Seven Maryland institutions offer nutrition or dietetics coursework. Resident tuition and fees run from about $8,346 at Morgan State to $12,290 at the University of Maryland College Park, where non-residents pay roughly $42,053. UMES offers a regional rate near $9,568 for students from neighbouring Eastern Shore counties.
Maryland is unusually well supplied with supervised practice. Three accredited dietetic internships operate in the state — at UMD College Park, UMES, and the University of Maryland Medical Center — and Johns Hopkins runs a graduate public health degree with coordinated practice built in. Four universities provide accredited didactic coursework.
Nutrition Programs in Maryland — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maryland, College Park College Park |
BS Dietetics — accredited DPD since 1977 Dietetic internship — accredited |
$12,290 in-state $42,053 out-of-state |
Campus | Yes — accredited at both stages |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne |
BS Human Ecology, dietetics — accredited DPD Dietetic internship MS Human Ecology — clinical nutrition |
$9,366 in-state $9,568 Eastern Shore regional $20,911 out-of-state |
Campus, HBCU | Yes — accredited at both stages |
| Towson University Towson |
BS Health Science, nutrition and dietetics — accredited DPD | Verify with the university | Campus | Yes — didactic only |
| Morgan State University Baltimore |
BS Nutritional Sciences — recognised by ACEND as a DPD | ~$8,346 in-state | Campus, HBCU | Confirm accreditation standing directly — see below |
| Johns Hopkins University / Bayview Medical Center Baltimore |
MSPH with registered dietitian concentration — includes coordinated supervised practice | Private — verify | Campus, private | Yes — practice built into the graduate degree |
| University of Maryland Medical Center Baltimore |
Dietetic internship — master’s can be earned during the programme | Verify with the centre | Hospital-based | Yes — supervised practice for DPD graduates |
| Anne Arundel Community College Arnold |
Associate — nutrition, arts and sciences transfer | Community college rates — verify | Campus | No — transfer pathway |
Public university figures are FY2026 tuition and mandatory fees from University System of Maryland schedules, excluding housing. Morgan State’s figure is derived from published per-semester rates. Verify current rates and accreditation status before applying.
Which Maryland Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose UMD College Park if you want the most established programme with an internship attached. Its accredited undergraduate programme has run since 1977, enrols around 120 students, and the university runs its own dietetic internship. It reports that all alumni taking the registration exam in the past five years passed within a year of first attempt.
Choose UMES if you want both stages at lower cost. It runs an accredited didactic programme, its own internship, and a clinical nutrition master’s, at roughly $9,366 in state. Students from neighbouring Eastern Shore counties pay a regional rate close to the in-state figure rather than full out-of-state.
Choose Johns Hopkins if you want public health alongside the credential. Its Master of Science in Public Health with a registered dietitian concentration includes coordinated supervised practice, so the graduate degree and practice hours arrive together — the closest thing Maryland has to a coordinated programme.
Choose the UMMC internship if you hold a verification statement but no master’s. The medical centre states that accepted applicants without a master’s can earn one while completing the internship, which resolves the 2024 requirement without a separate degree first.
Choose Anne Arundel if you want two cheaper years first. Its transfer associate is built to feed accredited dietetics bachelor’s programmes including UMD College Park, UMES, Morgan State, and Howard University.
Maryland Nutrition Schools
University of Maryland, College Park
UMD runs dietetics through the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, and it is the state’s longest-established accredited programme.
- BS Dietetics — ACEND-accredited didactic programme, running since 1977, with roughly 120 students enrolled
- Dietetic internship — accredited, based in the same department
Having the didactic programme and an internship in one department means UMD students are not obliged to leave the university for supervised practice, though admission to the internship is separate and competitive. The department notes that graduates also move into medical, dental, pharmacy, and physician assistant school, so the degree serves more than one destination.
UMD reports that of alumni who sat the national registration exam in the past five years, 100 percent passed within a year of first attempt. That is a reported outcome rather than an ACEND objective, which makes it more meaningful than most published figures — but ask for the current period and cohort size when you enquire.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
UMES in Princess Anne is a public HBCU on the Delmarva Peninsula, running dietetics through its Department of Human Ecology.
- BS Human Ecology, dietetics concentration — accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Dietetic internship — based in the same department
- MS Human Ecology — clinical nutrition concentration
UMES covers all three stages of the route at the lowest cost of any Maryland university with an internship. Students combine classroom work with field experiences in clinical, food service, and community settings, and the department recommends additional field experience beyond the minimum.
Two points UMES makes directly. Completing the didactic programme and receiving a verification statement does not guarantee acceptance into an internship, including its own. And students who complete the ACEND knowledge requirements without entering an internship qualify to sit the Nutrition and Dietetic Technician exam — a genuine fallback rather than a dead end.
Towson University
Towson, just north of Baltimore, houses dietetics within a health science degree.
- BS Health Science, nutrition and dietetics concentration — accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics
Because the accreditation attaches to a concentration inside a broader health science degree rather than to a standalone dietetics major, confirm with an advisor that you are enrolled in the accredited track. The degree title alone will not distinguish it.
Towson is didactic only, so plan for a master’s and a separate supervised practice application. Its Baltimore-area location puts it within reach of both the UMMC internship and the Johns Hopkins programme, which matters more than it sounds — supervised practice rotations tie you to a region for the better part of a year, and the Baltimore–Washington corridor holds the densest concentration of hospitals and health systems in the state.
Morgan State University
Morgan State in Baltimore is Maryland’s largest HBCU and runs nutrition through its School of Community Health and Policy.
- BS Nutritional Sciences — recognised by ACEND as a Didactic Program in Dietetics
At roughly $8,346 in resident tuition and fees, Morgan State is the least expensive four-year accredited option in Maryland, and graduates complete the coursework needed to apply for a dietetic internship.
One point requires direct enquiry. Morgan State’s own programme page includes a note directing readers to consult the programme director for an explanation of probationary status. We cannot tell from the published page whether that is standard accreditation boilerplate or reflects the programme’s current standing, and the distinction matters a great deal. Contact the director of the nutrition and dietetics programme and ask plainly about the current accreditation status and term before applying.
Johns Hopkins University and Bayview Medical Center
Johns Hopkins offers dietetics through a public health degree rather than a conventional nutrition programme.
- Master of Science in Public Health, registered dietitian concentration — including coordinated supervised practice
This is the closest thing Maryland has to a coordinated programme: the graduate degree and the supervised practice arrive together, so there is no separate internship match. The public health framing also distinguishes it from clinically oriented routes, suiting students heading toward policy, population health, or research.
It is graduate entry and private, so expect both prerequisites and cost to differ substantially from the public universities above. Confirm current admission requirements and tuition directly.
University of Maryland Medical Center
UMMC in Baltimore runs a hospital-based internship rather than a degree programme.
- Dietetic internship — supervised practice for holders of a didactic verification statement
The useful detail is its handling of the graduate requirement. UMMC states that applicants must hold a master’s to be eligible for the credentialing exam, but that accepted applicants without one can earn theirs while completing the internship. For a didactic graduate who has not yet done a master’s, that removes a sequencing problem.
A hospital-based internship also means clinical exposure inside an academic medical centre, which a university department cannot always match. UMMC is the flagship hospital of the University of Maryland Medical System, so the case mix is broader than most community placements offer.
Because it is an internship rather than a degree programme, you apply after completing accredited didactic coursework elsewhere. That makes it a natural destination for graduates of Towson, Morgan State, or an out-of-state didactic programme.
Anne Arundel Community College
Anne Arundel in Arnold offers Maryland’s clearest two-year entry point.
- Associate — nutrition, arts and sciences transfer
The college describes a newly developed curriculum grounding students in biology, physical sciences, chemistry, and health and wellness, explicitly built to feed accredited dietetics bachelor’s programmes at UMD College Park, UMES, Morgan State, and Howard University. Students do not need to apply separately to Health Sciences or attend an information session.
Confirm which specific courses your destination university will accept before enrolling, since articulation terms change and the receiving programme decides.
The saving is substantial in Maryland. Community college rates run well below the four-year universities, and Anne Arundel’s Arnold campus sits between Baltimore and Annapolis, within commuting distance of several transfer destinations. For a student who is undecided about dietetics specifically, the arts and sciences framing also leaves room to change direction without losing the credits.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Maryland
Three internships is a real advantage
UMD College Park, UMES, and UMMC all run accredited supervised practice, and Johns Hopkins builds it into a graduate degree. Compared with states running a single internship, Maryland students have genuine options, and two of those internships sit at universities that also teach the didactic coursework.
Confirm accreditation at the concentration level
Towson houses dietetics inside a health science degree and UMES inside human ecology. Morgan State’s published page raises a question about programme standing that only the department can answer. In every case the degree title is not sufficient evidence — ask what the accreditation covers and when the current term expires.
Cost varies more than in most states
The gap between Morgan State at roughly $8,346 and UMD College Park at $12,290 is meaningful for the same verification statement, and the out-of-state spread is dramatic — $42,053 at College Park against $20,911 at UMES. Students from Eastern Shore counties should check UMES’s regional rate, which is close to in-state.
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 programme, to sit for the RDN exam. Maryland’s didactic programmes all sit at bachelor’s level, so the graduate step has to be planned separately — unless you use the Johns Hopkins route or earn the master’s during the UMMC internship.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Maryland
Maryland regulates dietetic practice, and as in most states the licence is separate from the national RDN credential and required in addition to it. Programmes here direct graduates to confirm requirements with the state rather than assuming national credentialing is sufficient.
The CDR requirements apply regardless: an ACEND verification statement, a master’s degree, supervised practice hours, and a passing exam score. Confirm current Maryland licensure rules and fees with the relevant state board before relying on them.
Before applying anywhere in Maryland, verify three things directly with the school: the current accreditation standing at Morgan State, where the published page raises a question we cannot resolve from outside, which concentration within a broader degree carries accreditation at Towson and UMES, and whether you qualify for UMES’s Eastern Shore regional rate, which is close to in-state and far below standard out-of-state. Note also that Hood College in Frederick appears in ACEND accreditation records; confirm directly what it currently offers. Individual school profiles for these programs are in progress and will be linked here as they publish.