UC Davis Nutrition Programs

Department of Nutrition • Davis, CA • Campus • ~$18.1K/yr Resident Tuition and Fees

UC Davis offers 1 Nutritional Sciences credential:

  • B.S., Clinical Nutrition (DPD)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
B.S.~$18.1K/yr resident4 years (120-credit bachelor’s norm)138 minimum

UC Davis’s Clinical Nutrition major is a DPD-only pathway: the university runs no Coordinated Program, combined master’s, or campus-based dietetic internship of its own for these undergraduates. A separate, administratively distinct Dietetic Internship exists through UC Davis Health, the medical center, but it’s a small, nationally competitive 10-month program open to DPD graduates broadly, not a guaranteed next step reserved for UC Davis’s own students.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
Program TypesB.S. (ACEND DPD)
FormatCampus
Credit Hours138 minimum
ACEND AccreditationYes — DPD (accreditation term/expiration date not published)
RD/RDN EligibilityNo, on its own. The DPD alone does not include supervised practice or the required graduate degree; both must come from elsewhere
Supervised PracticeNone built into the B.S. UC Davis Health runs a separate, nationally competitive Dietetic Internship (10 months, 6 interns a year) open to any DPD graduate, not exclusive to UC Davis’s own undergrads
Tuition~$18,078/yr resident (tuition and fees); ~$57,348/yr nonresident (adds $39,270 in nonresident supplemental tuition)
Institutional AccreditationWSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission)

Bachelor of Science, Clinical Nutrition

The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Clinical Nutrition at UC Davis is approximately $18,078 per year for California residents (tuition and campus fees combined), or approximately $57,348 per year for nonresidents. The major requires a minimum of 138 units and follows the standard four-year timeline.

B.S. Curriculum

Clinical Nutrition is UC Davis’s ACEND-accredited DPD, with the didactic requirements built directly into the major; graduates earn the degree and a DPD verification statement together.

You Should Know

UC Davis offers a separate Nutrition Science major (with Nutritional Biology and Nutrition in Public Health options) that is explicitly not a DPD. Students who want the RD pathway should confirm they are declared in Clinical Nutrition specifically, not Nutrition Science.

B.S. Admissions

Admission follows UC Davis’s standard undergraduate admission process; a formally impacted or selective-major designation for Clinical Nutrition specifically was not confirmed.

Tuition

UC Davis bills a flat systemwide tuition rate rather than a true per-credit price: $15,588 per year in systemwide tuition and fees for residents, plus $2,490 per year in campus-based fees, for a combined resident total of about $18,078.

  • $15,588/year systemwide tuition and fees (resident), published on UC Davis’s admissions cost page
  • $2,490/year in additional campus-based fees, on top of the systemwide figure
  • $39,270/year in Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, added on top of the resident total for nonresident students
  • Combined totals: about $18,078/year for residents, about $57,348/year for nonresidents

Be aware that:

A bare $15,588 figure is sometimes quoted as UC Davis’s full resident cost, but that is the systemwide tuition line only; UC Davis’s own admissions cost page adds $2,490 in campus-based fees on top, for a resident total closer to $18,078. Separately, the $39,270 nonresident figure is UC’s Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, not a fee in the ordinary sense, and it applies on top of the full resident total rather than replacing it.

Official cost figures are published on UC Davis’s admissions cost page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want a DPD within a large public research university and are prepared to independently secure supervised practice and a graduate degree elsewhere afterward.

California residents focused on academic cost pay a resident total well below the nonresident rate, though UC Davis carries no built-in internship or master’s pathway the way some CSU campuses do.

Students curious about staying local for supervised practice can look to UC Davis Health’s own Dietetic Internship, though it’s a small, nationally competitive program, not an automatic next step for UC Davis’s own DPD graduates.

The honest trade-off is that nonresident cost is substantial, at roughly $57,300 a year, and every student, resident or not, must apply separately for supervised practice and a graduate degree after finishing the DPD.

Accreditation

UC Davis 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 UC Davis’s Didactic Program in Dietetics, embedded in the Clinical Nutrition major; a specific accreditation term or expiration date was not found published. The separate Nutrition Science major falls outside ACEND’s scope entirely, which is normal for a laboratory-science-oriented degree rather than a deficiency.

Graduates of the Clinical Nutrition DPD are not RD-eligible on the degree alone. They must complete a Dietetic Internship, whether through UC Davis Health’s program or elsewhere nationally, together with a graduate degree, to become eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam.

Compare California’s Nutrition Programs