Five Colorado schools offer nutrition or dietetics degrees, spanning the associate level through the master’s. Annual tuition runs from roughly $4K in-state at Pikes Peak State College to about $42K for a non-resident undergraduate at Colorado State University. Associate degrees take two years, bachelor’s degrees four, and the graduate programs add one to two more.
Three of the five lead toward the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credential. Metropolitan State University of Denver, the University of Northern Colorado, and Colorado State all hold ACEND accreditation; MSU Denver and UNC go further and offer accredited supervised practice as well, which CSU does not. Community College of Denver and Pikes Peak State College are not accredited and do not lead to the RDN — they are a transfer starting point and dietary-management training respectively.
Nutrition Programs in Colorado — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver |
BS Nutrition and Dietetics — accredited DPD Coordinated Program — includes supervised practice MS Nutrition and MS Nutrition and Dietetics |
~$9K resident ~$22K non-resident ~$16K resident for the supervised practice year |
Campus based, some online coursework | Yes — every pathway, including supervised practice only |
| University of Northern Colorado Greeley |
Dietetics BS — 120 credits Nutrition BS — 120 credits Dietetics MS + Internship |
~$9K resident ~$25K non-resident tuition only, per year |
Campus and fully online | Yes — DPD, internship, and master’s all accredited |
| Colorado State University Fort Collins |
BS Nutrition Science — 4 concentrations Dietetics & Nutrition Management concentration MS Food Science & Nutrition — 35 credits |
~$11K–$16K resident UG ~$28K–$42K non-resident UG ~$11K–$17K resident grad |
Campus based | Yes — DPD only; internship applied for separately |
| Community College of Denver Denver |
AS Nutrition — 60–64 credits | ~$4K–$6K resident ~$14K–$21K non-resident |
Campus based | No — transfer pathway to MSU Denver |
| Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs |
AS Nutrition and Dietetics | ~$4K–$5K resident ~$14K–$21K non-resident |
Campus based | No — dietary management, not ACEND-accredited |
Costs are annual estimates for tuition and fees and exclude housing. Resident figures at public Colorado schools assume the College Opportunity Fund stipend has been applied; students must claim it. Verify current rates with each school before applying.
Which Colorado Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose MSU Denver if you want supervised practice built into the degree. Its Coordinated Program combines coursework and the 1,000-hour practice requirement, so there is no separate internship application. MSU Denver also accepts students at every entry point, including people who already hold a verification statement and need supervised practice alone — the only Colorado school offering that.
Choose the University of Northern Colorado if you need to study online. It is the only Colorado university offering a dietetics bachelor’s both on campus and fully online, and its master’s with internship is distance-delivered too. Interns help choose their own rotation sites, which matters if you are not near the Front Range.
Choose Colorado State if you want nutrition as a laboratory science, or a campus with research facilities. The B.S. in Nutrition Science carries four concentrations, only one of which is the accredited dietetics route, so the degree also serves pre-medical and pre-nursing students. Dietetics students graduate with a verification statement and then apply separately for supervised practice.
Choose Community College of Denver if you want to start cheaply and transfer. The associate degree is built around an articulation agreement with MSU Denver, so the credits carry forward into an accredited dietetics bachelor’s in the same city rather than dead-ending.
Choose Pikes Peak State College if you want to work in food service or dietary management without a bachelor’s. The coursework is practical — food safety, meal planning, dietary regulations — and aimed at the dietary manager role rather than the RDN. Confirm transfer credit in writing before enrolling if a bachelor’s is the eventual goal.
Colorado Nutrition Schools
Metropolitan State University of Denver
MSU Denver’s Department of Nutrition sits on the Auraria campus downtown and covers more of the dietetics route than any other school in the state.
- BS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Coordinated Program — degree plus the 1,000-hour supervised practice minimum in one program
- MS Nutrition and MS Nutrition and Dietetics
ACEND approved the department’s reorganization into a Coordinated Program effective June 30, 2025. The practical effect is that a student can complete coursework and supervised practice without entering the national internship match, and the department states it can also take students who need supervised practice only.
Tuition for the supervised practice year is billed separately, at roughly $16.1K in-state and $18.7K out-of-state including fees. Budget it as an additional year rather than folding it into the degree cost.
University of Northern Colorado
UNC in Greeley runs the state’s only online dietetics degrees, through its College of Natural and Health Sciences and its extended campus.
- Dietetics BS — 120 credits, ACEND-accredited DPD, campus or online
- Nutrition BS — 120 credits, non-accredited science track
- Dietetics MS with Dietetic Internship — online coursework, in-person rotations
- Dietetic Internship — ACEND-accredited, with concentrations in nutrition education and counseling, management, or ICU
The differentiator is distance delivery across the whole ladder. A student can complete the bachelor’s, the master’s, and the internship coursework online, choosing rotation sites near home rather than relocating to Greeley.
The Nutrition BS and the Dietetics BS are separate degrees. Only the latter is accredited, and the names are close enough to confuse — check which one an advisor is describing.
Colorado State University
CSU’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in Fort Collins offers an accredited didactic program alongside a research master’s.
- BS Nutrition Science — concentrations in Dietetics and Nutrition Management, Sports Nutrition and Wellness, Pre-Health Nutrition, and Pre-Nursing
- MS Food Science and Nutrition, Nutrition specialization — 35 credits, campus based
Dietetics students train at the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center and through CSU athletics, giving the sports-nutrition and counseling experience internship directors look for. The master’s is research-oriented, covering molecular through population-level nutrition, and is not itself an accredited dietetics program.
CSU is the one accredited Colorado school with no supervised practice of its own, so graduates compete for placement elsewhere. It also publishes ACEND program objectives — targets such as 80% of students completing within three years — rather than outcome data; ask the program for current placement figures.
Community College of Denver
CCD is a two-year public college in downtown Denver, sharing the Auraria campus with MSU Denver. Its Associate of Science in Nutrition is a transfer degree, not a terminal credential.
- AS Nutrition — 60 to 64 credits, roughly two years
The curriculum pairs foundational science — biology, chemistry, anatomy — with applied courses including Human Nutrition and Careers in Nutrition and Dietetics, taught under an agreement with MSU Denver. Because both schools sit on the same campus, the transfer involves no move and no change of commute.
The value depends entirely on the transfer working. Confirm the current articulation agreement with MSU Denver before enrolling, as these are renegotiated periodically.
Pikes Peak State College
Pikes Peak is a two-year public college in Colorado Springs. Its associate degree targets dietary management roles rather than the RDN.
- AS Nutrition and Dietetics — campus based, roughly two years
Coursework covers food safety and sanitation, meal planning, human anatomy, dietary regulations, and managerial communication — the skill set for running a food service operation in a healthcare or school setting. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor.
Despite the name, this is not an ACEND-accredited dietetics program; Colorado has no accredited dietetic technician programs at all. It does not lead to the RDN or the NDTR credential.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Colorado
Who finds your supervised practice
All three accredited schools produce a verification statement, but only two guarantee what happens next. MSU Denver’s Coordinated Program and UNC’s master’s both contain the supervised practice hours, so there is no separate match to win. CSU graduates apply for placement as outside candidates, which adds an application cycle and real uncertainty about timing.
The master’s requirement changed in 2024
Since January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration has required a master’s degree in any field, plus a verification statement from an ACEND-accredited program, to sit for the RDN exam. A bachelor’s alone no longer qualifies anyone at any Colorado school. Plan the graduate step into your timeline from the start rather than treating it as optional.
Claim the College Opportunity Fund
Colorado’s College Opportunity Fund pays a per-credit stipend directly to public institutions on behalf of eligible undergraduates, and the resident rates quoted above assume it. It is not automatic — students must apply and authorize its use. Non-residents are not eligible, which is most of why the resident and non-resident gap is so wide, particularly at CSU.
Campus or online
UNC is the only Colorado school offering a dietetics bachelor’s online, and its graduate and internship coursework is distance-delivered as well. MSU Denver runs some coursework online but the Coordinated Program’s practice hours are in person and Denver-centred. Everything else in the state is campus based.
Where you can start
The two community colleges accept students with no prior college coursework and cost roughly a third of the four-year in-state rate. Neither leads to the RDN on its own, so the question is whether the transfer credit lands where you need it. CCD’s agreement with MSU Denver is the cleanest route, since both schools share the Auraria campus and the receiving program is accredited.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Colorado
Colorado does not license dietitians. UNC states plainly on its program pages that Colorado is a non-licensure state, meaning the RDN credential is issued nationally by the Commission on Dietetic Registration rather than by a state board.
That makes the CDR requirements the operative ones: an ACEND verification statement, a master’s degree, supervised practice hours, and a passing exam score. Employers, not the state, set the practical bar. Confirm current requirements with CDR and with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies before making enrollment decisions, as state rules can change through rulemaking.
Before applying anywhere in Colorado, verify three things directly with the school: that the specific degree and concentration you are entering carries current ACEND accreditation, that the tuition rate quoted matches the coming academic year, and that any transfer agreement you are relying on is still active. Individual school profiles for these programs are in progress and will be linked here as they publish.