Department of Nutrition, School of Sciences and Health Professions • Boston, MA • Campus (B.S., Internship), Online or Campus (M.S.) • $1,330/Credit (Graduate, Private)
Simmons University offers 6 nutrition credentials, and four of them are steps on the route to RD/RDN eligibility:
- B.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (the Didactic Program in Dietetics)
- Didactic Program in Dietetics Certificate (post-baccalaureate)
- M.S., Nutrition and Health Promotion
- Dietetic Internship (stand-alone)
- Combined M.S./Dietetic Internship (Simmons track or partner internships)
- Sports Nutrition Graduate Certificate (online)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics | $48.3K/yr flat; $193.2K over four years (derived) | 4 years (8 semesters, derived) | 128 university minimum |
| DPD Certificate | $1,330 per credit; up to about $102.4K if no credits transfer (derived) | 1 to 2 years | Not clearly stated |
| M.S. Nutrition and Health Promotion | $39.9K (30 credits at $1,330, derived) | 1 year full time, 2 to 4 part time | 30 |
| Dietetic Internship | $15,960 (12 credits at $1,330) | 35 weeks | 12 |
| Combined M.S./Dietetic Internship | $53.2K (31 plus 9 credits, per the bursar) | 21 months | 40 (derived) |
| Sports Nutrition Certificate | $15,960 (12 credits at $1,330) | Not clearly stated | 12 |
Simmons runs the RD route as parallel paths inside one department: its own 35-week dietetic internship, a 21-month combined M.S./Internship, and a joint M.S. that attaches six separately accredited partner internships through one DICAS application, two of them at a distance. The M.S. in Nutrition and Health Promotion is not itself ACEND-accredited; the accredited pieces are the Didactic Program in Dietetics and the internship, and Simmons has no Coordinated Program or Future Education Model program.
Seats are limited: the catalog says the stand-alone internship takes up to 6 students and the combined track up to 18 a year. Simmons’s department page reports a 100% first-attempt exam pass rate for 2025 against 85% nationally, and a 100% internship placement rate for DPD graduates in 2024 and 2025.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | B.S. and internship: campus. M.S.: online or Boston campus with evening classes. Combined M.S./Internship: hybrid, with an online or campus M.S. start and in-person practice |
| ACEND Accreditation | DPD (initial 1974) and Dietetic Internship (initial 1989), both accredited with terms to June 30, 2031. No Coordinated Program |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Through the DPD, a master’s degree, and an accredited internship. The M.S. alone does not qualify |
| Supervised Practice | At least 1,000 hours, about 36 hours a week, five days a week, unpaid, within driving distance of Simmons |
| Cohort Size | Stand-alone internship: up to 6. Combined M.S./Internship: up to 18 a year |
| Entrance Exams | No GRE required for the DPD certificate or the M.S. |
| GPA Floor | DPD certificate: 3.0. M.S.: 3.0 prerequisite GPA. B.S. major: 2.7. Internship: not found |
| Intake | Priority dates May 1 (fall) and October 15 (spring). Internship priority date October 8, no year stated |
| Tuition | 2026-27: graduate $1,330 per credit plus a $135 semester fee; undergraduate $24,154 a term |
| Institutional Accreditation | NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Dietetics
The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics is $48,308 a year, flat for 12 to 18 credits, or about $193,232 over four years (derived, 2026-27). Simmons does not state a total for the degree; its university minimum is 128 credits.
B.S. Curriculum
The major carries a heavy science base that comes before the 200- and 300-level nutrition courses: general biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology I and II, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and statistics. The nutrition courses include Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II, Nutrient Metabolism, and a capstone. Students apply to the major internally, with a 2.7 minimum GPA over the first year plus one semester, C or better in science courses, and B- or better in nutrition courses.
The B.S. includes no supervised practice. Graduates need a separate internship and a master’s degree. A separate Nutrition and Wellness B.S. does not fulfill the DPD requirements, and an accelerated 4+1 route lets Simmons undergraduates move into the M.S.
Didactic Program in Dietetics Certificate
The DPD Certificate is a post-baccalaureate route to the verification statement for people with a degree in another field. It is billed at $1,330 per credit, and no credit total is published; the listed courses sum to about 77, so an applicant with no transfer credit would pay up to about $102,410 (derived upper bound). It takes one to two years.
DPD Certificate Admissions
- Bachelor’s degree and a 3.0 GPA; no GRE and no prerequisites needed to apply
- Priority dates of May 1 for fall and October 15 for spring
- At least 7 courses must be taken at Simmons, including Medical Nutrition Therapy, Clinical Dietetics, and Dietetics Profession; science courses must be in person with labs
- Transfer recency limits of 5 years for nutrition, anatomy and physiology, and biochemistry, and 10 years for other courses
Students who pair the certificate with the Simmons M.S. can use master’s courses to replace three DPD courses. Tufts’ Friedman School also uses the certificate for a joint M.S./DPD route.
You Should Know
Simmons’s program page and catalog describe the DPD as in-person with all courses on campus, while the M.S. page mentions both online and on-campus DPD options and ACEND’s directory lists a combination of in-person and online coursework. Confirm the delivery, since the science courses must be in person with labs either way.
Master of Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion
The estimated tuition for the M.S. in Nutrition and Health Promotion is about $39,900 (30 credits at $1,330, derived). The program has 10 courses, requires a B or better in each, and takes one academic year full time or two to four years part time.
M.S. Curriculum
Students choose between an Applied Nutrition Science track that ends in a research project and manuscript, and an Entrepreneurship track that uses School of Management courses and ends in a business plan. The degree meets the CDR master’s requirement but is not ACEND-accredited and does not lead to RD eligibility on its own. Simmons offers it fully online or on the Boston campus with evening classes.
M.S. Admissions
- Bachelor’s degree with general chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology I and II with labs, introductory nutrition, biochemistry, and statistics, all completed within 10 years and graded
- A 3.0 prerequisite GPA; the catalog adds a 3.0 cumulative GPA; no GRE
- Online prerequisite courses need syllabus pre-approval; priority dates are May 1 and October 15
You Should Know
The program pages say 30 credits, but the bursar’s combined M.S./Internship line says a 31-credit master’s, a difference of $1,330. The Entrepreneurship track is described as nine required courses plus an elective, though only eight required courses are named. Part-time length is two to three years on the program page and two to four in the catalog.
Dietetic Internship
The Dietetic Internship costs $15,960 for 12 credits (9 internship plus 3 graduate credits at $1,330). It is a full-time, 35-week non-degree certificate running September to early May, with a two-week break over the winter holidays.
Internship Supervised Practice
- At least 1,000 hours, about 36 hours a week for five days a week, unpaid
- Rotations of 11 weeks acute care, 4 weeks food service, 16 weeks community, and 1 to 2 weeks of professional practice by choice
- Concentrations in Community Nutrition, Pediatrics, and Treatment of Eating Disorders, the last two with limited spots and an application
- Simmons places interns itself, weighing intern preference, transportation, and demographic balance; interns must live within driving distance
Internship Admissions
Stand-alone applicants need a DPD verification statement and a graduate degree or one in process, and external applicants apply through DICAS. Simmons B.S., M.S., and DPD certificate students use an internal preselect in early January, with notice before February 1. The stand-alone internship takes up to 6 students, and an internship GPA floor was not found.
You Should Know
Simmons’s graduate nutrition page shows an internship priority date of October 8 with no year, and it has passed for this cycle. The 2026-27 catalog still refers to the fall 2025 and spring 2026 DICAS cycles and an internal preselect in January 2026, so its dates are stale.
Combined Master of Science and Dietetic Internship
The bursar prices the combined route at $41,230 for the 31-credit master’s plus $11,970 for the 9-credit internship, or $53,200 (published components; 40 credits at $1,330). It takes 21 months, with graduate courses in the first academic year and supervised practice starting the following September.
Simmons offers two versions. The Simmons track pairs the M.S. with its own internship under one application, with up to 18 students a year. The partner version pairs the M.S. with a separate internship at one of six sites, through one DICAS application: the offer is the Simmons M.S. plus the highest-ranked internship that accepts the applicant, and the deposit drops to $200.
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: 10 months, accredited, term to June 30, 2033
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital: 11 months, term to June 30, 2032
- Massachusetts General Hospital: 10 months, term to December 31, 2033
- Hebrew Rehabilitation (Roslindale): 9 months, term to June 30, 2032
- Wellness Workdays (Hingham, MA): fully online coursework with student-identified supervised practice, term to December 31, 2031, and a July 2026 progress report
- Be Well Solutions (Cleveland, OH): fully online coursework with student-identified supervised practice, term to June 30, 2028
Each partner is its own ACEND program with its own accreditation and length, and Simmons does not publish a partner internship’s cost or a start date for the two distance programs. Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General offer a non-degree internship only.
You Should Know
Simmons lists the combined program as 21 months on its internship page and as a two-year track in the catalog. The internship page names five partners and omits Brigham and Women’s, which the partnerships page, catalog, and student guide include.
Sports Nutrition Graduate Certificate
The Sports Nutrition certificate is 12 credits (three core courses and one application course) offered fully online, or about $15,960 at $1,330 per credit (derived). It prepares for the ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist exam, requires introductory nutrition plus biology with labs, and has no ACEND status or RD link.
Tuition
Simmons’s published 2026-27 rate is $1,330 per credit for the nutrition master’s, the DPD certificate, and the Sports Nutrition certificate, plus a $135 student fee each semester. Simmons is private and charges one rate regardless of residency, and the tuition page lists no separate online rate.
- Dietetic Internship: $15,960 for 12 credits
- Combined M.S./Internship: $41,230 for 31 credits plus $11,970 for 9 credits, $53,200 in all
- 2025-26 rate for comparison: $1,315 per credit and a $130 fee, so 2026-27 is up $15 per credit, about 1.1%
- Undergraduate: $24,154 a term and $48,308 a year, flat for 12 to 18 credits, and $1,510 per credit beyond that or part time
- DPD catalog costs: a lab coat at $35, an optional ADA membership at $58, transportation of about $40 a semester, and DICAS at about $55 plus $25 per additional program
Be aware that:
The number of semesters billed for the $135 fee is not published, so the derived totals exclude it. The 2025-26 bursar block also listed third-party records and a background check at $90, health insurance at $8,172 if needed, books at about $100, and the CDR exam at $200, which are missing from the 2026-27 block. The DPD certificate’s cost depends entirely on how many credits transfer, and fieldwork is unpaid.
All applicants are reviewed for a Simmons merit scholarship, per the partnerships page. Official figures are on Simmons’ graduate tuition and fees page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want to pick an RD route by their starting point: career changers, DPD holders who need an internship, and people who cannot relocate to Boston for practice.
If you hold a bachelor’s in another field, the DPD certificate gives the verification statement without a second bachelor’s, and the combined M.S./Internship then carries the master’s and the practice together. The certificate’s cost depends on transfer credit, so request an evaluation first.
If you already hold a DPD and a master’s, the stand-alone internship is a 35-week, $15,960 option, but it takes only up to 6 students and requires living within driving distance.
If you cannot relocate, the M.S. can be taken fully online and paired with the Be Well or Wellness Workdays internship, where students identify their own supervised-practice sites. Those programs have their own accreditation and length, and Simmons does not publish their costs.
If you are a Simmons undergraduate, an internal preselect in early January and the 4+1 route into the M.S. give an advantage not offered to outside applicants.
Accreditation
Simmons is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), first accredited in 1929, with its next evaluation listed for fall 2030. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.
ACEND’s directory lists a Simmons Didactic Program in Dietetics (initial accreditation 1974, B.S. offered) and a Dietetic Internship (initial 1989, M.S. offered), both accredited with terms ending June 30, 2031. ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation of both after a site visit in January 2023, with no other Simmons entry from 2019 through 2026 and none on the Programs Under Review page. The decision pages print no term, so the 2031 date comes from the directory alone.
The M.S. in Nutrition and Health Promotion, the Sports Nutrition certificate, and the Nutrition and Wellness B.S. are not ACEND programs. The partner internships hold their own accreditation and are not covered by Simmons’s. A graduate of the DPD holds a verification statement and still needs a master’s degree, an internship, and the CDR exam, and Simmons withholds the internship’s verification statement until the master’s is complete.