Department of Health Sciences, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences • Boston, MA • Campus • $2,282/Credit (Graduate, Private, Part Time)
Boston University offers 7 nutrition credentials, and 4 of them lead toward RD/RDN eligibility:
- B.S., Nutrition (Dietetics track is the Didactic Program in Dietetics)
- M.S./Dietetic Internship (BU-run internship)
- M.S. plus a partner-hospital Dietetic Internship
- DPD/M.S./Dietetic Internship (three years, for non-dietetics bachelor’s holders)
- M.S., Nutrition (two semesters, non-RD)
- M.S., Nutrition and Metabolism (School of Medicine, thesis)
- Ph.D., Nutrition and Metabolism
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition | Not clearly stated | 4 years implied | 128 minimum |
| M.S./Dietetic Internship | $88.8K (Sargent’s published total; its components sum to about $87.7K before fees) | About 16 to 17 months (school’s dates, derived) | 32 plus a 6-credit internship (derived 38) |
| M.S. plus Partner Internship | $80.0K to $85.0K (derived: $73,024 to BU plus a $7,000 to $12,000 hospital fee) | Varies by partner | 32 |
| DPD/M.S./Dietetic Internship | $200.7K (Sargent’s published total; it does not reconstruct) | 3 years | 82 (derived) |
| M.S. Nutrition (Two Semesters) | $74.1K (published) | 2 semesters | 32 |
| M.S. Nutrition and Metabolism | $73,024 a full-time year at the Medical Campus rate | 1 to 2 years | 32 units |
| Ph.D. Nutrition and Metabolism | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated |
Boston University has two ACEND programs, a Didactic Program in Dietetics and a Dietetic Internship, and no Coordinated Program or Future Education Model program. Its RD routes pair the DPD with a master’s and an internship: a BU-run internship placed by faculty, or a partner hospital chosen inside the same DICAS application, with a three-year version for applicants who lack a DPD. Nutrition and dietetics sit in Sargent College, while the research M.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition and Metabolism sit in the School of Medicine on the Medical Campus.
Admission to the research M.S. is paused for 2027, and the two-semester M.S. in Nutrition is an applied degree with no internship, which BU’s own page says is required for the RDN credential. BU publishes program totals that do not reconstruct from its tuition tables, so this profile shows both.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus for the B.S., master’s tracks, and internship rotations in Greater Boston. ACEND’s directory also lists the DPD and internship as approved for distance education |
| ACEND Accreditation | DPD (initial 1999, directory term to 2031) and Dietetic Internship (initial 1989, term to 2033), both accredited, with July 2026 site-visit decisions |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | M.S./Internship, partner route, and DPD/M.S./Internship: yes. B.S. alone and the M.S. in Nutrition: no |
| Supervised Practice | BU internship: 29 weeks, 1,334 planned hours, sites arranged by BU within 60 miles |
| Entrance Exams | None. The GRE is not required for the master’s tracks |
| GPA Floor | Master’s tracks: 3.0. Dietetics track gate: C+ average across four science courses |
| Intake | Fall 2027 internship tracks: priority October 8, 2026, secondary January 15, 2027. Two-semester M.S.: rolling to June 25, 2027 |
| Scholarships | A minimum $10,000 merit scholarship for admitted students, not for part-time students |
| Tuition | 2026-27: $73,024 a full-time year or $2,282 per credit; Sargent’s flat semester rate is $36,512 |
| Institutional Accreditation | NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition
The B.S. in Nutrition requires 128 units, above the usual 120, and its tuition was not clearly stated on the pages reviewed. It has three tracks: Dietetics, Nutrition Science, and Nutrition and Health, and only the Dietetics track is the ACEND-accredited DPD.
The Dietetics track requires a C+ average (2.3) across CAS BI 107, BI 108, CH 171, and CH 174, and the DPD issues a verification statement only. A master’s degree and supervised practice are still needed. A Thesis for Distinction requires a 3.5 GPA, and a summer study-abroad option in Padua focuses on the Mediterranean diet. Undergraduate admission requirements were not found.
Master of Science and Dietetic Internship
The BU M.S./Dietetic Internship is priced by Sargent at $88,800, but its own tables give about $87,716 in tuition and the site fee ($73,024 plus two 3-credit internship terms at $6,846 each and a $1,000 site fee), and $88,764 with two semesters of fees. The program requires 32 graduate units before the internship, which is billed as 6 credits, and takes about 16 to 17 months by the school’s dates.
M.S./Internship Curriculum
The degree uses a clinical concentration and requires a 150-hour, 3-credit Graduate Nutrition Practicum graded pass/fail. No thesis or capstone is listed. Coursework can be full or part time, while the internship is full time only, and part-time students receive no merit scholarship and no guaranteed internship start.
- Metabolic Regulation, Nutritional Epidemiology, and Advanced Clinical Nutrition
- Clinical Counseling and Research in Clinical Nutrition
- At least 25 of the 32 units at BU, and a degree time limit of seven years
M.S./Internship Supervised Practice
- 29 weeks full time and 1,334 planned hours, which works out to about 46 hours a week (derived)
- Rotations of 21 weeks clinical, 4 food service, 2 pediatrics, 1 community, and 1 elective
- BU faculty place students and the site approves, with students notified the semester before; sites are up to 60 miles from campus and students provide their own transport
- Affiliates include teaching and community hospitals, BU Athletics, eating-disorder centers, and professional sports teams
The hours run well above the 1,000-hour benchmark, and BU’s pages mention no separate computer match after admission. The internship’s weekly load leaves little room for work or part-time study during those months.
M.S./Internship Admissions
- A DPD or equivalent verification statement, a 3.0 undergraduate GPA as calculated by DICAS ($50), and three letters, a resume, four short essays, and a virtual interview
- GRE scores are not considered
- Fall 2027 dates: pre-select October 1, 2026 for BU DPD students, priority October 8, 2026 (passed), notification November 1, applicant decision date November 10, and a secondary deadline January 15, 2027 if space remains
- Cohort size was not found
You Should Know
BU’s pages disagree on points that change cost, duration, and timing. The internship is a 3-credit course in one table and a 6-credit course in the fees section, billed as 3 plus 3. The completion benchmark is 25.5 months on one page and 24.5 on another, and the degree time limit is seven years on the bulletin and five on the two-semester M.S. page. Sargent’s cost table says it is based on 2025-26 rates but uses the 2026-27 figure, and a $10,000 merit scholarship is labeled for the 2025-26 application year.
Master of Science plus Partner Dietetic Internship
The partner route pairs the 32-credit BU master’s ($73,024, full time only) with an internship at a partner hospital, whose fee is paid to the hospital. Applicants choose a partner inside DICAS and are considered by BU and the partner at the same time; length, start date, and rotations vary by partner, and some partners require a clinical concentration.
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: $7,000 internship fee, about $80,024 in tuition and fee (derived); ACEND term to June 30, 2033
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital: $8,000, about $81,024; term to June 30, 2032
- Massachusetts General Hospital: $8,000, about $81,024; term to December 31, 2033
- Hebrew Rehabilitation Center: $9,250, about $82,274; term to June 30, 2032
- Delicious Living Nutrition: $12,000, about $85,024; term to June 30, 2029
The internship verification statement comes from the partner site, and BU does not itemize other hospital fees. Each partner is its own ACEND program, not covered by BU’s accreditation.
DPD, M.S., and Dietetic Internship (Three Years)
The three-year route is for applicants with a non-dietetics bachelor’s: the DPD in years one and two, then the M.S. and internship. Sargent publishes $200,740, but five full-time semesters ($182,560), two 3-credit internship terms ($13,692), and the $1,000 site fee come to $197,252 before fees, so the published total does not reconstruct. BU does not state the total credits; the tuition table implies 82 (derived).
The route starts only in September, shares the internship’s 29 weeks and 1,334 hours, and shares its deadlines. Prerequisites in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, anatomy, statistics, and writing must be under 10 years old with at least a C. It combines two ACEND programs and is not a Coordinated Program.
Master of Science, Nutrition (Two Semesters)
The two-semester M.S. costs $74,072, which reconciles ($73,024 plus two $524 fee terms). It requires 32 credits at the 700 level or above, in person, full or part time. BU says it does not include an internship, which the RDN credential requires.
The core is Biostatistics, Nutritional Epidemiology, Metabolic Regulation, Nutrition and Disease Prevention or Life Course Community Nutrition, and Nutrition Research, plus at least 14 credits in a concentration. A 150-hour practicum is optional, and no thesis is listed. Admission needs a 3.0 GPA and three letters through BU’s own $95 application, not DICAS, with nine prerequisite courses waived for DPD holders. Rounds close October 8 and December 15, with rolling review to June 25, 2027.
Master of Science, Nutrition and Metabolism
The M.S. in Nutrition and Metabolism sits in the School of Medicine’s Graduate Medical Sciences on the Medical Campus and is priced at the same $73,024 a full-time year. It requires 32 units, at least 28 in courses and 4 in research, with a mandatory thesis, and usually takes two years or one calendar year. Admission for the master’s is paused for 2027.
It has two tracks, Biochemical and Molecular, and Human Nutrition Research, and admission expects standard premedical requirements. GPA and GRE requirements were not found, and the page makes no ACEND or RD claim.
Doctor of Philosophy, Nutrition and Metabolism
The Ph.D. accepts applications only through Programs in Biomedical Sciences, and an MD/Ph.D. option also exists. Its funding, credit requirements, and duration were not found. Sargent’s own Ph.D. is in Human Physiology, not nutrition.
Tuition
Boston University’s published 2026-27 graduate rate is $2,282 per credit for part-time students and $73,024 for a full-time year, the same for the Medical Campus. Sargent bills full-time students a flat $36,512 a semester for 12 to 18 credits, which equals 16 credits at $2,282, and BU is private with one rate for all students.
- Fees: a Student Services fee of $229 and a Health and Wellness fee of $295 each semester, $524 in all, plus health insurance of $4,054 a year unless waived
- Internship costs: a $1,000 nonrefundable site fee, and placement costs of about $125 each
- Sargent’s published totals: two-semester M.S. $74,072, M.S./Internship $88,800, DPD/M.S./Internship $200,740
- Derived: partner route $80,024 to $85,024 in tuition and hospital fees; two-semester M.S. with insurance about $78,126
- A minimum $10,000 merit scholarship is guaranteed to admitted students per Sargent, labeled for the 2025-26 application year
Be aware that:
Two of Sargent’s published totals do not reconstruct from its own tables. The M.S./Internship comes to $87,716 in tuition and site fee, or $88,764 with two fee terms, against the published $88,800, and the three-year route comes to $197,252 before fees against $200,740. Part-time students are not eligible for the merit scholarship, and the internship adds a site fee, placement costs, and about 46 hours a week of unpaid work.
Official figures are on BU’s tuition and fees and Sargent’s graduate tuition pages.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want a clinical dietetics route in Boston and who can pay private-university tuition for a master’s, an internship, and the DPD that comes first.
What the money buys. The M.S./Internship at about $88,800 includes the master’s the credential now requires and 1,334 planned practice hours with sites arranged by BU. The partner route runs about $80,000 to $85,000 and lets you choose a hospital, while the two-semester M.S. at about $74,000 buys the degree but not the internship.
Where the value depends on your starting point. A BU undergraduate in the Dietetics track can use the October 1 pre-select, and a career changer can take the three-year route that adds the DPD, at about $200,740. Applicants who already hold a DPD can go straight to the M.S./Internship.
What it does not buy is a research track in dietetics, since the thesis-based Nutrition and Metabolism degrees sit in a different school and the master’s is paused for 2027.
Accreditation
Boston University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), as stated on its Graduate Medical Sciences page, which matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid. NECHE dates were not found on BU’s pages.
ACEND’s directory lists two Boston University programs: the Didactic Program in Dietetics (initial accreditation 1999, B.S. offered, term to December 31, 2031) and the Dietetic Internship (initial 1989, M.S. offered, term to December 31, 2033). ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation of both after a site visit in July 2018, of the DPD after a progress report in January 2019, and of both again after a site visit in July 2026. BU does not appear on the Programs Under Review page, and ACEND lists no BU Coordinated Program or Future Education Model program.
The directory shows different terms for the two programs even though both received the same July 2026 decision type, and it was not clear whether the directory reflects that decision. The partner hospitals hold separate ACEND accreditation. The two-semester M.S., the Nutrition and Metabolism degrees, and the Ph.D. are not ACEND programs, which is normal for those degree types. A graduate of the M.S./Internship or partner route completes the degree and supervised practice and can sit for the CDR exam, while a graduate of the B.S. or the two-semester M.S. alone cannot.