Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine • Spokane, WA • Hybrid (Graduate) or Campus (Undergraduate) • About $562/Credit (Graduate, Resident, Est.)
WSU offers 4 nutrition-related credentials, all based in Spokane rather than the main Pullman campus:
- B.S., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (feeder major, not itself ACEND-accredited)
- M.S. Coordinated Program in Dietetics, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (MS CPD, ACEND Coordinated Program, the RD pathway)
- M.S., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (MS NEP), 3 tracks: Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Combined (non-RD research degree)
- Ph.D., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology | $11,678/yr resident tuition (2025-26, Spokane) | 4 years | 120, at least 71 at WSU |
| M.S. Coordinated Program in Dietetics | $13,486/yr resident tuition (2025-26) | 3 to 5 semesters | At least 35 graduate credits, 19 of them experiential |
| M.S. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology | $13,486/yr resident tuition | About 2 years | Not clearly stated; thesis-based |
| Ph.D. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology | $13,486/yr resident tuition | 4+ years | Not clearly stated |
WSU’s differentiator is a genuine Coordinated Program: one ACEND-accredited master’s builds didactic coursework and about 1,020 hours of supervised practice into the same degree, so there is no separate internship match. A completely separate, thesis-based M.S. exists for students who want nutrition or exercise-physiology research instead, with three distinct tracks.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | B.S.: campus, Spokane. MS CPD: hybrid, mostly in person with some remote didactic components (under 10% of recorded lectures) depending on rotation site. MS NEP and Ph.D.: campus, Spokane |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 120, at least 71 at WSU; MS CPD: at least 35 graduate credits (19 experiential); MS NEP and Ph.D.: not clearly stated |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — Coordinated Program in Dietetics, full and continued accreditation (2020 site visit, reaffirmed January 2021 after a progress report); WSU’s own program page states the current term ends December 31, 2028, with the next site visit in 2027 |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the MS CPD only; the B.S., the MS NEP, and the Ph.D. do not lead to RDN eligibility on their own |
| Supervised Practice | About 1,020 hours per WSU’s own department page (440 clinical, 200 foodservice, 200 community, 180 exercise/health promotion); a separate WSU Grad School factsheet states a 1,000-hour minimum instead |
| Reported Outcomes | 100% job placement within 12 months over the past 5 years; over 90% one-year credentialing exam pass rate over the past 5+ years, per WSU’s program page. A 2024 news article separately cites 100% exit-exam pass rate and over 90% first-time and one-year pass rates over the past 3 years, and 100% retention over 3 years — the two WSU sources use different lookback windows |
| MS CPD Admissions | 3.0 GPA overall and in prerequisites, no prerequisite grade below C; 9 prerequisite courses; bachelor’s in exercise science, human nutrition/dietetics, or WSU’s own NEP (or equivalent); DICAS application, 250 to 500-word statement, resume, 3 letters; no GRE; fall priority deadline January 10; cohort size not published |
| Tuition | Undergraduate (Spokane) resident: $11,678/yr tuition, $12,260 with fees; non-resident $28,784/yr, $29,366 with fees. Graduate (Spokane) resident: $13,486/yr tuition, $14,068 with fees; non-resident $29,623/yr, $30,205 with fees (2025-26) |
| Institutional Accreditation | NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
The estimated tuition for the B.S. is $11,678 a year for Spokane residents in tuition alone, $12,260 with fees (2025-26). The degree is 120 credits, with at least 71 completed at WSU.
This is a feeder major, not itself an ACEND-accredited program. It is the standard entry point for students planning to apply to the MS CPD, though applicants with an equivalent bachelor’s from elsewhere may also apply.
M.S. Coordinated Program in Dietetics, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
The estimated tuition for the MS CPD is the standard graduate resident rate, $13,486 a year (2025-26). The program runs 3 to 5 semesters, non-thesis, with didactic coursework and clinical rotations running concurrently.
MS CPD Curriculum and Supervised Practice
- At least 35 graded graduate credits, 19 of them experiential rotation courses
- About 1,020 supervised-practice hours: 440 clinical, 200 foodservice, 200 community, 180 exercise and health promotion
- Primarily in person in Spokane, with some remote didactic components depending on rotation site
You Should Know
WSU’s own pages give two different supervised-practice hour totals: 1,020 on the department’s own MS CPD page, and a 1,000-hour minimum on the Grad School’s factsheet for the same program. Confirm the current figure directly with the department. Separately, WSU’s outcomes statistics are reported over two different windows on two WSU pages (a 5-year lookback on the program page, a 3-year lookback in a 2024 news article), so treat both as directionally accurate rather than a single precise figure.
MS CPD Admissions
- 3.0 GPA overall and in prerequisites, with no prerequisite grade below C
- 9 prerequisite courses: general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, general biology, anatomy, physiology, human nutrition, psychology, and statistics
- Bachelor’s in exercise science or physiology, human nutrition or dietetics, or WSU’s own NEP degree, or an equivalent
- DICAS application, a 250 to 500-word statement of purpose, a resume, 3 letters of recommendation; the GRE is not required
- Fall priority deadline January 10; cohort size not published
M.S., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (Research Track)
The estimated tuition matches the standard graduate resident rate, $13,486 a year. This is a genuinely separate, thesis-based degree from the MS CPD, not one of its tracks, with three specialized tracks of its own: Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Combined. It carries no ACEND accreditation and is not an RD pathway.
Ph.D., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
The estimated tuition matches the standard graduate resident rate, $13,486 a year. Credit totals and a specific duration beyond “4-plus years” were not clearly stated on the pages reviewed. This is a research doctorate, not an RD pathway.
Tuition
WSU’s 2025-26 System Tuition Rates, for Spokane-based graduate and undergraduate students (not the separate, higher College of Medicine MD rate band):
- Undergraduate resident: $11,678/yr tuition, $12,260 with mandatory fees; non-resident $28,784/yr, $29,366 with fees
- Graduate resident: $13,486/yr tuition, $14,068 with mandatory fees; non-resident $29,623/yr, $30,205 with fees
Be aware that:
A 2026-27 primary-source rate was not confirmed in this research; only an unverified note of a 3.3% Board of Regents increase for 2026-27 was found. The per-credit figure in this profile’s meta line ($562) is a derived estimate from the 2025-26 graduate resident annual rate, not a rate WSU publishes directly.
Official figures are on WSU’s system tuition rates page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want a bundled RD pathway with no separate internship search, or who want dedicated nutrition or exercise-physiology research training instead.
Students aiming for the RD credential get all supervised-practice hours built into one accredited master’s, with strong reported outcomes on job placement and exam pass rates, though cohort size isn’t published.
Students who want research training can take the separate, thesis-based MS NEP with a choice of three tracks, or continue to the Ph.D., without an RD ambition attached.
The honest trade-off is location and small inconsistencies: these programs run out of Spokane, not the main Pullman campus, and WSU’s own pages disagree on the exact supervised-practice hour count and the outcomes lookback window.
Accreditation
WSU 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 lists WSU-Spokane’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics as fully and continually accredited, most recently reaffirmed after a January 2021 progress report following a 2020 site visit; WSU’s own page states the current term ends December 31, 2028. This covers only the MS CPD. The B.S., the MS NEP, and the Ph.D. carry no ACEND accreditation.
Graduates of the MS CPD complete accredited coursework, a graduate degree, and about 1,000 to 1,020 supervised-practice hours together, making them eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam. The B.S., the MS NEP, and the Ph.D. do not lead to RDN eligibility on their own.