Department of Kinesiology • Jacksonville, AL • Campus • $360–$443/Credit
Jacksonville State University offers 3 nutrition credentials:
- B.S., Exercise Science and Wellness, Nutrition Science Concentration
- Graduate Certificate, Physical Education – Nutrition
- M.S.E., Physical Education, Nutrition Concentration
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition Science | $43.2K / $86.4K | 4 years (8 semesters) | 120 |
| Graduate Certificate | $5.3K / $8.6K | 1 year (2 semesters) | 12 |
| #mse | $13.3K / $21.6K | 1.5 years (3 semesters) | 30 |
Jax State runs nutrition through kinesiology at every level, and that structure decides what each credential is worth. The ACEND-accredited dietetics coursework is a concentration inside a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness, not a nutrition major. The graduate options are physical education credentials with nutrition concentrations, and neither one leads to the RDN credential on its own.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | Bachelor’s concentration, 12-credit graduate certificate, master’s concentration |
| Format | B.S. Campus. Jax State does not state a delivery format for the graduate programs |
| Credit Hours | 120 (B.S.), 12 (certificate), 30 (M.S.E.) |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes, one program. The Nutrition Science concentration is a Didactic Program in Dietetics |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Partial. The DPD gives a verification statement; no program here supplies supervised practice |
| Supervised Practice | None offered. Graduates apply to internships elsewhere after the bachelor’s |
| Specializations | Sports and performance nutrition throughout; exercise physiology is built into both levels |
| Distinctive Coursework | Advanced Methods of Nutritional Assessment; Diet and Performance; Clinical Cardiopulmonary Physiology |
| Research Requirement | No thesis. HPE 450 seminar in the B.S.; HPE 5880 directed study in the M.S.E. |
| Entrance Exams | None for any of the three programs |
| GPA Floor | 2.50 to enter the upper-division B.S.; 2.75 unconditional at the graduate level |
| Tuition | $5,400 per semester at 12 to 18 undergraduate hours; $443 per graduate credit in-state |
| Online Rate Rule | Fully online students pay the in-state rate at both levels, whatever their residency |
| Institutional Accreditation | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) |
Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness, Nutrition Science Concentration
The estimated tuition for the Nutrition Science concentration at Jax State is approximately $43,200 for an Alabama resident and $86,400 for a non-resident, being eight semesters at the published 12-to-18-hour block rate. The program requires 120 credits over four years, with a semester-by-semester plan of study published in the catalog.
This is the credential most people searching for dietetics at Jax State actually need. The Nutrition Science concentration is the university’s Didactic Program in Dietetics, accredited by ACEND since 1966.
Nutrition Science Curriculum
Exercise science is not a garnish here. The degree carries 25 credits of exercise science major coursework against 29 credits of food and nutrition content. Kinesiology, exercise physiology with a lab, biomechanics, exercise prescription and fitness testing are all required. If you want a dietetics degree that is mostly dietetics, this is not it. If you want to work with athletes or in performance settings, the structure is an asset rather than a compromise.
Nutrition content is about a quarter of the degree. Twenty-three concentration credits plus the two introductory food and nutrition courses come to 29 of 120. That is enough to satisfy ACEND’s knowledge requirements, which is what the verification statement certifies, but it is a leaner nutrition core than the credit total might suggest.
The sequence is unforgiving. The catalog requires a C or better in every pre-professional course and in all science courses, and the Kinesiology dismissal policy allows a professional course to be repeated only once and permits no more than three grades of D or F across professional studies courses.
- NSC 420 and NSC 421, Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II
- NSC 429 Advanced Nutritional Metabolism
- FCS 338 Community Nutrition and FCS 325 Quantity Food Production
- FCS 323 Experimental Foods
- BY 283 Health Microbiology, a four-credit science requirement
- HPE 400 Exercise Physiology with HPE 413 lab, and HPE 415 Biomechanics
- HPE 430 Exercise Prescription and HPE 440 Fitness Testing
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- ⚠ The two Jax State sources disagree on the entry gate. The DPD page says assessment into the upper division requires a minimum of 60 semester hours; the 2026-27 catalog says 54. Six credits is a term’s difference in when you can start upper-level coursework, so confirm the current threshold with the Kinesiology office.
- The catalog also lists two criteria the DPD page omits: one written recommendation, and confirmation that you understand the curriculum requirements. Assessment happens only twice a year at a seminar, and missing the seminar delays registration.
- Jax State offers no supervised practice program. A verification statement here is a ticket to apply elsewhere, and the department’s own ACEND objectives set the floor at half of graduates applying within a year and 60 percent of those being admitted.
- The verification statement also qualifies graduates for the Nutrition and Dietetic Technician, Registered examination, which is a real credential with a shorter path than the RDN and rarely gets mentioned.
The DPD Post-Baccalaureate Plan
Jax State runs a second route to the same verification statement for people who already hold a bachelor’s degree. Rather than repeating a full degree, students complete the DPD required coursework with a minimum 2.5 GPA and receive the verification statement on its own. Faculty evaluate prior nutrition and foods coursework against the program’s learning objectives, so a career changer with relevant credits may need fewer courses than expected. Syllabi are required for any course submitted for evaluation, and credit is not granted for prior work or volunteer experience. Jax State does not publish a credit total for this route because it depends entirely on the transcript.
Nutrition Science Admissions
Students are admitted to the university first and carry an undecided designation until they clear the upper-division gate after the sophomore year.
- Entering students are classified as “ESW_NSC_Undecided” until assessment
- Assessment requires 54 semester hours per the catalog, with an overall 2.50 GPA
- All HPE courses and BY 263 must carry a C or better
- One written recommendation, personal, professional or academic
- A minimum 2.50 GPA must be maintained after assessment or the student is dismissed from the program
- Reinstatement is at the discretion of the ESW committee
Graduate Certificate in Physical Education, Nutrition
The estimated tuition for the Graduate Certificate at Jax State is approximately $5,316 for an Alabama resident or a fully online student, and $8,640 for a non-resident (12 credits at $443 or $720). The program requires 12 credits and can generally be completed in about two semesters at six credits each, a pace derived from the credit total rather than a published schedule.
The graduate certificate is four courses, and every one of them also counts toward the master’s. It is the most useful thing on this page for the right reader, and the live listings for this school do not mention it exists.
Certificate Curriculum
- FCS 5536 Advanced Nutritional Therapy
- FCS 5537 Advanced Methods of Nutritional Assessment
- FCS 5538 Critical Issues in Nutrition and Food Science
- HPE 5336 Diet and Performance
All 12 credits stack into the 30-credit master’s, so taking the certificate first costs nothing extra in tuition. The more interesting property is what it does to admissions. An applicant below the 2.75 undergraduate threshold can be conditionally admitted to the certificate with the Kinesiology department head’s recommendation, and on finishing it with a 3.0 across all certificate hours is unconditionally admitted to the master’s with the undergraduate GPA requirement waived entirely. For someone whose transcript is holding them back, that is a documented second route rather than an appeal.
You Should Know
- Admission requires at least an undergraduate minor in nutrition or its equivalent, judged by the department head. This is not an open-entry certificate.
- Transfer credit is not accepted toward the certificate at all, so all 12 credits must be earned at Jax State.
- Applicants who already hold a master’s degree are admitted unconditionally.
- Stacking is tuition-neutral but not fee-neutral. Spreading 30 credits across more semesters adds a General University Fee each term, so the ladder costs more than going straight into the master’s if it stretches the timeline.
Master of Science in Education, Physical Education with Nutrition Concentration
The estimated tuition for the M.S.E. at Jax State is approximately $13,290 for an Alabama resident or a fully online student, and $21,600 for a non-resident (30 credits at $443 or $720). The program requires 30 credits and can generally be completed in about three semesters at ten credits each, derived from the credit total since Jax State does not publish a program length.
The M.S.E. in Physical Education with a Nutrition concentration is a wellness and sport studies degree, not a nutrition science degree, and it does not lead to teacher certification.
M.S.E. Curriculum
Twelve of the thirty credits are nutrition. The three FCS courses and Diet and Performance make up the nutrition content. The other 18 credits are a core in diversity and trends, law and ethics, applied exercise physiology and research methods, plus a directed study and one further exercise physiology or cardiopulmonary course. That is the honest composition, and it explains why the degree suits performance and wellness roles better than clinical ones.
The concentration includes a choice most listings miss. HPE 5334 Clinical Cardiopulmonary Physiology and HPE 5338 Applied Exercise Physiology II are alternatives, not both requirements. Treating them as separate requirements produces a 33-credit program, which is not what the catalog says.
- HPE 5892 Diversity Issues and Trends in Wellness and Sport Studies
- HPE 5240 Law and Ethics in Wellness and Sports Studies
- HPE 5337 Applied Exercise Physiology I
- HPE 5702 Research in Wellness and Sports Studies
- HPE 5334 Clinical Cardiopulmonary Physiology or HPE 5338 Applied Exercise Physiology II
- HPE 5880 Directed Studies, an independent project or structured literature review
- FCS 5536, FCS 5537 and FCS 5538, the nutrition therapy, assessment and critical issues sequence
You Should Know
- This degree does not carry ACEND accreditation and does not provide supervised practice. It does not make anyone RDN-eligible on its own.
- It can still play a real role in that pathway. The Commission on Dietetic Registration requires a graduate degree, not a graduate degree in nutrition, so a Jax State DPD graduate who completes this master’s and then an accredited internship elsewhere has satisfied the academic side of the requirement.
- An overall 3.00 GPA is required on all coursework attempted, and transfer credit cannot be used to lift the average to that line.
- Conditional admits must reach 3.00 across their first 12 graduate hours or be dropped from graduate studies.
M.S.E. Admissions
- A degree in Exercise Science, Nutrition or a closely related field is required
- Unconditional admission at a 2.75 undergraduate GPA; conditional admission from 2.50 to 2.74
- Completion of the graduate certificate with a 3.0 waives the undergraduate GPA threshold
- Completed application, $35 non-refundable processing fee, and transcripts from the degree-granting institution plus all post-baccalaureate work
- Applications are due one month before the semester starts; later submissions are processed on a best-effort basis with no guarantee of registration
- Undergraduate deficiencies may have to be cleared before admission
Tuition
Jax State’s published cost per credit hour for 2026-27 is $360 for in-state undergraduates and $720 for non-residents, and $443 per graduate credit in-state against $720 for non-residents. Undergraduates enrolled in 12 to 18 hours pay a flat $5,400 a semester in-state or $10,800 non-resident rather than the hourly rate. Fully online students pay the in-state rate at both levels regardless of where they live.
The block plan is deliberate: Jax State charges the same for 12 hours as for 18 and says outright that it is trying to push students toward 15 to 18 hours a term. The dietetics plan of study does not always take that offer, which matters more than it looks.
| Enrollment | In-state or online | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate, 1 to 11 hours | $360 per credit | $720 per credit |
| Undergraduate, 12 to 18 hours | $5,400 flat | $10,800 flat |
| Graduate, per credit | $443 | $720 |
| Effective rate at 12 vs 18 hours | $450 vs $300 | $900 vs $600 |
The last row is the one worth acting on. The published dietetics plan of study runs 16, 13, 17, 16, 17, 16, 13 and 12 hours. Three of those eight terms sit at 13 hours or below, where the flat rate is being paid for a light load.
Confirmed costs
- B.S. tuition, 8 semesters: $43,200 in-state and $86,400 non-resident, a blended $360 and $720 per credit (derived)
- B.S. university fees: General University Fee $760 a semester at 6 or more hours, athletics fee $23 an hour capped at 12 hours, digital instruction fee $18 a credit. Across the degree that is $10,448 (derived)
- B.S. course and lab fees on the dietetics check sheet: about $1,345, driven by $200 apiece for HPE 440, HPE 441 and HPE 450 and $60 to $90 for the food and science labs (derived)
- B.S. all in: roughly $54,993 in-state and $98,193 non-resident (derived, tuition plus fees only)
- Graduate Certificate: 12 × $443 = $5,316, plus about $1,536 in university fees, for roughly $6,852 (derived)
- M.S.E.: 30 × $443 = $13,290, plus about $2,796 in university fees over three terms, for roughly $16,086 (derived)
- Certificate then master’s costs the same $13,290 in tuition as going straight to the master’s, since all 12 credits stack
- Miscellaneous: $35 application fee, $50 degree application, $15 certificate completion fee, textbooks of $250 to $500 and $30 in lab materials for DPD students
Be aware that:
- Figures published elsewhere for this school are generally tuition-only and often a year out of date. Fees add roughly a fifth to the graduate cost and about a quarter to the certificate, which is a larger share than at most universities.
- Nutrition courses carry no differentiated tuition rate. Jax State applies those only to athletic training, business, art, public administration and social work.
- The fee schedule still lists a course fee under “FCS 420 Medical Nutrition Therapy I” while the catalog numbers the course NSC 420. Expect the charge regardless of which prefix appears.
- The JaxBooks program adds $23 plus tax per credit hour unless you opt out, which is not included in any figure above.
- Students enrolled before Fall 2021 may still be billed the per-hour rate on all registered hours rather than the block rate.
- None of these figures are cost-of-attendance bundles. Housing, food and transportation are excluded.
The block rate is the lever an undergraduate can actually pull here. Taking 18 hours instead of 12 drops the effective cost from $450 to $300 a credit, and over four years that difference is larger than the entire fee stack. For graduate students the calculation is simpler and the online rule is the headline: a non-resident who can complete the certificate or master’s fully online pays $443 a credit instead of $720.
Rates are published on the Jax State tuition and fees page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
A good fit for students headed toward sports, performance and wellness nutrition, and for people whose undergraduate record has closed doors elsewhere.
The performance orientation is structural, not marketing. Most dietetics programs bolt a sports nutrition elective onto a clinical core. Jax State does the reverse: exercise physiology, biomechanics, exercise prescription and fitness testing are all required inside the accredited dietetics degree, and the graduate concentration is built on applied exercise physiology and Diet and Performance. A graduate leaves able to talk about training load and substrate use as fluently as about medical nutrition therapy, and the graduate coursework is explicitly aimed at the ISSN sport nutrition certification, which unlike the CSSD specialty credential is open to people who are not registered dietitians.
The certificate is a genuine second chance. Twelve credits, no comprehensive exam, all of it stacking into the master’s, and completing it with a 3.0 waives the undergraduate GPA threshold for master’s admission outright. Very few programs publish a documented route back for an applicant with a weak transcript. This one does, and it is the strongest reason to look at Jax State’s graduate offerings.
Cost is low and the rules reward attention. The undergraduate block rate, the flat online rate that ignores residency, and the absence of any differentiated tuition on nutrition courses combine into a bill that a working or commuting student can manage without borrowing heavily.
The honest drawbacks. There is no supervised practice at Jax State, so the hardest step in the dietitian pathway happens somewhere else, and the program’s own accreditation targets assume only about half of graduates even apply within a year. The bachelor’s devotes as much room to exercise science as to nutrition, which is a trade rather than a bonus if clinical practice is the goal. The master’s is a physical education degree with 12 credits of nutrition in it, and describing it as preparation for becoming a dietitian overstates what it does. Jax State does not publish a delivery format for either graduate program, which is an odd gap given that the online rate is the single biggest cost variable for a non-resident.
Accreditation
Jacksonville State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Institutional accreditation covers every degree at the university and governs credit transfer, recognition of the degree elsewhere, and eligibility for federal financial aid.
Programmatic accreditation is separate and, at Jax State, narrow. The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredits exactly one program here: the Nutrition Science concentration of the Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness, which has held Didactic Program in Dietetics accreditation since 1966. The DPD post-baccalaureate plan produces a verification statement under that same accreditation.
The graduate certificate and the Master of Science in Education carry no programmatic accreditation, and Jax State operates no coordinated program, dietetic internship or graduate program in dietetics. This is normal for wellness and sport studies credentials, but it needs saying plainly, because the graduate concentration is the offering most often surfaced when people search for nutrition degrees at this university and it is the one furthest from the credential they are usually looking for.
Graduates of the Nutrition Science concentration receive a verification statement and may apply to accredited supervised practice programs. On completing supervised practice together with a graduate degree, they are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration examination, which has required a master’s degree at minimum since January 1, 2024. The verification statement also confers eligibility for the Nutrition and Dietetic Technician, Registered examination. Graduates of the certificate or the master’s alone are not eligible for either examination and cannot enter a dietetic internship without a verification statement earned elsewhere. Alabama licenses dietitians, so passing the examination is one step toward practice rather than the last one; confirm current requirements with the Alabama Board of Examiners for Dietetics.
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