Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Allied Health • Oklahoma City, OK • Campus • $430/Credit (M.A. Dietetics, Resident, Tuition and Program Fee)
OU Health Sciences Center (now branded OU Health Campus) offers 5 nutrition credentials, and 3 distinct routes toward the RD credential:
- Coordinated Program for the Master of Arts in Dietetics (ACEND Coordinated Program, 68 credits)
- Combined M.S. in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetic Internship
- Dietetic Internship (stand-alone certificate, for applicants who already hold a master’s)
- M.S., Nutritional Sciences (stand-alone, research or applied project, non-RD)
- Interprofessional Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition (online, non-RD)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinated Program, M.A. Dietetics | About $29,240 in tuition and program fee (68 credits at $430, 2026-27); about $35,140 with mandatory fees per OU’s estimate sheet | Six terms, roughly 24 months by calendar | 68 |
| Combined M.S./Dietetic Internship | Not clearly stated; no combined bursar sheet was found | 22 months per the internship page | 34 (the 6-credit internship course counts toward it) |
| Dietetic Internship (stand-alone) | $9,302 on OU’s one-term estimate sheet (6 credits plus a $7,150 internship program fee, 2026-27) | About 6 months per one page, 8 months per another | 6 (internship course) |
| M.S. Nutritional Sciences | About $13,235 (derived: 34 credits at 2026-27 resident per-credit lines) | About 2 years on average | 34 |
| Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated | 12 |
OU describes its M.A. in Dietetics as Oklahoma’s only Coordinated Program, and ACEND’s 2019 through 2026 decisions and Programs Under Review pages list no other one in the state, though that is not a full census. The Coordinated Program integrates coursework and supervised practice from the first term and can start from 87 to 90 credit hours without a finished bachelor’s degree. A separate route pairs a stand-alone internship with a master’s for applicants who already hold a verification statement.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus, Oklahoma City, for the Coordinated Program, combined M.S./internship, internship, and M.S., with supervised practice at sites across Oklahoma; M.S. electives may be taken online, in Tulsa, or in Norman; the applied nutrition certificate is online |
| Credit Hours | Coordinated Program: 68; combined M.S./internship: 34; M.S.: 34; certificate: 12 |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — a Coordinated Program and a Dietetic Internship, neither a Future Education Model Graduate Program. ACEND recorded full and continued accreditation for both in July 2019 and continued accreditation of the internship after an interim or progress report in July 2024. ACEND’s Programs Under Review page lists both with a site visit dated October 25, 2026, and no decision has been published |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes: the Coordinated Program on completion; the internship, with the M.S. or an existing master’s, for applicants who hold a DPD verification statement. The M.S. alone does not lead to RDN eligibility |
| Supervised Practice | OU’s pages give three different totals for the Coordinated Program: over 1,200 hours in the catalog, more than 1,000 on the program page, and 1,040 in the handbook; the internship is listed at 1,000 minimum, 1,056, and 1,208 hours across pages |
| Reported Outcomes | The program page cites a 3-week time to employment, a $79,000 median salary, and a 100% one-year exam pass rate, with no cohort year; full outcome data is “available upon request” and the handbook lists targets only |
| Coordinated Program Admissions | Fall only; a bachelor’s degree or 87 to 90 credit hours with prerequisites; 2.75 cumulative and prerequisite GPA; chemistry I and II, human physiology, and introductory nutrition at a C or better; DICAS plus the OU Health application, with an asynchronous interview; cohort size and GRE policy not found |
| Internship Admissions | Bachelor’s degree plus a DPD verification statement; 3.0 GPA over the last 60 hours and 3.0 DICAS science GPA; GRE not required; combined track closes April 15, stand-alone internship February 15; up to 15 interns for each |
| Tuition | 2026-27 graduate per credit: $247.00 resident, $954.50 non-resident, plus a $183 Nutritional Sciences program fee for the Coordinated Program and about $67 in hourly mandatory fees |
| Institutional Accreditation | HLC (Higher Learning Commission), reaffirmed in 2023 with the next review in 2032-33 |
Coordinated Program for the Master of Arts in Dietetics
The estimated cost is about $29,240 in tuition and program fee for 68 credits at $430 per credit (2026-27), or about $35,140 including mandatory fees on OU’s own three-fiscal-year estimate sheet. Non-residents pay $954.50 per credit in tuition, about $77,350 in tuition and program fee, or about $83,250 with fees. The program is a 68-credit, non-thesis professional degree over six terms (Fall, Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer).
Structure and Format
- All didactic coursework is on the Oklahoma City campus, with supervised practice at sites across Oklahoma
- Students are on site in year two, so there is no spring break
- OU’s B.S. in Nutritional Sciences is now offered only as part of this program
- A dual option lets students also earn the M.S., double-counting up to 19 hours with a required thesis, which adds about one semester
You Should Know
OU’s own pages disagree on several points. Supervised-practice hours are stated three ways (1,200 plus, 1,000 plus, and 1,040). The application window is “rolling from October” in the catalog but opens August 5, begins rolling review October 1, and closes April 15 on the program page. The catalog’s credit split by year (30, 33, 5) differs from the bursar’s (30, 32, 6), though both total 68. ACEND’s Programs Under Review page lists a site visit on October 25, 2026, so confirm the program’s current status directly.
Admissions
- A bachelor’s degree, or 87 to 90 credit hours including the prerequisites
- 2.75 cumulative GPA and 2.75 prerequisite GPA
- C or better in chemistry I and II, human physiology and introductory nutrition (the last two within five years), plus biology for applicants without a degree
- DICAS and OU Health applications, fall admission only
Combined M.S. in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetic Internship
OU publishes no combined bursar sheet, so the cost is not clearly stated; the M.S. alone is about $13,235 at 2026-27 resident rates, and the stand-alone internship sheet lists a $7,150 program fee, but which sheets apply to this track is unconfirmed. The internship begins each August and lasts 22 months in total, and the 34-credit M.S. counts the internship’s 6-credit supervised-practice course toward its total.
This is a different program from the Coordinated Program. It requires a bachelor’s degree plus a DPD verification statement, applications through both DICAS and the M.S., and a thesis or applied project. Rotations are across Oklahoma, part-time at 20 hours a week or full-time at 40, and some interns must relocate. Verification-statement and exam eligibility require both the internship and the master’s.
Dietetic Internship (Stand-Alone Certificate)
OU’s one-term estimate sheet totals $9,301.75 for residents and $13,546.75 for non-residents in 2026-27 (6 credits plus the $7,150 internship program fee). The stand-alone internship requires a master’s degree already in hand, in any discipline, plus a DPD or Foundation Knowledge verification statement. Rotations run food service, community, clinical, and an elective, about 8, 8, 8, and 4 weeks at 40 hours a week per the handbook.
You Should Know
OU’s internship pages conflict on length (about 6 months versus about 8) and on hours (1,000 minimum, 1,056, and 1,208), and the catalog’s DICAS deadlines and fees are from 2023. OU’s catalog and internship page say accreditation runs through December 31, 2026, while the internship handbook says through 2027. A site visit is listed for October 25, 2026.
M.S. in Nutritional Sciences
The estimated cost is about $13,235 for 34 credits at 2026-27 resident rates ($247 tuition, a $75 allied health program fee, and about $67 in hourly mandatory fees per credit), or about $37,290 for non-residents; this is a derived figure that excludes per-term fees. The degree takes about two years on average, with a thesis (4 to 6 credits) or a 3-credit applied project, and a class of up to 10 a year.
Admission requires a nutrition or dietetics bachelor’s (or department permission), a 3.0 GPA over the last 60 hours, and prerequisites in physiology, introductory nutrition, and organic chemistry, with deadlines of June 1 for fall, October 1 for spring, and March 1 for summer. The M.S. alone is not an ACEND program and does not lead to RDN eligibility.
Interprofessional Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition
This 12-credit online certificate is for health professionals and is not an RD route. Its tuition and duration were not clearly stated on the pages reviewed.
Tuition
OU’s Bursar publishes program-specific estimate sheets, all labeled “estimate.” The per-credit lines for 2026-27 are below, with 2025-26 in parentheses.
- Resident tuition: $247.00 per credit ($233.10); non-resident $954.50 ($900.55)
- Nutritional Sciences program fee (Coordinated Program): $183 per credit in both years
- Hourly mandatory fees: $67.25 ($64.50), capped at 20 hours a term, plus per-term fees
- Coordinated Program sheet totals across its three fiscal years: $35,140 resident and $83,250 non-resident (2026-27 rates); $33,872 and $79,259 (2025-26 rates)
- M.S. program fees: $75 per credit allied health fee plus $62 per term graduate college fee
- Stand-alone internship: 6 credits plus a flat $7,150 program fee; $9,190 resident and $13,195 non-resident in 2025-26
Be aware that:
A real cohort straddles two rate years, so the sheet totals are not a single locked price. A frequently repeated range of $18,494 to $25,822 a year for residents does not match any OU sheet; the Coordinated Program’s annual resident totals run about $15,400 to $16,600. No separate sheet was found for the combined M.S./internship.
Official figures are on OU’s Bursar tuition and fees page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want supervised practice integrated into the degree from the first term, or who already hold a DPD verification statement and want a state-university internship paired with a master’s.
Students aiming for the RD credential can enter the Coordinated Program without a finished bachelor’s degree, with no internship match, at in-state tuition and program fees of about $29,240.
Students who already hold a verification statement can choose the combined M.S. and internship or, with a master’s already in hand, the stand-alone internship.
The honest trade-off is that OU’s own pages disagree on supervised-practice hours and accreditation end dates, a site visit is scheduled for October 25, 2026, and the combined track’s cost is not published.
Accreditation
The University of Oklahoma is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which reaffirmed it in 2023 with the next comprehensive review in 2032-33; one OU handbook still carries older wording about the reaffirmation date. This governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND records full and continued accreditation for OU’s Coordinated Program and Dietetic Internship in July 2019 and continued accreditation of the internship after an interim or progress report in July 2024; no entries appear in 2020 through 2023, 2025, or 2026. Its Programs Under Review page lists OU Health Campus with a site visit dated October 25, 2026 for both programs, and no decision has been published. No term end date appears on ACEND’s pages, and OU’s own pages disagree. The stand-alone M.S. and the certificate carry no ACEND accreditation.
Graduates of the Coordinated Program are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completion. The internship routes require both the internship and the graduate degree, and the stand-alone M.S. does not lead to RDN eligibility.