Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Henrietta Schmoll School of Health • Saint Paul, MN • Campus • $760/Credit (Graduate, Private)
St. Catherine University lists 4 nutrition credentials, and 1 of them is a route to RD/RDN eligibility, at ACEND candidacy rather than full accreditation:
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (an ACEND Future Education Model graduate program, in candidacy)
- B.S., Applied Science in Nutrition and Dietetics (the 3+2 dual-degree bachelor’s)
- B.S., Nutrition Science (non-RD)
- B.S., Exercise Science and Nutrition (non-RD)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics | $36,480 (48 credits at $760); about $37.8K with fees (derived) | 21 months (4 semesters) | 48 stated; the plan of study sums to 45 to 47 |
| B.S. Applied Science in Nutrition and Dietetics | $53,888 a year in tuition (derived, College for Women) | 4 years, then the M.S. in year 5 | 77 in the major; 120 or more total |
| B.S. Nutrition Science | $53,888 a year in tuition (derived) | 4 years | 47 to 49 in the major |
| B.S. Exercise Science and Nutrition | $53,888 a year in tuition (derived) | 4 years | Not clearly stated |
The lead fact is the accreditation level. ACEND’s directory lists St. Catherine’s graduate program as a candidate for accreditation, granted in April 2023, with a candidacy term ending April 10, 2027, and no decision granting full accreditation had been published through July 2026. The old Didactic Program in Dietetics was voluntarily closed with a teach-out ending May 1, 2024, so no undergraduate program leads to RD eligibility on its own.
The M.S. is open for applications, with Fall 2027 applications posted. ACEND says students who enroll while a program is in candidacy are considered graduates of an accredited program when they complete it, though the program has not yet reported graduates.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus, full-time, with some hybrid courses; ACEND lists in-person plus online |
| ACEND Accreditation | Candidate for accreditation (Graduate Program, initial candidacy April 10, 2023, term to April 10, 2027) |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | M.S.: yes on completion under candidacy. The bachelor’s degrees: no on their own |
| Supervised Practice | 1,014 hours per the program page, concentrated in the final semester, sites within about 60 minutes of the Twin Cities |
| Entrance Exams | The GRE is not mentioned |
| GPA Floor | 3.0 cumulative and in prerequisites, with 125 hours of relevant experience |
| Intake | Fall only; deadline February 1 for entry-level, October 1 for the 3+2 |
| Cohort Size | Not found; the school says a limited number of spaces |
| Tuition | 2026-27: $760 per graduate credit; undergraduate banded $26,944 a semester |
| Institutional Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission, reaffirmed July 2023 |
Master of Science, Nutrition and Dietetics
The estimated tuition for the M.S. at St. Catherine is $36,480 (48 credits at $760), which matches the program page. Adding a $300 technology fee and a $30 activity fee for each of four semesters, if all apply, brings it to about $37,800 (derived). The program takes 21 months over four fall and spring semesters with one fall start.
M.S. Curriculum
Courses include advanced nutrition, medical nutrition therapy I and II, community nutrition I and II, foodservice, culinary and experimental food, and applied research (2 credits), with dietetics practicums and interprofessional learning alongside other health science programs. A research practicum is an alternative to the dietetics practicums, and there is no thesis. Progression needs a 3.0 GPA, and a practicum below 80% is repeated.
M.S. Supervised Practice
- 1,014 hours on the program page, or more than 1,000 in the catalog, integrated in the degree with no separate internship match
- Rotations in acute care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation, outpatient, community, and foodservice, arranged by the program within about 60 minutes of the Twin Cities; the placement guarantee wording was not found
- Dismissal follows more than six competency remediations or two course failures, and up to nine transfer credits may be approved by the director
M.S. Admissions
- A bachelor’s or graduate degree in any field, a 3.0 GPA (with a statement of up to 400 words if lower), and 125 hours of recent relevant paid or volunteer work
- Prerequisites at C or better with a 3.0 prerequisite GPA: anatomy and physiology with labs, general chemistry with lab, psychology, statistics, microbiology with lab, and a foundational nutrition course, five of them done at application
- Four essays of about 200 words, two recommendations, and DICAS; decisions arrive three to four weeks after review on a rolling basis
- The 3+2 route is for current St. Catherine students, who apply in the junior year by October 1 with 95 or 96 credits, a 3.0 GPA, and an 800-word essay
You Should Know
The program page and catalog say 48 credits while the catalog’s plan of study sums to 45 to 47, which could lower the bill by up to $2,280 if billed by actual credits. The 3+2 threshold is 95 credits on one page and 96 on another, and an older accreditation page still describes a Didactic Program as accredited although ACEND shows it closed.
Bachelor of Science, Applied Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
The 3+2 bachelor’s has 77 major credits, including 21 graduate credits in the senior year, with the bachelor’s awarded after year four and the M.S. completed in year five. It is not itself an ACEND program, and a student not admitted to the M.S. completes the Nutrition Science major. It is offered through the College for Women, and the billing of the senior-year graduate credits was not found.
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition Science
The Nutrition Science major is 47 to 49 credits with an internship option of 2 to 4 credits, an applied research course, and five electives. It has no ACEND coverage and no thesis, and the program page notes that a master’s is now needed for the RD credential.
Bachelor of Science, Exercise Science and Nutrition
The combined major includes an exercise testing course that prepares students for the ACSM clinical exercise physiologist exam. It is not an RD route.
Tuition
St. Catherine’s published rate, effective summer 2026, is $760 per graduate credit for the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, and the College for Women bills $26,944 a semester for 12 to 18 credits ($1,684 per credit below 12). Both are private rates, so there is no residency split.
- Undergraduate fees are $300 for technology each term and $147 for student activity each semester, so tuition and fees come to about $54,782 a year (derived), up 3.0% from 2025-26
- A four-year flat estimate at today’s rate is $215,552 in tuition (derived), before room, board, and insurance
- If the senior-year graduate credits of the 3+2 were billed at the graduate rate, the remaining 27 credits would be $20,520 (derived and unverified)
- No nutrition differential or assistantship rules were found
Be aware that:
The graduate fee total assumes both fees bill in every semester, and cost of attendance was not read. Official figures are on St. Catherine’s student accounts page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited to career changers and current students who accept a candidacy-stage program in exchange for a 21-month master’s with the practice built in.
The honest trade-off is the accreditation level: ACEND lists the program as a candidate with a term ending April 2027, a spring 2026 site visit has no published outcome, and the program has no graduates or results yet. The advantage is a single admission that covers the master’s and 1,014 hours, with no internship match, at $760 per credit.
If you are a current St. Catherine undergraduate, the 3+2 route applies in the junior year by October 1. If you want a clear accredited status before enrolling, ask the department for the current decision, and expect a 125-hour experience requirement and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA either way.
Accreditation
St. Catherine is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, reaffirmed on July 21, 2023 with the next review in 2032 to 2033, which matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.
ACEND’s directory lists one St. Catherine program, the Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics, as a candidate for accreditation with an initial date of April 10, 2023 and a term ending April 10, 2027, approved for distance education. ACEND’s April 2023 decisions granted candidacy, its January 2023 decisions list the Didactic Program as voluntarily closing effective May 1, 2024, and no decision granting full accreditation appears through its July 2026 decisions. An archived Programs Under Review page from April 2026 listed St. Catherine as seeking full accreditation with an April 12, 2026 date, and the live page no longer lists it, so a visit appears to have occurred with no outcome yet published.
A graduate of the M.S. completes the degree and supervised practice and, under ACEND’s candidacy rule, can sit for the CDR exam, while a graduate of any of the bachelor’s degrees cannot on that basis. Check ACEND for the program’s current status before applying.