School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Services • Ypsilanti, MI • Hybrid (Campus Cohort) or Online Coursework (Distance Cohort) • $1,046.50/Credit (Graduate, Resident, 2026-27)
Eastern Michigan offers 2 dietetics credentials, both master’s-level Coordinated Programs, plus a nutrition minor:
- Dietetics Combined B.S. and M.S. (for students who still need a bachelor’s degree)
- M.S., Dietetics (open to any regionally accredited bachelor’s degree)
- Human Nutrition Minor (20 to 22 credits, non-teaching)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combined B.S. and M.S. in Dietetics | $49,166 to $50,723 resident (program estimate labeled 2025/2026, five semesters of program courses only) | About five years | 147 (64 undergraduate major plus 23 to 26 graduate) |
| M.S. Dietetics | $52,995 to $54,552 resident (same estimate); the 30 to 33 degree credits alone are about $31,395 to $34,535 at 2026-27 rates | A little over 2 years full time; handbook says 28 months | 30 to 33, plus 41 foundational credits |
Eastern Michigan’s differentiator is two cohorts of the same program: a campus cohort of 18 to 19 students and a distance-online cohort of about 30, the latter offered since 2003 and, by EMU’s account, the first of its kind in the country. Supervised practice stays in person in both, and distance students must secure their own preceptors at least 100 miles from campus before applying.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus cohort: Hybrid, with Friday and some Thursday classes and supervised practice 2 to 4 days a week within 100 miles of campus. Distance cohort: coursework online, mostly asynchronous with some real-time Zoom meetings, and in-person supervised practice at sites the student secures |
| Credit Hours | Combined program: 147 total; M.S.: 30 to 33 degree credits plus 41 foundational credits |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — Coordinated Program in Dietetics. ACEND recorded full and continued accreditation in July 2018 and October 2023 (after a site visit), and approved closing the program’s standalone undergraduate track in January 2021. EMU lists a next site visit in 2031; ACEND’s pages give no term end date |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, through either track, which combine coursework, supervised practice, and the graduate degree; EMU says its Coordinated Program is not a dietetic internship and is not affiliated with one |
| Supervised Practice | About 1,000 hours per the program page and FAQ, 1,040 on the timeline sheets (the itemized hours sum to 1,024), concurrent with coursework; distance students need at least 50% in-person hours in each major area |
| Reported Outcomes | A program deck cites a 73% first-attempt exam pass rate (2019 to 2023) and 93% within one year (2021 to 2023), and 100% employer-rated entry-level (no year); full data is “available upon request” |
| Admissions | DICAS due mid- to late January; decisions by March 1; Summer I (May) start; M.S. needs a 2.75 GPA (below that, a 3.5 prerequisite GPA) and the combined track 3.00; 24 volunteer hours and two reference forms; GRE not listed |
| Cohort Size | 18 to 19 on campus and 30 distance-online per an information session; the FAQ says 20 to 30 online |
| Tuition | Graduate 500 to 699 level: $1,046.50 resident, $1,813.00 non-resident per credit (2026-27); $1,016 and $1,760 in 2025-26 |
| Institutional Accreditation | HLC (Higher Learning Commission) |
Master of Science, Dietetics (Coordinated Program)
The estimated cost is $52,995 to $54,552 for residents on EMU’s own program estimate, which covers five semesters of program courses only and is labeled 2025/2026; no 2026-27 estimate has been published. At 2026-27 per-credit rates, the 30 to 33 degree credits alone run about $31,395 to $34,535 for residents and $54,390 to $59,829 for non-residents, before fees and the 41 foundational credits.
Structure and Entry
- Open to any regionally accredited bachelor’s degree; 41 foundational credits (mostly undergraduate-level) come before 27 required graduate courses and a 3-to-6-credit culminating experience of thesis, research, or writing
- Pre-application prerequisites due before January 1 include anatomy and physiology, introductory dietetics, and chemistry; pre-admission prerequisites are due before May 1
- Full time takes a little over two years; a part-time option of three to four years must be arranged at application
You Should Know
Eastern Michigan’s pages disagree on the program’s length (a little over 2 years, 28 months, or five semesters of program courses), its first-accreditation year (1974 or 1975), and whether out-of-state online students pay the resident rate: EMU’s tuition page says all online courses are charged the resident rate, while the dietetics tuition PDF says only Michigan residents get the graduate resident rate. Confirm your rate before applying.
A frequently quoted $17,004 resident figure is not a dietetics number: it matches an annual first-time undergraduate tuition-and-fees figure for 30 credits from a statewide report. The M.S. in Human Nutrition that older pages describe as online and non-RD appeared in the 2024-25 catalog but is absent from the current catalog and program pages, and no discontinuation notice was found.
Dietetics Combined B.S. and M.S.
The estimated cost is $49,166 to $50,723 for residents on EMU’s program estimate (labeled 2025/2026). Students earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s in about five years, with 64 undergraduate major credits and 23 to 26 graduate credits; the catalog lists 147 credits in all and marks the page “Revised Program, Fall 2026.”
- Entry requires 76 undergraduate credits and all general education completed before starting in Summer I (May)
- The combined track requires a 3.00 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, and the same three culminating options
- The standalone bachelor’s in dietetics no longer exists; ACEND approved closing the undergraduate track in 2021, and EMU’s current tracks are the two above
Tuition
Eastern Michigan charges graduate students $1,046.50 per credit as residents and $1,813.00 as non-residents for 500 to 699 level courses in 2026-27; there is no graduate differential for dietetics.
- Graduate 2025-26: $1,016 resident, $1,760 non-resident; a 3% increase brought the resident rate to $1,046.50
- Undergraduate 2026-27: $717.50 per credit for 1 to 11 credits and $8,550 flat for 12 to 16 credits, one rate for all residencies ($700 and $8,342 in 2025-26), plus a $60 per credit program fee for health sciences courses at the 300 to 499 level
- Online class fee of $80 per credit at the 0 to 499 level, and a hybrid fee of $60 per credit for Fall 2026 only; graduate students pay no online fee on graduate-level courses
- Incidental costs run about $4,151 to $4,759 on EMU’s sheet, including a $110 graduation fee
Be aware that:
EMU’s program estimate includes an $80-per-semester recreation fee that students may opt out of, and its 2025/2026 figures have not been updated. The 2025-26 per-credit rates come from a statewide tuition report because an archived EMU page was not found.
Official figures are on EMU’s tuition page and the dietetics program’s tuition and fees estimates.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want supervised practice built into the degree and need either a campus cohort near Detroit or a distance-online option they can arrange where they live.
Students without a bachelor’s can use the combined track and finish both degrees in about five years.
Students who live far from campus can take coursework online, but must line up three preceptors and in-person sites at least 100 miles away before applying.
The honest trade-off is cost and legwork: the five-semester estimate runs from about $49,000 to $55,000 for residents, and distance students carry the burden of arranging their own sites.
Accreditation
Eastern Michigan is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), first accredited in 1915; a 2018 action letter set the next reaffirmation for 2027-28, which was not confirmed as current. This governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND lists Eastern Michigan’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics under full and continued accreditation in July 2018 and October 2023, with a January 2021 approval to close the undergraduate track that did not close the program. No probation, reorganization, or closure of the whole program appears. EMU lists a next site visit in 2031; ACEND’s directory would not load, so no official term end was confirmed. The minor carries no ACEND status.
Graduates of either track complete accredited coursework, a graduate degree, and supervised practice together and are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam.