Cal State Long Beach Nutrition Programs

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences • Long Beach, CA • Hybrid • $8,548/yr Grad Tuition (CSU Flat Rate)

Cal State Long Beach offers 2 Nutritional Sciences credentials:

  • B.S., Nutrition and Food Science, Option in Nutrition
  • M.S., Applied Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND Graduate Program)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S.$6,838/yr in-state (CSU systemwide)4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm)74 minimum in major
M.S.~$16.6K total in-state (derived)19 months, continuous
(Spring start through the following August)		50

Cal State Long Beach splits its nutrition credentials cleanly: the B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science does not carry ACEND accreditation and does not lead to RD eligibility on its own, while the separate M.S. in Applied Nutrition and Dietetics is an ACEND Graduate Program that combines coursework, at least 1,000 supervised-practice hours, and the graduate degree the Commission on Dietetic Registration now requires into one accredited credential. The M.S. replaced CSULB’s former DPD and dietetic internship, which no longer accept applicants, and it admits any bachelor’s holder who clears prerequisites, with no verification statement required.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesB.S. (non-ACEND); M.S. (ACEND Graduate Program)
FormatHybrid; M.S. Year 2 offers a distance track for supervised experiential learning statewide
Credit HoursB.S.: 74 minimum in major; M.S.: 50 (35 core, 3 elective, 9 supervised practice, 3 capstone/thesis)
ACEND AccreditationM.S. only — Graduate Program; the B.S. is not ACEND-accredited
RD/RDN EligibilityM.S.: Yes, on completion. B.S.: No, does not lead to RD eligibility on its own
Supervised PracticeM.S. only: at least 1,000 hours, built into the degree (NUTR 520), not a separate match
IntakeM.S. admits once a year, January start only; cohort of about 20
Tuition$6,838/yr B.S.; $8,548/yr M.S. (CSU systemwide tuition, before campus fees)
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Food Science

The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science at CSULB is $6,838 per year in-state, the CSU systemwide undergraduate rate, plus mandatory campus fees. The major requires a minimum of 74 units and is typically completed within the standard four-year, 120-credit bachelor’s timeline.

B.S. Curriculum

The Option in Nutrition sits inside the broader Nutrition and Food Science major and focuses on food science and applied nutrition coursework rather than the clinical dietetics sequence an ACEND-accredited DPD requires. CSULB’s own program page states plainly that this degree is not accredited by ACEND as a Didactic Program in Dietetics, so graduates do not receive a DPD verification statement.

You Should Know

This B.S. does not by itself lead toward RD eligibility. Students who want the RDN credential need CSULB’s own M.S. in Applied Nutrition and Dietetics, described below, or an ACEND-accredited program elsewhere plus supervised practice.

B.S. Admissions

Admission follows standard CSU freshman and transfer requirements; no nutrition-specific prerequisite gate applies at the undergraduate level.

Master of Science, Applied Nutrition and Dietetics

The estimated tuition for the M.S. in Applied Nutrition and Dietetics at CSULB is approximately $16,559 total in-state (derived: 19 months at the combined $10,458/year tuition-and-fee rate), before any nonresident supplement. The program requires 50 units and runs continuously for 19 months, from a Spring start through the following August.

M.S. Curriculum

The 50 units break down as 35 units of required core coursework, 3 elective units, 9 units of Supervised Experiential Learning (NUTR 520, split across three rotations), and a 3-unit capstone or thesis. CSULB’s own undergraduates can enter a blended track that double-counts 12 units between the B.S. and the M.S., shortening the combined timeline.

M.S. Supervised Practice

  • At least 1,000 hours, delivered through NUTR 520 across three rotations: community, clinical A, and clinical B/foodservice/special emphasis
  • Built directly into the 50-unit degree rather than a separate post-graduation match
  • Local track completes rotations in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area; a distance track allows the didactic portion online with supervised experiential learning at approved sites anywhere in California

Because supervised practice is embedded in the degree rather than a separate application, CSULB students know their placement outcome before they even start the program, unlike the traditional DPD-then-internship route where the internship match is the main attrition point.

M.S. Admissions

CSULB states twice, in its own program materials, that no prior accredited nutrition degree is necessary, so this is open to career changers as much as to DPD graduates.

  • No DPD verification statement required; applicants complete a listed set of prerequisites instead
  • Single annual intake, January start only
  • Cohort of approximately 20 students
  • CSULB’s own Nutrition and Food Science graduates can apply through a blended track that double-counts 12 units

Tuition

CSU campuses do not bill by the credit; both CSULB degrees are charged at a flat systemwide semester rate once a student carries a full-time load. Divided across a typical 30-unit academic year, the M.S. rate works out to approximately $285 per unit (derived, for comparison only, not how CSULB actually bills).

  • $6,838/year in-state tuition for the B.S., the CSU systemwide undergraduate rate, identical at every CSU campus
  • $8,548/year in-state tuition for the M.S., the CSU systemwide graduate rate, identical at every CSU campus
  • $1,910/year in mandatory CSULB campus fees, published on CSULB’s own cost-of-attendance page, added on top of either tuition figure
  • Nonresident students add $471 per unit on top of the systemwide rate

Be aware that:

⚠ $8,548 is CSU’s systemwide graduate tuition figure only, not the full annual cost. CSULB’s own cost-of-attendance page adds $1,910 in mandatory campus fees on top of it, for a combined total closer to $10,458 per year before any nonresident supplement. Treat tuition-only figures found elsewhere as incomplete.

Because the M.S. is billed at CSU’s public flat rate rather than a private per-program price, the roughly $16,600 estimated total for the full 19-month degree is far below what an equivalent Coordinated Program costs at a private university, even after the campus-fee correction above.

Official tuition figures are published on CSULB’s tuition and fees page and CSULB’s graduate cost-of-attendance page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want an ACEND-accredited graduate RD pathway at public CSU pricing, without first earning a DPD elsewhere, or for CSULB’s own undergraduates who want to move from bachelor’s to master’s without losing units.

Career changers with an unrelated bachelor’s can apply straight to the M.S. once prerequisites are done, since CSULB explicitly does not require a verification statement, and the built-in 1,000-hour supervised-practice component removes the separate internship-match step.

CSULB’s own Nutrition and Food Science undergraduates have a shorter path through the blended track, which double-counts 12 units between the B.S. and M.S. and lets students start graduate coursework before finishing the bachelor’s.

The honest trade-off is timing and format: CSULB admits the M.S. only once a year, in January, and while the program is Hybrid rather than fully online, in-person rotations are required even on the distance track. Anyone who wants the B.S. alone should know it will not make them RD-eligible without a further accredited program.

Accreditation

Cal State Long Beach is institutionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the CSU campus.

ACEND accredits only CSULB’s M.S. in Applied Nutrition and Dietetics, as a Graduate Program that combines didactic coursework and supervised practice in one credential. This accreditation replaced CSULB’s former Didactic Program in Dietetics and its dietetic internship, both of which are closed to new applicants.

The B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science falls outside ACEND’s scope entirely. That is normal for a food-science-oriented bachelor’s degree, not a deficiency, but it means the degree alone does not establish DPD status or move a graduate toward RD eligibility.

Graduates of the M.S. are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completing the program, since coursework, supervised practice, and the required graduate degree are earned together. Graduates of the B.S. alone are not RD-eligible and would need to complete CSULB’s M.S. or an ACEND-accredited program elsewhere, plus supervised practice, to pursue the credential.

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