Rush University Nutrition Degree Programs

Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Health Sciences • Chicago, IL • Campus (Dietetic Integrated) or Online (M.S.) • $1,046/Credit (Graduate)

Rush University offers 2 nutrition credentials with the same degree title, and only 1 of them leads to RD/RDN eligibility:

  • M.S., Clinical Nutrition, Dietetic Integrated Track (the MSDI)
  • M.S., Clinical Nutrition (online, non-RD)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
M.S. Dietetic Integrated Track$50,208 at the 2026-27 rate (derived, a floor)20 months (5 terms)48
M.S. Clinical Nutrition (Online)$31,380 (30 credits at $1,046, derived)Not clearly stated; 5-year limit30

Both tracks are called Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, but only the on-campus Dietetic Integrated Track leads to the RDN exam. It is a 48-credit graduate program with more than 1,000 supervised hours and no separate internship match, and it admits applicants without a DPD who finish the prerequisites. The online track has no supervised practice and no ACEND coverage.

Rush’s standalone dietetic internship was closed effective May 31, 2024, and the integrated track is its reorganized successor.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatDietetic Integrated: campus only. Online M.S.: 100% online, synchronous and asynchronous
ACEND AccreditationGraduate Program (Future Education Model); term end not found
RD/RDN EligibilityDietetic Integrated Track: yes. Online M.S.: no
Supervised PracticeAt least 1,000 hours integrated, mostly at Rush University Medical Center and Chicago-area sites
Entrance ExamsNone listed for either track; the GRE policy was not found
GPA Floor3.0 recommended, holistic review
Cohort Size20 a year for the Dietetic Integrated Track
IntakeDietetic Integrated: fall, DICAS by February 1. Online M.S.: fall, recommended July 1 via AHCAS
Tuition2026-27: $1,046 per credit for both tracks
Institutional AccreditationHigher Learning Commission

Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, Dietetic Integrated Track

The estimated tuition for the Dietetic Integrated Track at Rush is $50,208 (48 credits at $1,046, derived), split $32,426 for the 31 credits of year one and $17,782 for the 17 of year two. It takes 20 months, from a September start to April of year two, with terms of 10, 10, 11, 9, and 8 credits.

Dietetic Integrated Curriculum

Each semester pairs didactic work with practice in clinical nutrition, community nutrition, and food systems management, alongside nutrition and metabolism, vitamins and minerals, nutrition epidemiology, and four research courses (5 credits) that build a required master’s project. Graduation needs a 3.0 GPA, all practice hours, an interprofessional education course, and 16 contact hours of service.

Dietetic Integrated Supervised Practice

  • At least 1,000 hours, integrated in the degree with no separate match
  • Rotations at Rush University Medical Center, a 650-plus bed hospital, including a staff relief rotation, and a food systems practicum in its central kitchen, plus acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient, school, and corporate sites around Chicago
  • Whether placements are program-arranged or student-arranged was not stated

Dietetic Integrated Admissions

  • Two entry paths: an ACEND DPD verification statement, or any bachelor’s plus prerequisites
  • Nine prerequisites of at least 3 credits each: general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and food science, all with labs, plus human nutrition and introductory foods; missing courses may be completed before matriculation
  • DICAS by February 1 with three references, a personal statement of up to 750 words, a faculty interview, and a secondary Rush application
  • No credit for prior learning; the 20-student cohort starts each fall
You Should Know

Rush’s admissions page accepts non-DPD applicants, while its page on becoming a dietitian tells non-dietetics graduates to complete a verification statement first and still cites older wording. The handbook’s cost table splits the credits 30 and 18 across the two years against the plan’s 31 and 17, and the handbook gives the time limit as 30 or 35 months in different passages.

Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition (Online)

The online M.S. is 30 credits at $1,046, or $31,380 (derived), to be completed within five years. Rush’s pages give its length as 12 to 24 months, as 12 months full-time or 15 to 24 part-time, and as 16 months full-time or three to five years part-time. It requires a bachelor’s with one course each in biochemistry, physiology, nutrition, and statistics, applies through AHCAS, and carries no supervised practice or RDN eligibility. Rush describes it as serving dietitians, health professionals, and gap-year pre-health students.

Tuition

Rush’s published 2026-27 rate is $1,046 per credit for both tracks, up $30, or about 3%, from $1,016 in 2025-26. The rate page makes no residency split and lists no mandatory fees for these programs.

  • Rush warns that students should expect an annual increase and that leaving the plan of study may add charges, so $50,208 is a floor for a student who starts in fall 2026
  • The CHS Tuition Award for financial need is typically up to $6,000, and diversity scholarships also exist
  • The 2025-26 program expense table lists an insurance allowance, housing, and exam review; no 2026-27 table was found

Be aware that:

The 2025-26 handbook and an expense PDF imply per-credit rates of $1,016 and $996, and the official 2025-26 schedule says $1,016. Official figures are on Rush’s tuition rates page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited to people who want clinical dietetics training in a hospital setting and are ready to study full-time on campus for 20 months.

The price is predictable: one rate for every student, about $50,200 for the degree at today’s rate, with practice and master’s in a single enrollment. The main confusion risk is the shared degree title, because the cheaper online M.S. at about $31,400 looks the same on a transcript and carries no credential.

If you are a career changer, the integrated track accepts any bachelor’s with the nine prerequisites. If you already hold the credential, the online M.S. is built for you and runs on a different application system.

Accreditation

Rush is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.

Rush states that the integrated track is fully accredited by ACEND under its graduate degree standards. ACEND’s October 2020 decisions approved a change to a graduate-degree completion requirement, its January 2023 decisions approved reorganizing the Dietetic Internship into a Future Education Model graduate program and listed the internship as voluntarily closing effective May 31, 2024, and its April 2026 decisions list “Rush University” under Graduate Program in Dietetics with full and continued accreditation after a site visit. The live directory would not load for this review, so the program’s original accreditation date and term end were not found and are not published here. Rush is not on the Programs Under Review page.

The online M.S. is not covered by ACEND accreditation. A graduate of the Dietetic Integrated Track completes the master’s and supervised practice and can sit for the CDR exam, while a graduate of the online track cannot.

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