Colorado has four universities with ACEND-accredited dietetics programs, offering 15 nutrition credentials from a DPD certificate to a Ph.D. Resident undergraduate tuition runs from $326.25 per credit at MSU Denver, after the state’s College Opportunity Fund stipend, to about $1,050 per credit for UCCS’s graduate-only master’s. Bachelor’s degrees take four years, and the graduate routes to the credential take about two to three years.
All four lead to RDN eligibility, and each builds supervised practice into a graduate program: UNC’s online M.S. with Dietetic Internship, Colorado State’s Coordinated Master’s Program, MSU Denver’s Coordinated Program, and UCCS’s M.Sc. in Nutrition and Dietetics. No Colorado community college offers an ACEND-accredited nutrition program, so none are listed here.
Nutrition Programs in Colorado: Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Northern Colorado | B.S. (2, incl. DPD) Certificate (online DPD) M.S., M.S./DI | B.S. $51.4K / $116.8K M.S./DI $29.8K | Campus, Online, Hybrid | Yes: online M.S. with internship |
| Colorado State University | B.S. (4 concentrations, incl. DPD) M.S., CMPD, MAPD Ph.D. | B.S. $62.2K / $156.5K CMPD $44.4K / $97.5K | Campus, Online | Yes: Coordinated Master’s, admitted mid-degree |
| MSU Denver | B.S. (DPD) Certificate (post-bacc DPD) M.S. (graduate DPD) Coordinated Program | B.S. $47.8K / $131.6K CP $29.5K / $34.9K | Campus, Hybrid | Yes: Coordinated Program |
| UCCS | M.Sc. Nutrition and Dietetics | M.Sc. $49.4K resident | Campus | Yes: M.Sc., no DPD required |
Costs are tuition plus mandatory fees, resident first and non-resident second. UNC’s online programs charge one rate in every state, and UCCS publishes a resident figure only. Each profile shows its full derivation.
Which Colorado Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose the University of Northern Colorado if you need to study without relocating. It is the only fully distance route to the RDN in Colorado: an online DPD, then an online master’s with an internship at sites you choose near home, which may be paid.
Choose Colorado State if you want research depth or a doctorate. It is the only school here with a Ph.D., and its Coordinated Master’s pairs a thesis-based M.S. with a 1,000-hour internship, though admission to the internship comes in the second year.
Choose MSU Denver if you live in the Denver area and want to match the route to your starting point. It has the lowest published resident undergraduate rate in the state, a hybrid master’s that completes the DPD in about a year, and a practice year that also admits DPD graduates from other schools.
Choose UCCS if you are changing careers and want one admission decision. Its M.Sc. requires no DPD, and it is the only Colorado program where supervised practice starts in the first semester, at sites the program arranges.
Colorado Nutrition Schools
Colorado State University
CSU’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in Fort Collins offers five nutrition credentials, all on campus except one online master’s.
- B.S. Nutrition Science, 4 concentrations incl. the DPD: $62.2K resident, 4 years
- M.S. Food Science and Nutrition: 35 credits, thesis or project
- Coordinated Master’s Program in Dietetics: $44.4K resident, about 2.75 years, 1,000 hours
- Online MAPD: $18.8K, 30 credits, no supervised practice
- Ph.D. Food Science and Nutrition
The dietitian route runs through a research master’s, with the internship added for students selected in their second year. Dietetics undergraduates also complete counseling and sports nutrition practicums on campus.
CSU’s own pages put the coordinated program at 50 or 57 credits, so confirm the plan before budgeting.
Full Colorado State University profile
University of Northern Colorado
UNC’s Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Dietetics in Greeley runs its dietetics programs on campus and online through Extended Campus.
- B.S. Dietetics (DPD), campus or online: $51.4K resident on campus
- B.S. Nutrition, campus, not ACEND-accredited
- Online DPD certificate: $17.0K, 18 months
- Online M.S. Dietetics: $23.2K, 32 credits, no internship
- Online M.S. with Dietetic Internship: $29.8K, 41 credits, at least 1,000 hours
UNC started its distance internship in 1995, and students complete rotations near home. Online tuition is the same for every state, which matters most to non-residents.
Students must find and secure their own preceptors, and the DPD requires a 3.0 GPA for a verification statement.
Full University of Northern Colorado profile
MSU Denver
MSU Denver’s Department of Nutrition on the Auraria campus in downtown Denver offers four dietetics credentials, with graduate courses in hybrid 8-week blocks.
- B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD): $47.8K resident, 4 years
- DPD post-baccalaureate certificate: $326.25 per credit in-state
- M.S. Nutrition with graduate DPD: $21.0K resident, 30 credits, about 1 year full time
- Coordinated Program: $29.5K resident, M.S. year plus a 33-week practice year
The practice year includes WIC, food insecurity, long-term care, and two clinical rotations, scheduled by the program. A 3+2 route lets MSU Denver undergraduates earn the bachelor’s and master’s together.
The stand-alone dietetic internship closed in 2025, and international students cannot enroll in the M.S.
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
UCCS’s Human Physiology and Nutrition program offers a single graduate route to the RDN, delivered on campus with rotations across the Colorado Springs region.
- M.Sc. Nutrition and Dietetics: $49.4K resident, 47 credits, 2 years full time, at least 1,000 hours
Apprenticeships in food systems, community, and clinical nutrition run alongside the matching courses, and clinical preceptors come through a partnership with CommonSpirit’s Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. Applicants need a 2.8 GPA and the listed science prerequisites, but no DPD.
UCCS accepts no transfer credit, and it warns that regular daytime work is difficult during the program.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Colorado
Who arranges supervised practice
All four RD routes include at least 1,000 supervised hours, but the burden of finding sites differs. UCCS and MSU Denver schedule rotations for their students, while UNC students secure their own sites and preceptors. CSU’s program pages do not say how sites are assigned, so ask before applying.
When the internship decision happens
UCCS decides everything at admission, and MSU Denver admits to its practice year through a separate application, with early admission for its own students. UNC’s internship runs through the national DICAS cycle, with an early route for UNC students. CSU admits to its coordinated program in the second year of the M.S., so a student who is not selected must look elsewhere.
Online or on campus
UNC is the only Colorado school where the full RD route can be completed at a distance. CSU’s online MAPD meets the graduate degree requirement but has no supervised practice, and MSU Denver’s hybrid M.S. still meets in person. UCCS is full time on campus.
Residency and cost
Non-resident bachelor’s tuition runs about 2.3 to 2.8 times the resident figure at UNC, CSU, and MSU Denver. UNC’s online programs remove residency from the equation, and UCCS charges WRGP-eligible students from western states the resident rate. Residents must authorize the College Opportunity Fund stipend each term, or undergraduate tuition rises by $116 a credit.
Your starting point
High school graduates can start in the DPD bachelor’s at UNC, CSU, or MSU Denver. Career changers with an unrelated bachelor’s can enter UCCS’s M.Sc. or MSU Denver’s M.S. after prerequisites, or take UNC’s online DPD certificate first. DPD graduates who need supervised practice can apply to UNC’s M.S. with Dietetic Internship or MSU Denver’s practice year.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Colorado
Colorado does not license dietitians, so the RDN credential from the Commission on Dietetic Registration is what employers check. Graduates who plan to move should confirm the rules in their destination state before enrolling, because most states do license dietitians. Colorado has no ACEND-accredited dietetic technician program, and the nearest online option, at Central Arizona College, requires Colorado residents to be employed in a hospital or similar setting.
Before applying, confirm the credit total for CSU’s Coordinated Master’s, the practice-year credit load at MSU Denver, and non-resident tuition at UCCS through its bill estimator. UNC sets its 2027–28 online rates in mid-June 2027.