Department of Human Environmental Sciences, College of Education and Professional Studies • Edmond, OK • Campus • $311.86/Credit (Undergraduate, Resident, Tuition and Mandatory Fees)
UCO offers 3 nutrition-related credentials, and runs both halves of the RD route on one campus:
- B.S., Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Management (a single-track degree that houses the ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics)
- M.S., Nutrition and Food Science (food-science tracks, or a dietetics focus that pairs with the internship)
- Dietetic Internship (ACEND-accredited supervised practice, integrated with the M.S.)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Management | About $9,356/yr in tuition and mandatory fees (2026-27); $11,216 with college fees per UCO’s calculator | 4 years | 124 minimum |
| M.S. Nutrition and Food Science with the Dietetic Internship | Graduate tuition not found; the internship adds a $1,000 program fee each fall and spring ($2,000) | 12 months, three semesters, for the internship integrated with the M.S. | 32 for the M.S., including 12 required internship-related graduate hours |
UCO’s differentiator is that it holds both halves of the traditional RD route: an accredited DPD in the bachelor’s and its own accredited internship, designed so the internship and the required master’s finish in one year. The bachelor’s is a single, combined curriculum with a food-management emphasis, not a separate track, and a student can earn the degree without the DPD verification statement.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus; UCO labels the B.S. “On Campus,” with under half of coursework by distance and a few fully online or hybrid courses |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 124 minimum (42 to 44 university core, 11 support, 79 major including 9 business); M.S.: 32 minimum |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — a Didactic Program in Dietetics and a Dietetic Internship. ACEND recorded full and continued accreditation for both in January 2019, for the internship again in July 2019, and continued accreditation after an interim or progress report for both in July 2024. No term end date, probation, or closure was found |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, in steps: the B.S. DPD gives a verification statement, and UCO’s own internship plus the M.S. finish the supervised practice and graduate degree. The B.S. alone does not |
| Supervised Practice | The internship carries 1,000 supervised-practice hours plus 18 hours of alternative experience, at Oklahoma City-area sites; the B.S. includes none |
| Reported Outcomes | None published with figures; “outcomes data is available upon request,” and the handbooks list targets only |
| DPD Admissions | No separate admission process: any UCO-admitted student who declares the major with a 2.5 department GPA is in the program. Students meet the DPD director in junior year for permission to advance, and the verification statement needs a 3.0 GPA in DPD coursework, no grade below C, and 4000-level nutrition courses taken at UCO |
| Internship Admissions | A completed DPD, a 3.0 GPA over the final 87 hours, no D or F in required courses, and a verification statement from the last five years; DICAS, a Graduate College application, and a $40 fee; applicants are ranked on a point system, and the number accepted each semester is not published |
| Tuition | Undergraduate: $311.86/credit resident, $687.46 non-resident (2026-27, tuition plus mandatory fees); $301.45 and $664.35 in 2025-26 |
| Institutional Accreditation | HLC (Higher Learning Commission), next reaffirmation 2032-33 |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Management
The estimated cost is about $9,356 a year in-state for 30 credits at $311.86 per credit, tuition and mandatory fees (2026-27); UCO’s own calculator adds $62 per credit in college facility fees, bringing the resident total to about $11,216. Non-residents run about $20,624, or $22,484 with those fees. The degree is 124 credits.
Curriculum
The catalog lists one program with no options or tracks. The “food management” in its name is part of the single curriculum, including quantity foods, institutional food management, and 9 credits of accounting, management, and marketing, not a separate concentration. Many nutrition courses are offered only once a year, so the DPD sequence concentrates in junior and senior years.
You Should Know
The DPD handbook says “there is no admission process” yet also sets a 2.5 department GPA and a junior-year meeting for permission to enter senior-level classes. UCO’s tuition page is dated August 2024 but shows 2026-27 figures, and it labels the non-resident surcharge as the general tuition fee. Its fee page lists college-specific facility fees ($41 to $53 per credit) while the calculator uses a flat $62. Treat UCO’s calculator as the most current total, and confirm with the bursar.
A non-degree post-baccalaureate DPD plan also exists for bachelor’s holders in other fields, with a transcript evaluation by the DPD director.
M.S. in Nutrition and Food Science and the Dietetic Internship
Graduate tuition for the M.S. was not found on the pages reviewed; the internship adds a $1,000 program fee each fall and spring, $2,000 in all. The M.S. is at least 32 credits, with food-science thesis or non-thesis tracks, or a dietetics focus designed to finish with the internship in 12 months across three semesters.
Internship Structure and Admissions
- 1,000 supervised-practice hours plus 18 hours of alternative experiences, at Oklahoma City-area sites
- Fall application (January start) opens August 5 and closes October 15; spring application (May start) opens December 16 and closes February 15
- DICAS, a Graduate College application, and a $40 UCO internship application fee
- Applicants are ranked on a point system; the number accepted each semester is not published
UCO’s own pages and the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s master’s requirement, effective January 1, 2024, point to the same pairing: the graduate program can be finished at the same time as the supervised practice. The internship page also lists a separate set of generic graduate deadlines (May 15 and October 1 priority dates) that do not match the DICAS windows above. UCO cites no partnership with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center on any page reviewed.
Tuition
UCO’s undergraduate rates come from the Oklahoma State Regents’ fee tables and UCO’s own tuition calculator, per credit hour, tuition plus mandatory fees.
- 2026-27: $311.86 resident ($270.59 tuition plus $41.27 fees), $687.46 non-resident ($646.19 plus $41.27)
- 2025-26: $301.45 resident ($260.18 plus $41.27), $664.35 non-resident ($623.08 plus $41.27)
- Thirty credits in 2026-27: about $9,356 resident and $20,624 non-resident; with the calculator’s $1,860 in college facility fees, about $11,216 and $22,484
- Online and distance courses carry a $60 per-credit fee; the optional resident tuition lock sets an initial rate 5% above the current one
- DPD costs: Food and Nutrition Club dues of $20 and an Academy student membership of $60
Be aware that:
Graduate tuition for the M.S. and the cost of the internship’s graduate credits were not found, so the combined route’s total cannot be stated. Confirm graduate rates with the bursar.
Official figures are on UCO’s tuition page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want to complete the didactic coursework, supervised practice, and required master’s at one university, with business and food-service coursework built into the bachelor’s.
Students aiming for the RD credential can move from the DPD to UCO’s own internship and master’s without a national search, though internship seats are ranked and limited.
Students interested in food service management take quantity foods, institutional food management, and business courses inside the same degree.
The honest trade-off is that no outcome results are published, graduate tuition and internship cohort size were not found, and UCO’s pages disagree on admission rules and fees.
Accreditation
UCO is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), with accreditation continued in 2023 and the next reaffirmation due in 2032-33, plus interim monitoring that included a report due in 2025 whose outcome was not found. This governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND lists UCO’s Didactic Program in Dietetics and Dietetic Internship under full and continued accreditation in January 2019, the internship again in July 2019, and both under continued accreditation after an interim or progress report in July 2024. No term end date, probation, closure, or reorganization appears in 2019 through 2026. UCO’s pages state the accreditation without a term. The M.S. itself is not an ACEND program.
The B.S. DPD alone does not lead to RDN eligibility. Graduates who complete the internship and a graduate degree are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam; Oklahoma also requires state licensure.