University of North Florida offers 3 Nutrition and Dietetics credentials profiled here:
- B.S., Nutrition and Dietetics — Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics — Dietetic Internship option
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics — Integrated Graduate Program (IGP)
UNF runs an unusually wide credential set beyond these three. The B.S. also offers a non-accredited Community Nutrition and Food (CNF) concentration, and DPD juniors can apply to an Accelerated DPD (4+1) BS/MS pathway. At the graduate level, UNF also offers an M.S. Dietetic Professional Studies option (for RDNs or DPD graduates already pursuing supervised practice elsewhere), an M.S. Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals option (explicitly not an RD pathway), an Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP), and a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition (DCN). These are named below but not profiled in full.
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD) | ~$25,600 total (derived) | 4 years (8 semesters) | 120 |
| M.S., Dietetic Internship option | ~$14,800 total (derived) | 4 semesters, full-time | 30 |
| M.S., Integrated Graduate Program (IGP) | ~$19,250 total (derived) | 20 months | 39 |
UNF’s defining fact is the Integrated Graduate Program: an ACEND Future Education Model (FEM) graduate program that admits both nutrition majors and non-nutrition majors directly, combining online didactic coursework with 1,000 hours of onsite supervised experiential learning in one accredited credential. A career-changer with a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, who completes the FEM prerequisites, does not need to complete a separate undergraduate DPD first. No other Florida or Louisiana program documented so far offers that route. UNF’s undergraduate DPD is also unusually open: there is no separate, competitive application to the major beyond standard university admission.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | B.S. (DPD or Community Nutrition and Food); Accelerated 4+1 BS/MS; M.S. (4 options: Dietetic Internship, Integrated Graduate Program, Dietetic Professional Studies, Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals); ISPP; Doctor of Clinical Nutrition |
| Format | Campus (B.S. core, with upper-level DPD courses also offered online); fully online for the accelerated M.S., the IGP, Dietetic Professional Studies, Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals, and the DCN |
| Credit Hours | 120 (B.S., including 94 major-specific and prerequisite credits); 30 (M.S./Dietetic Internship, Dietetic Professional Studies, Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals); 39 (M.S./IGP) |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes: the DPD, the M.S./Dietetic Internship option, the M.S./Integrated Graduate Program, and the ISPP. The CNF concentration, the Dietetic Professional Studies option, and the Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals option carry no ACEND accreditation of their own. |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the DPD plus either the MS/Dietetic Internship or the MS/IGP (or the ISPP) plus the CDR exam. The IGP alone, for non-nutrition-major applicants, substitutes for the DPD-plus-internship sequence entirely. The Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals option does not lead to RD eligibility. |
| Supervised Practice | MS/Dietetic Internship: hours not separately published on the pages reviewed. MS/IGP: 1,000 hours of onsite supervised experiential learning integrated with online coursework. |
| Specializations | None formal within the DPD; the IGP’s own emphasis is competency-based practice readiness rather than a specialty track |
| Distinctive Coursework | DIE 4005, Orientation to Professional Dietetics, required in the second year of the nutrition curriculum; DIE 3213/3246, Nutrition Therapy I & II |
| Research Requirement | Not clearly stated as a thesis requirement for the M.S. options reviewed; the DCN instead requires an applied outcomes-based research project |
| Entrance Exams | Not stated as required for the B.S. or the graduate programs reviewed |
| Intake | MS/Dietetic Internship: 15 admitted each Fall, 4-semester full-time cohort. MS/IGP: 16 admitted each Fall. Dietetic Professional Studies and Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals: Fall, Spring, and Summer admission, full- or part-time. |
| GPA Floor | No separate GPA gate published for DPD admission beyond standard university admission; graduate program GPA minimums were not separately published on the pages reviewed |
| Tuition | $212.98/credit (published, in-state undergraduate); see Tuition section |
| Institutional Accreditation | SACSCOC |
B.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD)
The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, DPD concentration, at UNF is approximately $25,600 in-state and $91,800 non-resident (120 credits across 8 semesters at UNF’s published per-credit rate; derived, see Tuition). The program requires 120 credit hours, including 94 major-specific and prerequisite credits, and is a conventional four-year, eight-semester sequence.
UNF houses dietetics in the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics within the Brooks College of Health. Unusually among the schools profiled so far, there is no separate, competitive application to the DPD major: students apply for standard UNF admission and declare the concentration directly, rather than clearing a GPA-gated specialized-admission process the way FIU, UF, and FSU each require.
DPD Curriculum
The senior year is tightly sequenced by design. UNF publishes a term-by-term “BS/DPD Nutrition Program Sequencing Schedule” that locks most concentration courses to a specific year and semester, for example Nutrition Therapy I in senior fall (a prerequisite for Nutrition Therapy II in senior spring) and both Management of Food/Nutrition I and II in the same senior-year sequence. Deviating from the published sequence risks delaying graduation, per the program’s own catalog note.
- HUN 3800: Nutrition Science Research and Ethics
- HUN 3403: Life Span Nutrition
- HUN 3230 / HUN 3231: Metabolism of Macronutrients, then Micronutrients
- DIE 3213 / DIE 3246: Nutrition Therapy I & II
- DIE 4122 / DIE 4125: Management of Food/Nutrition I & II
- DIE 4005: Orientation to Professional Dietetics
- HUN 4016C: Nutrition Counseling and Communication
- DIE 4931: Nutrition Trends/Leadership
More curriculum details are available here.
Other Undergraduate Pathways
The Community Nutrition and Food (CNF) concentration shares the same B.S. degree title but is not ACEND-accredited; it prepares students for the Certified Dietary Manager, Certified Food Protection Professional (CDM, CFPP) exam and pairs easily with a Food Systems and Sustainability minor (two additional classes). It does not lead to RD eligibility. DPD students who reach junior status may instead apply to the Accelerated DPD (A-DPD), a 4+1 pathway that integrates graduate coursework into the junior and senior years to finish the B.S. and an M.S. in roughly five years total.
You Should Know
UNF’s online upper-level DPD option does not include the required science prerequisites; only courses specifically listed as “Concentration Requirements” are offered online. A student planning a fully online DPD must still complete general chemistry, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and biochemistry through in-person or other institutions before the online concentration coursework becomes available to them.
M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (Dietetic Internship Option)
The estimated tuition for this option is approximately $14,800 in-state and $33,800 non-resident (30 credits at UNF’s published graduate per-credit rate; derived, see Tuition). The program requires 30 credit hours and runs as a 4-semester, full-time cohort.
This is UNF’s traditional combined route: an ACEND-accredited Dietetic Internship completed alongside the M.S., admitting 15 students each Fall. Both the master’s degree and the internship’s supervised-practice experience must be completed together before a verification statement is issued.
A Related Option for External Placements
Students who match into a free-standing dietetic internship elsewhere, such as the Pasco County, AdventHealth, or Tampa VA internships, or UNF’s own ISPP, can pair that outside placement with a separate UNF credential: a compressed, fully online 30-credit master’s affiliated with the outside internship, completed in 12 months (Summer B to Summer A). This is a distinct pathway from the 4-semester MS/Dietetic Internship above; it supplies the graduate degree, not the supervised practice itself, which the student arranges elsewhere.
MS/Dietetic Internship Admissions
- 15 students admitted each Fall semester
- Graduation from an ACEND-approved DPD program
- Application through UNF’s standard graduate admissions process
More admissions details are available here.
M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (Integrated Graduate Program)
The estimated tuition for the IGP is approximately $19,250 in-state and $43,950 non-resident (39 credits at UNF’s published graduate per-credit rate; derived, see Tuition). The program requires 39 credit hours and is designed to be completed in 20 months.
The IGP is an ACEND Future Education Model (FEM) graduate program, a newer accreditation category that folds coursework and supervised practice into a single competency-based credential rather than treating the didactic and practice stages as separate accredited programs. It integrates online coursework with 1,000 hours of onsite supervised experiential learning, and admits 16 students each Fall.
IGP Admissions
This is the only accredited RD pathway among the Florida and Louisiana schools documented so far that does not require an undergraduate DPD. A non-nutrition-major applicant needs a bachelor’s degree from any accredited institution in any discipline, plus completion of the IGP’s own FEM prerequisite courses (each with a “C” or better, none older than 10 years). DPD graduates may also apply directly.
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (any discipline for non-DPD applicants; DPD verification statement satisfies the nutrition-specific requirement for DPD applicants)
- Completion of all IGP prerequisite courses with a “C” or better, completed within the last 10 years
- Resume detailing paid and volunteer experience
- Letter of intent describing career goals
- Three letters of recommendation, at least one academic
- Application submitted through DICAS
More admissions details are available here.
You Should Know
“Any discipline” does not mean no prerequisites. The IGP still requires its own FEM prerequisite science coursework, encouraged relevant work or volunteer experience, and a competitive application reviewed alongside DPD-holder applicants for only 16 seats a year. Treat this as a genuine career-change route into dietetics, not an easy one.
Other Graduate Options
UNF’s Department of Nutrition & Dietetics also offers, but this profile does not cover in full: an M.S. Dietetic Professional Studies option (fully online, 30 credits, for RDNs or DPD graduates who are completing or have completed supervised practice through a separate stand-alone internship, with Fall, Spring, and Summer admission); an M.S. Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals option (fully online, 30 credits, for healthcare professionals wanting applied nutrition knowledge; explicitly not a path to RD eligibility); an Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP), an ACEND-accredited distance route students arrange with their own preceptors; and a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition (DCN), an online, practice-focused doctorate distinct from a research Ph.D., built around an applied outcomes-based research project rather than bench research.
Tuition
UNF publishes a genuinely linear per-credit tuition rate. In-state undergraduate tuition and fees run $212.98 per credit; non-resident runs $765.14 per credit. In-state graduate tuition and fees run $493.53 per credit; non-resident graduate runs $1,126.88 per credit. These figures are drawn from UNF’s Fall 2026/Spring-Summer 2027 published schedule, its most current at the time of research.
Estimated Totals by Credential (derived)
- B.S., DPD (120 credits / 8 semesters): approximately $25,558 resident, $91,817 non-resident, using the per-credit rate × 120
- M.S., Dietetic Internship option (30 credits): approximately $14,806 resident, $33,806 non-resident, using the graduate per-credit rate × 30
- M.S., Integrated Graduate Program (39 credits): approximately $19,248 resident, $43,948 non-resident, using the graduate per-credit rate × 39
Be aware that:
- The state hub’s cited resident figure ($6,389/year) matches this profile’s derived annual total from the published per-credit rate exactly (at 30 credits/year). Its non-resident figure ($20,793/year) runs meaningfully below this profile’s derived figure (about $22,954/year, a roughly $2,161 gap); the hub’s non-resident number may reflect an earlier rate or a different fee assumption. Use UNF’s own current schedule for a specific enrollment plan.
- Online graduate programs (the IGP, Dietetic Professional Studies, Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals, the accelerated M.S., and the DCN) may carry distance-learning or material fees on top of the standard per-credit rate shown here; none were separately itemized on the pages reviewed.
- A separate, lower flat graduate rate ($275/credit resident, plus fees) applies to UNF undergraduate alumni who matriculate into a standard-rate graduate program within five years of their UNF bachelor’s degree; this could reduce the cost of the Accelerated DPD (4+1) pathway’s graduate year relative to the general graduate rate used above. Confirm eligibility directly.
- Rates cited here come from UNF’s own Schedule of Tuition and Fees regulation. Verify current rates before enrolling.
UNF’s in-state rate sits in the same narrow band as Florida’s other public accredited programs; the real cost and structure differences here are in which of the four graduate options a student needs, since they range from a 30-credit paired-internship master’s to a 39-credit standalone accredited program with its own supervised practice built in.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want the widest menu of accredited pathways in Florida, including a genuine career-change route for non-nutrition majors, and who value flexibility over a single fixed track.
Choose the IGP if you are changing careers into dietetics. It is the only program documented across Florida and Louisiana so far that grants full ACEND-accredited RD eligibility to a non-nutrition-major bachelor’s degree holder without first completing a separate undergraduate DPD, provided the FEM prerequisites are met.
Choose the traditional DPD if you want an open-admission undergraduate start. UNF is the only Florida school documented so far with no competitive, GPA-gated specialized admission to its DPD major; a student declares the concentration and proceeds, though the senior-year course sequence is still tightly locked.
Choose the compressed online master’s if you matched elsewhere. A student who secures a free-standing internship (Pasco County, AdventHealth, Tampa VA, NutritionInc, or UNF’s own ISPP) can still get the required graduate degree from UNF in 12 months online, without needing UNF’s own competitive MS/DI or IGP seats.
The honest drawback: with four master’s options, an accelerated pathway, an ISPP, and a doctorate, UNF’s own program pages are organized more like a department directory than a single guided pathway, and several key facts (graduate GPA minimums, MS/DI supervised-practice hours) were not published in the same detail as the school’s other figures. A prospective student should use UNF’s own program-comparison tool, referenced on its admissions page, before choosing among the four graduate options.
Accreditation
The University of North Florida is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), which governs the university’s authority to award degrees, the transferability of its credits, admission to its graduate programs, and eligibility for federal financial aid. This institutional accreditation covers every program described here.
Programmatic accreditation is narrower and comes from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), the only accreditor relevant to RD eligibility. ACEND accredits four named credentials at UNF: the DPD, the MS/Dietetic Internship option, the MS/Integrated Graduate Program (a Future Education Model program), and the Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway.
Three credentials named here fall outside that ACEND scope: the Community Nutrition and Food concentration, the MS Dietetic Professional Studies option, and the MS Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals option. This is standard for a non-clinical undergraduate track and two graduate degrees that either assume supervised practice is being completed elsewhere or explicitly serve a non-RD audience, and is not itself a deficiency.
Graduates of the DPD may apply to ACEND-accredited supervised-practice programs, including UNF’s own MS/Dietetic Internship, its IGP, its ISPP, or free-standing internships elsewhere. Non-nutrition-major applicants who meet the IGP’s own prerequisites may enter that pathway without a prior DPD. On completing supervised practice together with a graduate degree, meeting current Commission on Dietetic Registration requirements, graduates become eligible to sit for the CDR’s national RDN examination.
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