Two universities with profiled nutrition programs serve San Diego: San Diego State University, whose School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences offers a B.S. in Foods and Nutrition and an M.S. in Nutritional Sciences, and Point Loma Nazarene University, a private Christian university with a B.S. in Dietetics. Between them they run three credentials. In-state CSU tuition is $6,838 a year for San Diego State’s bachelor’s and $8,548 for its master’s, before about $2,942 a year in campus fees, while Point Loma charges $24,750 per semester, or $49,500 a year, for 12 to 17 units (2026-27).
Neither school’s degree leads to the RD credential on its own. Both carry an ACEND-accredited DPD, but neither runs a Coordinated Program, combined master’s, or campus internship, so graduates apply for supervised practice elsewhere through the national match. A separately administered internship, the SDSU Research Foundation WIC Program’s, operates in San Diego under its own ACEND accreditation and is not part of the academic department.
Nutrition Programs in San Diego — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego State University San Diego | B.S. Foods and Nutrition — ACEND DPD, 41-unit prep plus 41 upper-division major units M.S. Nutritional Sciences — 30-unit minimum, DPD coursework completable alongside; the M.S. itself is not ACEND-accredited | B.S. $6,838/yr and M.S. $8,548/yr in-state (CSU tuition), plus ~$2,942/yr campus fees | Campus | Not directly — DPD only; internship and graduate degree come from elsewhere |
| Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego | B.S. Dietetics — ACEND DPD, 130 units per the catalog Verification Statement Only — non-degree route, at least 24 upper-division units | $49,500/yr tuition plus a $1,000 general fee (private, one rate for all students, 2026-27); non-degree route not published | Campus | Not directly — DPD only; no internship, master’s, or named partnerships |
Costs are each profile’s published figures. San Diego State’s are CSU systemwide in-state tuition, and non-resident students pay more; adding campus fees gives a derived total near $9,800 a year for the bachelor’s and $11,500 for the master’s. Point Loma’s tuition is the same for all students regardless of residency.
Which San Diego Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose San Diego State if you want a public DPD at CSU prices, with the option of starting a master’s alongside the DPD coursework. The major is impacted, with a 2.90 premajor GPA and then a 3.1 in DPD coursework, and deadlines fall on June 1 and January 1.
Choose Point Loma Nazarene if you want a small Christian campus where the DPD sits inside the major with no separate program application, and you can pay private tuition. Bachelor’s holders in other fields can earn the verification statement through a non-degree route, with at least 24 upper-division dietetics units taken at Point Loma.
San Diego Nutrition Schools
San Diego State University
San Diego; School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences; campus-based.
- B.S. Foods and Nutrition — ACEND DPD, four-year bachelor’s, $6,838 a year in-state tuition
- M.S. Nutritional Sciences — 30-unit minimum, at least 18 at the 600/700 level, $8,548 a year in-state tuition
The B.S. major is impacted: premajor status needs a 2.90 cumulative GPA plus prerequisites, and the DPD track needs a 3.1 GPA in DPD coursework with no grade below C, with deadlines of June 1 and January 1. The WIC Program internship shares the SDSU name but is run by a separate auxiliary corporation, not the academic department. Full San Diego State profile.
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego; Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences; campus-based.
- B.S. Dietetics — ACEND DPD, 130 units per the catalog, $24,750 per semester for 12 to 17 units
- Verification Statement Only — non-degree route for bachelor’s holders in other majors; cost and deadlines not published
Point Loma has no internship, graduate program, or Coordinated Program, and names no internship partnerships. ACEND recorded full and continued accreditation in July 2019 and continued accreditation after a progress report in October 2024, with no reason published. Point Loma’s own pages disagree on the unit count (130 in the catalog, 129 in a handbook plan). Full Point Loma Nazarene profile.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in San Diego
Whether the program carries the credential
The DPD at either school is the first step only. Graduates still need a graduate degree and an internship, found through the national match, before they are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s exam.
Cost architecture
San Diego State’s tuition is $6,838 a year for the bachelor’s, while Point Loma’s is $49,500 a year, so four years at Point Loma’s 2026-27 rates comes to about $198,000 in tuition, a floor because rates rise annually. Point Loma also adds lab fees of roughly $1,900 over the degree, according to an undated fee list.
The local internship
The WIC Program internship in San Diego is the one campus-adjacent option, but it is administered separately from the nutrition department. Confirm its eligibility, application rules, and current ACEND status directly with the program before building a plan around it.
Admission and entry point
San Diego State’s gate comes early: a 2.90 premajor GPA, then a 3.1 in DPD coursework, with fixed June 1 and January 1 deadlines. At Point Loma no DPD-specific GPA gate or cap was found, though a 2.8 GPA applies to earning the verification statement, and its non-degree route serves career changers.
Before applying in San Diego, confirm the DPD application deadlines and GPA gates with San Diego State, Point Loma’s current ACEND status, and the WIC Program internship’s eligibility and accreditation. For other California programs, see the California nutrition programs page.