Sacramento State Nutrition Programs

Nutrition and Food Department • Sacramento, CA • Campus • $8,548/yr Grad Tuition (CSU Flat Rate)

Sacramento State offers 2 Nutritional Sciences credentials, with two entry points into supervised practice:

  • B.S., Nutrition and Food, Concentration in Dietetics (DPD)
  • Combined M.S. and Dietetic Internship, or a Dietetic Internship-only track for applicants who already hold a master’s

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S.$6,838/yr in-state (CSU systemwide)4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm)Not clearly stated
M.S./DI~$19.9K total in-state (derived, 21 months)21 months42 (18 year one, 24 year two)
DI Only~$8.5K total in-state (derived, 9 months)9 months24, though a separate Sac State page states 10 (see Curriculum)

Sacramento State runs both tracks under one ACEND Dietetic Internship accreditation: a 21-month combined M.S./DI for students without a graduate degree, and a shorter 9-month DI-only track for applicants who already hold a master’s. Of 10 total accredited internship seats each year, 7 go to the combined track and 3 to the DI-only track, and two of Sacramento State’s own pages disagree meaningfully on the DI-only track’s units and hours, so confirm directly with the department before applying that route.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesB.S. (ACEND DPD); Combined M.S./DI and DI-only (both under one ACEND Dietetic Internship accreditation)
FormatCampus
Credit HoursB.S.: not clearly stated; M.S./DI: 42; DI-only: 24 per the primary program page, but 10 per a separate Sac State page
ACEND AccreditationYes — DPD and Dietetic Internship both independently confirmed on ACEND’s own 2024 Accreditation Decisions page
RD/RDN EligibilityYes, on completing either supervised-practice track together with the required graduate degree
Supervised Practice1,100 hours (1,062 rotations plus 38 competency activities) per the primary program page; a separate page instead states 1,260 hours
Intake10 total accredited internship seats a year: 7 combined M.S./DI, 3 DI-only; January 16 deadline
PrerequisitesDPD verification statement, DPD GPA of 3.0 or higher, B+ or better in Medical Nutrition Therapy
Tuition$6,838/yr B.S.; $8,548/yr grad, before about $2,818/yr in mandatory campus fees
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Food (Concentration in Dietetics)

The estimated tuition for the B.S. at Sacramento State is $6,838 per year in-state, the CSU systemwide undergraduate rate, plus mandatory campus fees. The Concentration in Dietetics follows the standard four-year, 120-credit bachelor’s timeline.

B.S. Curriculum

The Concentration in Dietetics is the ACEND-accredited DPD within the Nutrition and Food major, confirmed on Sacramento State’s own accreditation page and independently in ACEND’s 2024 Accreditation Decisions listing.

B.S. Admissions

Admission follows standard CSU freshman and transfer requirements; students declare the Concentration in Dietetics to be on the DPD track.

Combined M.S. and Dietetic Internship

The estimated tuition for the combined M.S./DI at Sacramento State is approximately $19,891 total in-state (derived: 21 months of graduate tuition and fees at $11,366/year). The program requires 42 units, 18 in year one and 24 in year two, and runs for 21 months.

M.S./DI Curriculum

The combined track’s 42 units are separate from Sacramento State’s stand-alone 30-unit Master of Science in Nutrition and Food; applicants must choose one path and cannot apply to both. Coursework and supervised practice run together over the two years rather than coursework followed by a separate internship application.

M.S./DI Supervised Practice

  • 1,100 hours: 1,062 in rotations plus 38 hours of competency activities, per the primary program page
  • Integrated into the 21-month timeline rather than a separate post-degree match
  • 7 of Sacramento State’s 10 annual accredited internship seats go to this track

M.S./DI Admissions

  • DPD verification statement required by the program start date
  • DPD GPA of 3.0 or higher; B+ or better in Medical Nutrition Therapy coursework
  • Application via DICAS; deadline January 16

Dietetic Internship Only (Post-Master’s Track)

The estimated tuition for the DI-only track at Sacramento State is approximately $8,525 total in-state (derived: 9 months of graduate tuition and fees at $11,366/year), for applicants who already hold a master’s degree. The program’s primary page states 24 units of graduate didactic coursework over 9 months.

DI-Only Curriculum

This track is for applicants who already hold, or are finishing, a graduate degree, and it awards a Dietetic Internship verification statement without a second master’s.

You Should Know

Sacramento State’s own pages give two different pictures of this track. Its dietetic-internship page describes 9 months, 24 units, and 1,100 supervised-practice hours. A separate Sacramento State page instead describes a 42-week internship with a minimum of 1,260 hours and 10 units, admitting 10 students annually. These figures do not reconcile, and it was not possible to determine which page is current; confirm directly with the department before applying, especially on hours and units, since both affect completion timing and cost.

DI-Only Admissions

  • Requires a completed or in-progress master’s degree
  • DPD verification statement required
  • 3 of Sacramento State’s 10 annual accredited internship seats go to this track
  • Application via DICAS; deadline January 16

Tuition

CSU campuses bill a flat systemwide semester rate rather than a true per-credit price. Divided across a typical 30-unit academic year, the graduate rate works out to approximately $285 per unit (derived, for comparison only, not how Sacramento State actually bills).

  • $6,838/year in-state tuition for the B.S., the CSU systemwide undergraduate rate
  • $8,548/year in-state tuition for graduate study, the CSU systemwide graduate rate
  • About $2,818/year in mandatory Sacramento State campus fees, added on top of either tuition figure
  • Nonresident students add $471 per unit on top of the systemwide rate

Be aware that:

The $8,548 figure often quoted for CSU graduate programs is tuition only. Sacramento State’s own campus fees add roughly $2,818 a year on top, for a combined total closer to $11,366 a year for a full-time graduate student, one of the higher campus-fee stacks among the CSU schools researched for this guide.

Because the DI-only track runs just 9 months, its total in-state cost of roughly $8,525 is one of the lower supervised-practice price tags in this guide, provided the applicant already has a master’s and doesn’t need to pay for one at Sacramento State first.

Official tuition figures are published on Sacramento State’s tuition and living costs page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want an ACEND-accredited path to supervised practice at CSU pricing, whether or not they already hold a graduate degree.

Applicants without a graduate degree should plan around the 21-month combined M.S./DI, which carries most of the school’s annual internship seats and folds the master’s and supervised practice into one continuous track.

Applicants who already hold a master’s get one of the shorter supervised-practice timelines profiled in this guide, at 9 months, though competition for the DI-only track’s 3 annual seats is tighter than for the combined track’s 7.

The honest trade-off is that Sacramento State’s own pages disagree on the DI-only track’s units and hours. Confirm the current requirements directly with the Nutrition and Food Department before counting on either published version.

Accreditation

Sacramento State 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 Sacramento State’s Didactic Program in Dietetics and, separately, its Dietetic Internship Program; both are independently confirmed on ACEND’s own 2024 Accreditation Decisions page rather than resting solely on Sacramento State’s self-description. Neither the combined M.S./DI nor the DI-only track is accredited as a Coordinated Program or a Graduate Program; both fall under the Dietetic Internship Program category.

Graduates of either supervised-practice track are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam once the graduate degree, ACEND-accredited coursework, and supervised practice are all complete. Graduates of the DPD alone are not RD-eligible and must complete a Dietetic Internship, at Sacramento State or elsewhere, plus a graduate degree, to pursue the credential.

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