UC Berkeley Nutrition Programs

Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics Program • Berkeley, CA • Campus • $1,022/Credit

UC Berkeley offers 1 Nutritional Sciences credential:

  • M.S., Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics (ACEND candidate status)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
M.S.~$67.5K (derived, before fees)21 months, continuous66

Berkeley’s Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics admits students from any undergraduate major, not just prior nutrition or DPD graduates, and builds a research capstone into the middle of the program. The credential’s defining caveat is accreditation status: ACEND has granted it candidate status, not yet full accreditation, so applicants should confirm the current status directly before enrolling.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesM.S. (ACEND Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Program, candidate status)
FormatCampus; all coursework and rotations are in the Bay Area, no online/hybrid components
Credit Hours66
ACEND AccreditationCandidate status, not yet full accreditation — Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Program category
RD/RDN EligibilityGraduates of a candidate-status program are generally exam-eligible; confirm current status with Berkeley and ACEND before enrolling
Supervised PracticeAt least 1,100 hours, integrated into Year 2
IntakeDecember 15 application deadline; single annual cohort of about 20
GPA Floor3.0 (of 4.0), overall and in prerequisite coursework
Tuition$1,022/credit (2026-27); ~$67.5K for 66 credits before fees
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics

The estimated tuition for the Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics at UC Berkeley is approximately $67,452 before fees (66 credits at $1,022/credit, the 2026-27 rate). The program requires 66 units and runs continuously for 21 months.

M.S. Curriculum

Year 1 is coursework: metabolism, food science, research methods, foodservice management, nutrition counseling, lifespan nutrition, medical nutrition therapy, and community nutrition. The summer after Year 1 is an 11-unit capstone research project, ending in a poster presentation, before students move into Year 2 supervised practice. That research capstone, unusual for a dietetics graduate program, reflects the degree’s placement inside a research-university nutritional sciences department rather than a standalone professional program.

More curriculum details are available on Berkeley’s MNSD academics page.

M.S. Supervised Practice

  • At least 1,100 hours, slightly above the roughly 1,000-hour standard most ACEND pathways require
  • Rotations cover medical nutrition therapy (16 weeks), education and counseling, institutional foodservice, community nutrition, and campus nutrition programming
  • Integrated into Year 2 of the program rather than a separate post-graduation match

Because supervised practice is built into the same 66-unit degree as the coursework and capstone, Berkeley students avoid the separate internship application that trips up many DPD graduates elsewhere, at the cost of a longer, more structured 21-month timeline with no shortcuts for students who already hold supervised-practice experience.

M.S. Admissions

Admission does not require a DPD or a specific undergraduate major; applicants from any bachelor’s background can apply once prerequisites are complete.

  • Prerequisites include introductory nutrition, statistics, a social science course, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, and supporting lab sciences
  • Minimum 3.0 GPA, overall and in required coursework
  • Application deadline December 15
  • Cohort of approximately 20 students
You Should Know

Berkeley consolidated its former undergraduate Dietetics specialization, along with its Physiology and Metabolism and Toxicology tracks, into a single new major called Nutrition and Metabolic Biology (NMB) starting with Fall 2024 admits. Applicants researching Berkeley’s undergraduate pipeline into this M.S. should look for the current NMB major rather than the older, now-retired specialization names.

Tuition

UC Berkeley charges $1,022 per unit for the MNSD program in 2026-27 (a proposed $1,053/unit applies for 2027-28). At 66 units, that comes to approximately $67,452 before mandatory campus fees (derived: 66 × $1,022).

  • $1,022 per unit, 2026-27, published on the MNSD program’s own cost-of-attendance page
  • ~$67,452 for the full 66-unit program before fees (derived)
  • Berkeley’s own per-semester estimate, including fees, runs $14,218 to $17,284 depending on the semester

Be aware that:

Berkeley’s own cost page does not publish a single all-in total for the full 21-month program, and it does not show a separate resident/nonresident split for this program, so the figures above should be treated as before-fees estimates rather than confirmed final costs. Health insurance and living costs are excluded from every figure here.

At roughly $67,500 in tuition alone, Berkeley’s program costs more than a CSU-based ACEND Graduate Program but well under USC’s private Coordinated Program, reflecting a public-university professional-fee structure rather than either a flat systemwide rate or a private per-unit price.

Full cost details are published on the MNSD cost-of-attendance page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want dietetics training built on a research-university science core and are comfortable relocating to the Bay Area for a fully in-person, 21-month program.

Students without a prior nutrition or DPD background can apply directly once they clear Berkeley’s prerequisite science sequence, since the program does not require a verification statement or a specific undergraduate major.

Students drawn to research get a built-in capstone project between the coursework and supervised-practice years, a structural feature that separates this program from most Coordinated Programs, which fold research more lightly into the curriculum or skip it.

The honest trade-off is accreditation timing: the program currently holds ACEND candidate status rather than full accreditation, so applicants should verify the current status before committing. The program is also campus-only, with a single December 15 deadline and no distance option.

Accreditation

UC Berkeley 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 has granted the Master of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics candidate status as a Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Program, per Berkeley’s own program-accreditation page, meeting the 2022 ACEND Accreditation Standards. This is Berkeley’s only nutrition or dietetics credential; independent confirmation in ACEND’s own program directory was not available at the time of writing, so applicants should check ACEND’s directory directly for the current status.

Because coursework and at least 1,100 hours of supervised practice are combined in this one candidate-status program, graduates are on track to meet the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s academic and practice requirements together, without a separate internship application. Candidate status is not identical to full accreditation, so applicants should confirm the program’s current standing with Berkeley and ACEND before enrolling.

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