Cal State LA Nutrition Degree Programs

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services • Los Angeles, CA • Campus (B.S., M.S., Internship) or Online (Post-Bacc Certificate) • $400/Credit (Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Self-Support)

Cal State LA offers 4 nutrition credentials, and it has no Coordinated Program: that program was voluntarily closed effective December 11, 2020.

  • B.S., Nutritional Science (Option in Dietetics is the ACEND DPD; Option in Community Nutrition and Wellness carries no verification statement)
  • Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nutritional Science (the DPD for bachelor’s holders in other fields, online)
  • M.S., Nutritional Science (Nutrition and Dietetics option, or a thesis-based research option; neither issues a verification statement)
  • Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Dietetic Internship (new, ACEND candidacy, first cohort fall 2026)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S. Nutritional Science$6,838/yr CSU tuition plus about $1,094 in campus fees (2026-27)4 years (120-unit norm)120, 78 in the major
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Nutritional Science$14,000 (35 units at $400, self-support)Three terms, summer through spring35
M.S. Nutritional Science$8,548/yr CSU graduate tuition plus campus fees (2026-27)One year per the handbook; “two-semester” for the dietetics option30 or 40
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Dietetic Internship$10,000 (20 units at $500, self-support)Up to 19.5 months allowed20, with at least 1,000 practice hours

Cal State LA’s differentiator is a newly built in-house RD ladder at public prices: an accredited DPD in the bachelor’s and an online post-baccalaureate DPD for career changers, plus a brand-new internship that holds ACEND candidacy. The ladder has a gap: the master’s here does not provide DPD coursework or a verification statement, and the first internship cohort admits only Cal State LA alumni.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatB.S. and M.S.: campus per the catalog. Post-baccalaureate Nutritional Science certificate: described as fully online on its extension-college page, with Zoom sessions, though the catalog lists Main Campus. Internship: in-person rotations placed by the program
Credit HoursB.S.: 120; post-bacc certificate: 35; M.S.: 30 or 40 depending on option; internship certificate: 20
ACEND AccreditationDPD: accredited, initial 1976, term ending June 30, 2029 per ACEND’s directory. Dietetic Internship: Candidate for Accreditation, granted April 2026, term ending April 20, 2030. Coordinated Program: admission hold May 2019, probation January 2020, voluntary closure effective December 11, 2020
RD/RDN EligibilityNot directly. The DPD gives a verification statement, and graduates then need a graduate degree and an accredited internship. The M.S. here does not provide a verification statement
Supervised PracticeInternship certificate: at least 1,000 hours, in-person rotations; the B.S. and M.S. include none
Reported OutcomesObjectives only (80% completion within 150% of program length, 80% one-year exam pass rate, 50% of applicants matched within 12 months); results are “available on request”
Post-Bacc AdmissionsBachelor’s degree, two letters (one academic), a goals letter, and prerequisites at a C or better; domestic applicants must be California residents; window Feb 28 to Mar 19, 2027 for summer start (a staging copy of the page shows different dates)
M.S. AdmissionsBachelor’s degree, 3.0 GPA in the last 60 units, two letters, goals statement, resume; prerequisites waived for a verification statement or RDN credential; fall only
Internship AdmissionsDPD verification statement and a master’s degree completed before starting; two letters, goals letter, resume; the fall 2026 cohort is Cal State LA alumni only
TuitionCSU 2026-27: $6,838/yr undergraduate, $8,548/yr graduate and post-bacc (6.1+ units); non-resident adds $471 per unit; self-support certificates at $400 and $500 per unit
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Nutritional Science

The estimated cost is $6,838 a year in CSU tuition for residents (2026-27) plus about $1,094 in campus fees, or $3,966 per term for undergraduates taking 6.1 or more units on Cal State LA’s fee page; non-residents add $471 per unit. The degree is 120 units, 78 of them in the major.

  • Option in Dietetics: the accredited DPD, completed with the degree and with no separate application
  • Option in Community Nutrition and Wellness: no verification statement and no RD path
  • Admitted in fall, and spring “in certain instances”; freshman GPA minimums are 2.50 for California residents and 3.00 for non-residents

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nutritional Science (DPD)

The estimated cost is $14,000 for 35 units at a self-support rate of $400 per unit, plus a $25 certificate fee. Coursework runs three terms (a 10-week summer, then fall and spring) for bachelor’s holders in other fields who need the DPD.

  • Prerequisites at a C or better: two biology courses, two chemistry courses, microbiology, math, and one social science course
  • Domestic applicants must be California residents; international students may enroll but receive no F-1 or J-1 sponsorship
  • No minimum GPA or cohort size was found for the certificate
You Should Know

Cal State LA’s catalog lists this certificate on Main Campus, while its extension-college page calls it fully online with Zoom sessions and webcams; whether the sessions are scheduled and recurring is not stated. The page’s live application window and a staging copy of the same page disagree, and the DPD handbook lists 28 prerequisite units against course lists that sum to 25 or 26.

Master of Science, Nutritional Science

The estimated cost is $8,548 a year in CSU graduate tuition for residents (2026-27), with graduate campus fees of about $4,821 per term on Cal State LA’s fee page; no self-support rate was found. The catalog lists 30 or 40 units: a 23-unit core plus either the Nutrition and Dietetics option (3 or 7 elective units and a comprehensive exam, thesis, or project, 30 units in all) or the Nutrition and Food Science Research option (13 biochemistry units and a required thesis, 40 units).

Cal State LA’s department page and handbook say plainly that the M.S. does not provide the DPD coursework or a verification statement, so it satisfies the graduate-degree requirement without starting the RD route. Admission is fall only, with a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 units; the department page still shows a February 15, 2026 deadline, which has passed.

You Should Know

Cal State LA’s pages disagree on the M.S.’s size (a handbook says 30 units with a 20-unit core, the catalog 30 or 40 with a 23-unit core), on the research option’s name, and on the GRE (a 2025-26 handbook lists it, the department page says it is no longer required).

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Dietetic Internship

The estimated cost is $10,000 for 20 units at a self-support rate of $500 per unit, plus a $25 certificate fee and program costs such as liability insurance and a background check. The program requires at least 1,000 supervised-practice hours and must be finished within 19.5 months. It requires a DPD verification statement and a completed master’s degree before starting.

You Should Know

ACEND granted this internship candidacy in April 2026, so it has not earned full accreditation; ACEND’s status definitions say graduates of a candidate program have the same rights as graduates of an accredited one, but confirm that with ACEND. The first cohort is for Cal State LA alumni only. The internship page also lists an application window of January 18 to February 28, 2027 while offering a fall 2026 cohort, so confirm timing and cohort size directly.

Tuition

Cal State LA charges the CSU systemwide rate on state-supported programs and separate self-support rates through its extension college for the two post-baccalaureate certificates.

  • CSU tuition, 6.1 or more units: undergraduate $6,838/yr (2026-27), $6,450 (2025-26); graduate and post-bacc $8,548 and $8,064; non-resident supplemental tuition $471 per unit and $444
  • Cal State LA fees for Fall 2026: $547.04 per term in mandatory fees, giving $3,966.04 for undergraduates and $4,821.04 for graduate students per term; Spring 2027 fees are not yet published
  • Nutritional Science certificate: $400 per unit, $14,000 in all
  • Dietetic Internship certificate: $500 per unit, $10,000 in all

Be aware that:

The DPD handbook’s cost table is labeled 2025-26 inside the 2026-27 handbook and lists figures that match neither the CSU nor the Cal State LA schedules, so do not rely on it.

Official figures are on Cal State LA’s student fees page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for California residents who want to start the RD route at public-university prices, including career changers who need the DPD online.

Career changers can take the 35-unit online post-baccalaureate DPD at $14,000 rather than a second bachelor’s.

Undergraduates complete the DPD inside the B.S. with no separate application, then look for a master’s and an internship.

The honest trade-off is the missing pieces: no Coordinated Program, a master’s that issues no verification statement, and a new internship at candidacy that is not yet open to outside applicants.

Accreditation

Cal State LA is institutionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), whose page on the campus site is stale and still refers to a 2019 action letter as forthcoming. This governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the campus.

ACEND’s directory lists the DPD as accredited with a term ending June 30, 2029, and its decisions pages show continued accreditation in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Coordinated Program received an admission hold in May 2019, probation in January 2020, and voluntarily closed effective December 11, 2020; no DPD probation or teach-out was found. The Dietetic Internship is a candidate program, granted in April 2026. The M.S. and the Nutritional Science certificate carry no separate ACEND program.

Graduates of the DPD are not RD-eligible on that credential alone. They need a graduate degree, an accredited internship, and the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam.

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