Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment • Lexington, KY • Campus and Online • $806 to $842/Credit (Graduate, Public, Resident)
The University of Kentucky lists 8 nutrition credentials across three colleges and units, and 3 of them are ACEND-accredited programs:
- Accelerated Coordinated Program, a B.S. in Dietetics with an M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems and supervised practice (ACEND coordinated program; the single-institution RD route)
- B.S. in Dietetics, the Didactic Program in Dietetics (ACEND-accredited; on campus or as an online completer)
- UK HealthCare Dietetic Internship (ACEND-accredited, post-master’s, non-degree)
- M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems (thesis, online, or accelerated pathways; not an RD route on its own)
- M.S. in Nutritional Sciences, Clinical Nutrition Track (online, College of Medicine and Health Sciences; not an RD route)
- Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine (online, 12 credits)
- B.S. in Human Nutrition (not an RD route)
- Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences (College of Medicine; not an RD route)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerated Coordinated Program | $38,412.50 in tuition and fees for the phases after year 2.5 (derived, resident) | About 4.5 years per the handbook; the web page says otherwise | B.S. 120 plus M.S. 30 |
| B.S. Dietetics (DPD) | $14,177 a year on campus; $40,020 for the 60 online major credits (derived) | 4 years | 120 |
| UK HealthCare Dietetic Internship | Tuition not published; $15 an hour stipend | 8 months | Non-degree; about 1,280 hours |
| M.S. Nutrition and Food Systems | $24,180 online; $25,245 on campus resident (derived) | 12 to 24 months | 30 |
| M.S. Nutritional Sciences, Clinical Nutrition Track (Online) | $24,180 (derived) | 18 months | 30 |
| Graduate Certificate, Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine | $10,464 online (derived) | Not stated | 12 |
The lead fact is that Kentucky has three ACEND-accredited paths at one university and neither online master’s is one of them. The Accelerated Coordinated Program bundles the bachelor’s, the master’s, and supervised practice for about 14 students a class. The online master’s degrees supply only the graduate-degree step and suit people who already have, or will separately complete, a DPD and supervised practice.
The university has two different online master’s programs. The M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems sits in the dietetics department, and the M.S. in Nutritional Sciences with a Clinical Nutrition Track sits in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences. The Ph.D. and the campus M.S. in Nutritional Sciences are also in the College of Medicine, not the dietetics department.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Coordinated Program: campus, with online summer courses and in-person rotations across Kentucky. DPD: campus, with an online completer. Master’s degrees and certificate: online, asynchronous, or on campus for the thesis pathway. Internship: campus |
| ACEND Accreditation | Coordinated Program and DPD: accredited, terms end December 31, 2031. UK Hospital Dietetic Internship: accredited, term ends June 30, 2032 |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Coordinated Program: yes. DPD plus internship: yes after a master’s. The master’s degrees, certificate, and Human Nutrition B.S.: no on their own |
| Supervised Practice | Coordinated Program: 1,068 hours per the handbook table. Internship: about 1,280 hours |
| Entrance Exams | No GRE for the master’s degrees; DICAS for the internship |
| GPA Floor | Coordinated Program: 3.0 cumulative and major. Internship: 3.0. M.S.: 2.75. DPD: 2.4 cumulative for upper-division entry |
| Intake | Coordinated Program: apply in fall of year 3. Internship: September start. Online programs: spring, summer, and fall terms |
| Tuition | 2026-27: $841.50 per graduate credit resident on campus; $806 online for everyone; undergraduate $7,088.50 a semester resident |
| Institutional Accreditation | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges |
Accelerated Coordinated Program
The Accelerated Coordinated Program combines the 120-credit B.S. in Dietetics with a 30-credit M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems and supervised practice, ending in a verification statement. The estimated tuition and fees for the phases after year 2.5 are $38,412.50 for a resident (derived: two undergraduate semesters at $7,088.50, two graduate semesters at $7,688, and two summers), excluding the first years, course fees of about $582, books, and housing.
ACP Curriculum
Graduate courses include advanced nutrition, medical nutrition therapy I and II, counseling, culinary medicine, and the supervised practice courses with an evidence-based practice project. Rotations cover medical nutrition therapy, food service systems management, and community nutrition, and the handbook table totals 1,068 hours.
ACP Admissions
- A current full-time UK B.S. in Dietetics student applies in the fall of year 3 with a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 major GPA; about 14 students are admitted a class
- The application is internal and does not use DICAS; a deadline and GRE policy were not found
- Summer courses in years 3 and 4 are online, rotations are in person across Kentucky, and students arrange their own housing
- One student a year can receive the Breeding Smith Edge Fellowship
You Should Know
The page describes 3.5 undergraduate years plus a graduate year plus 7 months of supervised practice, while the 2026-27 handbook shows a 4.5-year plan with practice from summer of year 4 to December of year 5. The handbook text says both 1,000 and 1,200 hours, against its 1,068-hour table, and its expense table uses 2025-26 rates. An older handbook asked for a 3.2 cumulative and 3.5 major GPA, so check the current standard. ACEND’s directory lists a combination of in-person and online coursework, while the ACP page says it is in person.
Bachelor of Science in Dietetics
The DPD is the accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics and gives a verification statement only. On campus it costs $14,177 a year in published resident tuition and fees ($7,088.50 a semester), and the online completer is 60 major credits at $667 each, $40,020 (derived), for bachelor’s holders, transfers, and returners after a year away. Upper-division entry needs a 2.4 cumulative GPA, and prior learning does not earn credit.
- The DPD handbook reports about an 86 percent one-year RD exam pass rate and about an 84 percent internship match rate, with no year or cohort
- B.S. Dietetics and B.S. Human Nutrition are separate majors, and a student cannot complete both
- The Human Nutrition B.S. has no ACEND accreditation or verification statement and is 120 credits
UK HealthCare Dietetic Internship
The internship is run by UK HealthCare Nutrition Services rather than the academic department. It is full time for 8 months from September, with about 1,280 hours: 24 weeks of clinical, 4 of food service, and a 4-week rural community rotation with housing provided. It pays a $15 hourly stipend.
- Admission needs a DPD verification statement, a master’s degree completed or in progress, and a 3.0 GPA, with averages of 3.5 or more; it does not give master’s credit
- DICAS opens September 30, applications are due January 18, decisions come by March 1, and acceptance is due March 10; the program aims to accept three interns
- The page reports an 88 percent first-time RD exam pass rate averaged over the last ten years, without the years, and 99 percent completing within 150 percent of the planned length
- ACEND lists a separate University of Kentucky dietetic internship as voluntarily closing on December 31, 2023, which appears to be the department’s own; that is an inference from older handbooks
Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Systems
The M.S. is 30 credits and offered as a fully online or in-person evidence-based practice pathway, a campus thesis pathway of about 18 months with a 6-credit thesis, and an accelerated pathway that lets University of Kentucky undergraduates count up to 12 graduate credits toward both degrees. It is not ACEND-accredited and has no supervised practice, and the department says it meets only the graduate-degree requirement.
- Admission needs a 2.75 GPA (3.0 for graduate coursework), a writing sample, three letters, a CV, a statement, and a $65 fee ($75 international); there is no GRE
- Online deadlines are December 11, 2026 for spring, April 17, 2027 for summer, and July 23, 2027 for fall; thesis consideration deadlines are March 1 for fall and October 1 for spring
- Focus areas are food policy and sustainability, community nutrition and education, and nutritional science and human health, and culinary medicine appears as an elective
- Teaching and research assistantships are available to thesis students
Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences, Clinical Nutrition Track (Online)
The online clinical nutrition track is 30 credits over 18 months, asynchronous, with a capstone and no GRE. It asks for a 2.75 GPA and a bachelor’s in nutrition or dietetics or approved clinical experience, with spring 2027 applications due December 11, 2026 and fall 2027 due July 23, 2027. The page says graduates who already completed an ACEND DPD plus an internship or coordinated program are eligible for the RD credential; it claims neither ACEND status nor supervised practice for the degree itself.
Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine
The certificate is 12 credits, 100 percent online and asynchronous, built with the agriculture, health sciences, and medicine colleges. Required courses are CNU 503, CNU/NS 607, and DHN 593 culinary medicine, plus 6 to 7 elective credits. The online page asks for a 2.5 GPA, and certificate-only students cannot receive federal aid.
Tuition
The University of Kentucky is public, so residency matters except for distance-only study. Figures are from the 2026-27 Trustees schedule and include mandatory fees.
- Graduate on campus: $841.50 per credit and $7,688 per semester for residents; $2,100.50 per credit and $19,024.50 per semester for non-residents
- Graduate distance-only: $806 per credit and $7,239 per semester for residents and non-residents alike
- Certificate: $872 per credit online and $907.50 per credit on campus for residents
- Undergraduate on campus: $7,088.50 a semester resident and $17,923 non-resident; online undergraduate is $667 per credit for everyone
- Derived: a 30-credit online master’s is $24,180; a resident thesis master’s is $25,245, or $63,015 for a non-resident; a non-resident taking only distance courses pays the online rate
- No dietetics differential appears in the schedule
Be aware that:
The university’s academic pages show $841.50 and $2,100.50 for the online M.S. in Nutrition and Food Systems, while its online page shows $806, the distance-only rate, which matters most to non-residents. That master’s also lists 30 credits, but the named courses add to 27. Official figures are on the bursar’s tuition page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited to Kentucky students who want a bachelor’s, master’s, and supervised practice in one admitted cohort, and to professionals who want an online master’s in food systems, clinical nutrition, or culinary medicine.
The coordinated route removes the separate internship match for the roughly 14 students admitted each class. The honest limit is that it is open only to current UK dietetics students, the two online master’s degrees do not include supervised practice, the department’s own internship closed, and several of the program pages disagree on length and hours.
If you already have a DPD, an online master’s and the UK HealthCare internship are a way to assemble the route. If you want a coordinated route as a career changer, check whether the program admits students who are not already enrolled at the university.
Accreditation
The University of Kentucky is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, reaffirmed in 2023. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.
ACEND’s live directory for Kentucky lists the Coordinated Program, with initial accreditation on January 1, 1975, and the Didactic Program in Dietetics, with initial accreditation on July 1, 1974, both with terms ending December 31, 2031. It lists the University of Kentucky Hospital Dietetic Internship, initial accreditation January 1, 1969, with a term ending June 30, 2032. The school’s pages state accreditation but give no term dates.
ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation after a site visit for the Coordinated Program and the DPD in July 2024 and for the hospital internship in October 2023, approval in November 2021 to add a graduate degree to the Coordinated Program, and approval in April 2026 to add distance education to the DPD. The directory also lists distance-education approval for the Coordinated Program without a matching decision. The Programs Under Review page lists no University of Kentucky program. A graduate of the Coordinated Program is eligible for the CDR exam; the master’s degrees and certificate alone are not.
More Nutrition Degrees in Kentucky
- Eastern Kentucky University - Richmond
- Kentucky Nutrition Programs & Online Degrees
- Murray State University - Murray
- Western Kentucky University - Bowling Green