5 dietetic-related experiences totaling 50 hours; a marketing page cites a cohort around 12 students a year and a January application deadline, unconfirmed against the current catalog’s own admissions page |
| Allied Health Admissions | No program-specific requirements beyond general SUU admission |
| Outcomes | About 85% of graduates advance to further education or a related career (SUU’s own figure); no separate RDN exam pass rate published, consistent with candidacy rather than full accreditation |
| Tuition | Undergraduate resident: $3,633.50/semester (2026-27, plateau, tuition plus fees); non-resident $11,097.50/semester; graduate (MS/DPD) resident $5,369.50/semester |
| Institutional Accreditation | NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities), continuously since 1933 |
B.S. Nutrition – Allied Health Emphasis
The estimated tuition for this emphasis is $3,633.50 a semester for residents, about $7,267 a year including fees (2026-27). The degree is 120 credits total, 59 in the major, with no internship or practicum required and no separate program admission beyond general SUU enrollment.
SUU’s own page describes graduates pursuing careers as “fitness center directors, nutrition researchers, food service managers, health educators, and more,” with advanced-degree holders sometimes moving into dietetics or medical fields. This emphasis carries no ACEND status and is not an RD pathway.
B.S./M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics (4+1)
The estimated tuition is $3,633.50 a semester for the undergraduate years and $5,369.50 a semester once admitted to the graduate year (both resident, 2026-27). The combined program is 150 credits: 120 for the B.S., 30 for the M.S.
Structure
Once admitted to the competitive dietetics cohort, students follow a lockstep, full-time schedule for two years (four semesters): the B.S. is awarded at the end of Year 4, and the M.S. with the DPD verification statement at the end of Year 5. The program helps students prepare to apply for an accredited dietetic internship, though SUU’s current and archived catalogs disagree on whether that application happens in the fall or spring semester of the program’s second year.
You Should Know
SUU’s DPD holds ACEND candidacy, granted April 2023, not full accreditation. Completing the M.S. and DPD verification statement does not by itself confer RDN eligibility: graduates must separately match into an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship for the required 1,000 supervised-practice hours. Confirm current candidacy status with SUU and ACEND before applying.
Admissions
- 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA
- 3.0 GPA in foundational core and required support courses, no grade below C
- Completion of all SUU general-education requirements
- Five dietetic-related experiences (paid or volunteer), totaling 50 hours
- Space is limited; meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission
Tuition
SUU’s Cashier’s Office publishes stepped, plateau-based tuition tables (2026-27, Main Campus, tuition plus fees):
- Undergraduate resident, full time (10-18 credits): $3,633.50/semester
- Undergraduate non-resident, full time: $11,097.50/semester
- Graduate (MS/DPD) resident, full time (9+ credits): $5,369.50/semester
- 2025-26 rates were slightly lower: $3,547.00 resident undergraduate, $10,823.00 non-resident
Be aware that:
No differential tuition surcharge for nutrition or health-sciences courses was found on SUU’s undergraduate tuition pages. Non-resident graduate tuition for the MS/DPD was not confirmed in this research.
Official figures are on SUU’s undergraduate and graduate tuition pages.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want a small-campus, community-focused nutrition department with a defined, if competitive, bridge toward the RD credential.
Students aiming for dietetics can pursue a lockstep BS/MS with ACEND candidacy status, though admission is competitive and a separate internship match is still required afterward.
Students who want a broader nutrition and wellness degree can take the Allied Health emphasis, open to any student, aimed at fitness, food service, and health-education careers.
The honest trade-off is that ACEND candidacy is not full accreditation, cohort space is limited, and SUU’s own catalog changed the program’s name and a key application-timing detail between recent catalog years.
Accreditation
SUU is institutionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), continuously since 1933, which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND granted candidacy for accreditation to SUU’s Didactic Program in Dietetics in April 2023. This is candidacy, not full accreditation, and covers only the Dietetics emphasis and its joint M.S.; the Allied Health emphasis carries no ACEND status.
Graduates of the Dietetics B.S./M.S. receive a DPD verification statement and must separately match into an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship for the required supervised-practice hours before they are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam. The Allied Health emphasis does not lead to RDN eligibility.
More Nutrition Degrees in Utah
- Brigham Young University - Provo
- Snow College - Ephraim
- University of Utah - Salt Lake City
- Utah Nutrition Programs & Online Degrees
- Utah State University - Logan
- Weber State University - Ogden