Pepperdine University Nutrition Programs

Natural Science Division, Seaver College • Malibu, CA • Campus • $2,335/Credit (M.S.)

Pepperdine offers 2 Nutritional Sciences credentials:

  • B.S., Nutritional Science (Didactic Program in Dietetics)
  • M.S., Nutrition and Health Science and Supervised Practice Experience (Coordinated Program)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S.Not clearly stated4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm)Not clearly stated (Seaver catalog)
M.S.~$77.1K (derived, before fees)~10 months (Pepperdine BS/MS students) to ~13 months (external applicants)33 plus capstone

Pepperdine’s Coordinated Program has one of the shortest planned timelines found in this guide: about 10 months for Pepperdine’s own B.S. Nutritional Science students moving directly into the M.S., or about 13 months for outside applicants, compressing 1,048 supervised-practice hours into a single accelerated cohort at a small Christian liberal-arts campus in Malibu. The trade-off is that it’s campus-only, with rotations required within 60 miles of Malibu, and the DPD-only bachelor’s accreditation page needs direct confirmation before relying on it.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesB.S. (ACEND DPD); M.S. (ACEND Coordinated Program)
FormatCampus only; not a distance program; rotations within 60 miles of Malibu
Credit HoursB.S.: not clearly stated; M.S.: 33 plus a capstone research project
ACEND AccreditationM.S.: Yes, through January 30, 2030. B.S. DPD: status needs direct confirmation (see below)
RD/RDN EligibilityM.S.: Yes, on completion. B.S. alone: No, requires further supervised practice and a graduate degree
Supervised PracticeM.S.: 1,048 hours (Clinical 512, Foodservice Management 192, Community Nutrition 248, Self-Select 96, plus orientation)
IntakeM.S.: rolling admission through June 30; open to Pepperdine’s own B.S./M.S. students and external applicants
GPA Floor3.0, overall and in major, for M.S. admission
Tuition$2,335/credit for the M.S. (labeling inconsistent across Pepperdine’s own pages, see Tuition)
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Nutritional Science (DPD)

Pepperdine does not publish a specific tuition figure or total credit count for the B.S. Nutritional Science major on its program page. The standard four-year, 120-credit bachelor’s timeline applies as elsewhere at Seaver College; confirm current tuition directly with Pepperdine, since general undergraduate rates were not separately verified for this program.

B.S. Curriculum

The major embeds an ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics within Seaver’s Natural Science Division. For the current course sequence, consult the Seaver College catalog and Pepperdine’s DPD program page directly.

You Should Know

Pepperdine’s own DPD page currently states ACEND accreditation runs “until June 30, 2024,” a date already in the past, alongside other content that appears unrevised (an outdated program director name and a 2024 CDR-requirement news item). This most likely reflects a page that hasn’t been updated rather than lapsed accreditation, but applicants should confirm the DPD’s current ACEND status directly with Pepperdine’s Natural Science Division before enrolling.

B.S. Admissions

No nutrition-specific admissions gate beyond Seaver College’s standard undergraduate admission was found for this major.

M.S. Nutrition and Health Science and Supervised Practice Experience

The estimated tuition for the M.S. in Nutrition and Health Science at Pepperdine is approximately $77,055 before fees (33 credits at $2,335/credit). The program’s planned length is about 10 months for Pepperdine’s own B.S./M.S. students and about 13 months for external applicants who did not complete the B.S. at Pepperdine.

M.S. Curriculum

The 33-unit curriculum runs alongside a capstone research project. Students attend classes on the Malibu campus Monday and Tuesday and complete supervised-practice rotations Tuesday through Friday, all within 60 miles of campus.

You Should Know

At 10 to 13 months, Pepperdine’s planned program length is roughly half that of some other Coordinated Programs profiled in this guide, which combine a similar or lower total supervised-practice hour count over 19 to 21 months. That compresses the same workload into fewer months rather than reducing it; ask Pepperdine directly about weekly course and rotation load before committing to this pace.

M.S. Supervised Practice

  • 1,048 total hours: Clinical (512), Foodservice Management (192), Community Nutrition (248), Self-Select (96), plus a one-week orientation
  • All rotations within 60 miles of Malibu; Pepperdine states plainly that this is not a distance program
  • Integrated into the M.S. curriculum rather than a separate post-graduation match

At 1,048 hours, Pepperdine’s total sits just above the roughly 1,000-hour ACEND standard, but packed into a shorter overall timeline than other Coordinated Programs in this guide, which means a more demanding weekly schedule rather than fewer total hours.

M.S. Admissions

Admission is open either to Pepperdine’s own current B.S. Nutritional Science students or to bachelor’s holders from any accredited institution who complete listed prerequisites.

  • Open to current Pepperdine B.S. Nutritional Science students, or external bachelor’s holders from any major who complete prerequisites
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA, overall and in major
  • Rolling admission through June 30
  • F-1 visa students cannot currently be admitted, per Pepperdine’s own program page (certification pending)

Tuition

Pepperdine charges $2,335 per unit for the M.S. At 33 units, that comes to approximately $77,055 before the capstone project and mandatory fees (derived: 33 × $2,335).

  • $2,335 per unit, published on both the M.S. program’s own tuition page and its 2026-2027 program-description PDF
  • Seaver’s central graduate financial-aid page separately lists $2,255/unit for 2025-26, implying the $2,335 figure applies to 2026-27
  • ~$77,055 for the 33-unit M.S. before fees (derived)
  • B.S. Nutritional Science tuition not separately published; standard Seaver undergraduate tuition applies

Be aware that:

Two of Pepperdine’s own pages label the same $2,335/unit figure with different academic years, so the exact current rate is ambiguous. Confirm directly with Pepperdine’s financial aid office which year’s rate currently applies before budgeting.

Even at the higher end of that ambiguity, Pepperdine’s per-unit Coordinated Program rate lands well below USC’s, and the compressed 10 to 13 month timeline reduces the number of months a student pays living costs alongside tuition, which matters for the true all-in comparison against a longer program.

Full tuition figures are published on Pepperdine’s M.S. tuition and financial aid page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want an accredited Coordinated Program completed in under a year and are comfortable with a small, Christian liberal-arts campus in Malibu.

Pepperdine’s own B.S. Nutritional Science graduates move into the M.S. on the fastest track researched for this guide, at a planned length of about 10 months, since the curriculum and campus are already familiar.

External applicants from other bachelor’s programs are also accepted without a prior DPD, but plan on roughly 13 months instead of 10, and note that F-1 visa students cannot currently be admitted.

The honest trade-off is that the DPD-only bachelor’s accreditation page shows a stale, already-passed date that needs direct confirmation, the M.S. tuition rate is inconsistently labeled across Pepperdine’s own pages, and everything runs campus-only near Malibu with no distance option.

Accreditation

Pepperdine 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 university.

ACEND accredits Pepperdine’s M.S. in Nutrition and Health Science as a Coordinated Program through January 30, 2030, per Pepperdine’s own program page. Pepperdine’s B.S. Nutritional Science page describes an ACEND-accredited DPD, but that page currently shows an accreditation end date that has already passed, so its current status should be treated as unconfirmed rather than restated as current.

Graduates of the M.S. are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam on completing the program, since coursework and 1,048 hours of supervised practice are earned together in one accredited credential. Graduates of the B.S. alone are not RD-eligible and would need to complete Pepperdine’s M.S. or another accredited program, plus supervised practice, to pursue the credential; given the accreditation-date issue above, applicants relying on DPD status specifically should confirm it directly with Pepperdine first.

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