Nine Minnesota institutions offer nutrition or dietetics coursework. ACEND’s directory currently lists didactic programmes at only the University of Minnesota and Concordia College, and the University of Minnesota also runs a coordinated programme and a dietetic internship. The other bachelor’s listings here (Mankato, St. Catherine, and Saint Benedict / Saint John’s) are closing, closed, or absent from the directory, so confirm each directly.
What makes Minnesota unusual right now is how much is in flux at graduate level. Three of the state’s graduate routes are mid-transition — one applying to become a coordinated programme, two holding candidate status. If you are planning around a Minnesota master’s, verifying its current standing matters more here than in most states.
Nutrition Programs in Minnesota — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minneapolis |
BS Nutrition, dietetics subplan — accredited DPD MPH Public Health Nutrition — Coordinated Program track MPS Dietetics and a Dietetic Internship |
MPS $21,924; MPH CP $63.4K to $71.0K resident (derived) | Campus; Hybrid (MPH) | Yes — MPH Coordinated Program, or MPS plus internship |
| Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato |
MS Dietetics — ACEND Future Education Model graduate programme, candidate status BS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND lists the didactic programme as voluntarily closing from September 2025 |
Not yet verified | Campus | Confirm directly — master’s is a candidate |
| St. Catherine University Saint Paul |
MS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND graduate programme, candidate status BS Applied Science in Nutrition and Dietetics — 3+2 route; the didactic programme closed in 2024 |
MS $36,480 (48 credits at $760) | Campus | Yes, under candidacy — the master’s only |
| College of Saint Benedict / Saint John’s University Saint Joseph |
BA Nutrition, dietetics concentration — not listed in ACEND’s directory; confirm directly | Private — verify | Campus, private | Confirm directly |
| Winona State University Winona |
BS Public Health, nutrition | ~$10,650 in-state | Campus | No — public health focus, not accredited dietetics |
| North Hennepin Community College Brooklyn Park |
AS Nutrition — 60-credit transfer degree | About $15.1K all-in (derived) | Campus; Hybrid | No — transfer pathway |
| Northwestern Health Sciences University Bloomington |
MHS Functional and Integrative Nutrition — 36 credits DCN Functional and Integrative Nutrition — 45 credits Graduate Certificate, Functional Sports and Performance Nutrition — 15 credits |
$545/credit; MHS about $19.6K in tuition (derived) | Online | No — the catalog states none of the nutrition programs leads to RDN eligibility |
Public university figures are approximate 2025–26 in-state tuition and fees from published comparisons rather than institutional schedules, so confirm current rates directly. Private rates vary widely and discount heavily. Verify accreditation status with each programme before applying.
Which Minnesota Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose the University of Minnesota if you want an accredited route that includes supervised practice. It runs a didactic subplan, a coordinated Master of Public Health in Nutrition, a dietetics master’s, and its own dietetic internship. It has also applied to open a combined coordinated programme in 2027, which is not yet approved, so confirm which routes will exist for your start year.
Choose Minnesota State Mankato if you want a master’s in dietetics at a regional public university. Its master’s holds ACEND candidate status and includes the 1,000 supervised experiential learning hours. Students can apply to the master’s while still in the undergraduate programme through its continuous Professional Program in Dietetics, though ACEND lists the didactic programme as closing.
Choose St. Catherine if you accept candidacy-stage accreditation for a 21-month master’s with practice built in. The master’s is open for fall 2027 applications at $760 per credit, though it has no graduates yet and the school’s undergraduate didactic programme has closed.
Choose Concordia or Saint Benedict if you want a liberal arts setting. Both run accredited dietetics within a broader Bachelor of Arts, which suits students who want the credential route without a narrowly vocational degree.
Minnesota Nutrition Schools
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota runs dietetics through the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, with a coordinated route housed in the School of Public Health. ACEND’s directory lists all three of its programmes as accredited.
- BS Nutrition, dietetics subplan — the accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics
- MPH Public Health Nutrition — Coordinated Program track of 50 to 56 credits with 1,000 supervised hours
- MPS Dietetics and a Dietetic Internship — 37 weeks, up to 25 interns
Two timing points matter. The internship’s own page says it is accredited for 2019 to 2026, while ACEND’s directory shows a term to the end of 2027, so confirm its current term. And the department has applied to ACEND for a combined two-year coordinated programme targeted at September 2027, which has passed its first review phase and awaits a final decision expected this fall. Full University of Minnesota profile.
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Mankato teaches dietetics through its College of Allied Health and Nursing.
- MS Dietetics — two years, including all 1,000 hours of supervised experiential learning; ACEND candidate status
- BS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND lists the didactic programme as voluntarily closing, effective September 1, 2025
The continuous Professional Program in Dietetics lets students apply to the master’s while still enrolled as undergraduates, which smooths the transition. Applicants from elsewhere need either a didactic verification statement or the required prerequisite coursework, and a minimum 3.0 GPA. Admission to the graduate school is separate from admission to the professional programme — two approvals, not one.
One qualification to confirm directly: Mankato states that its Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics has been granted candidate status by ACEND. Candidacy is a step toward accreditation, not the same as full accreditation, and its implications for your eligibility are worth asking the programme director about explicitly.
St. Catherine University
St. Kate’s in Saint Paul runs its dietetics programme through the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health.
- MS Nutrition and Dietetics — a Future Education Model graduate programme at ACEND candidacy, 48 credits and 21 months
- BS Applied Science in Nutrition and Dietetics — the 3+2 route into the master’s; the didactic programme closed in 2024
ACEND’s decisions show the old Didactic Program in Dietetics closing through a teach-out ending May 1, 2024, so no undergraduate nutrition major at St. Kate’s leads to RD eligibility on its own. The department’s outcomes pages publish targets, with actual results available on request.
The master’s holds ACEND candidacy, granted in April 2023 with a term ending April 10, 2027, and no full accreditation decision had been published through July 2026. The program is admitting, with fall 2027 applications open and a February 1 deadline.
Concordia College and the College of Saint Benedict
Two private liberal arts institutions run accredited dietetics outside the Twin Cities.
- Concordia College, Moorhead — BA in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, accredited, plus a combined dietetic internship and master’s
- College of Saint Benedict / Saint John’s University, Saint Joseph — BA in Nutrition with a dietetics concentration, accredited
Both house the accredited coursework inside a Bachelor of Arts rather than a Bachelor of Science, which is unusual and reflects their liberal arts framing. The verification statement is the same. Moorhead sits on the North Dakota border, so Concordia students are within reach of Fargo-area placements as well as Minnesota ones.
Concordia is more than a didactic programme, and this is worth correcting against the impression its bachelor’s alone gives. It runs a combined Dietetic Internship and Master of Science in Nutrition with an emphasis in dietetics leadership — 39 credits across five consecutive semesters including a summer course, admitting a cohort of just eight students a year. That makes Concordia one of the few Minnesota institutions offering supervised practice at all, and the leadership framing distinguishes it from clinically oriented internships. Eight places is very small, so apply early and apply elsewhere too.
As private institutions both discount substantially from published rates, so compare net price rather than list price before ruling them out.
Non-credentialing and transfer programmes
Winona State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a nutrition focus. It is not an accredited dietetics programme and does not produce a verification statement, but it suits students heading toward community health, health promotion, or policy work.
Northland Community and Technical College runs an online Associate of Applied Science in Dietetic Technology, leading to the NDTR credential rather than the RDN. Online delivery makes it accessible from outside Minnesota, and given how long the RDN route now takes, a two-year technician credential is a serious alternative rather than a fallback.
North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park offers a 60-credit transfer associate in nutrition, a low-cost first two years before moving into a bachelor’s. It has no ACEND program, and Mankato is the only transfer partner it names, so confirm which specific courses your destination university accepts before enrolling.
Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington offers online functional and integrative nutrition programs: a 36-credit master’s, a 45-credit Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, and a 15-credit sports and performance certificate. Its 2026-27 catalog states that none leads to RDN eligibility, and ACEND’s Minnesota directory shows no Northwestern program. The master’s is designed as a pathway to the Certified Nutrition Specialist academic requirements.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Minnesota
Verify graduate accreditation status specifically
This is the state’s defining issue. UMN’s internship is listed by ACEND to the end of 2027 while a replacement coordinated programme is pending for 2027. Mankato’s and St. Kate’s master’s programmes both hold candidate status. None of these means a programme is unsound — new programmes routinely pass through candidacy — but each means the answer to “is this accredited right now, and will it be when I graduate” requires a direct conversation rather than a web page.
Undergraduate supply is strong; graduate supply is thinner
ACEND’s directory lists only two didactic programmes in Minnesota, at the University of Minnesota and Concordia College, so confirm the status of any other bachelor’s before planning around it. The coordinated MPH at UMN is the clearest route that includes supervised practice, and the graduate programmes at Mankato and St. Catherine are candidates. Plan the graduate step early and apply beyond Minnesota as well.
Cost varies widely across programmes
Published prices differ widely: the University of Minnesota’s master’s in dietetics is $1,827 per credit for every student, St. Catherine’s master’s is $760 per credit, and North Hennepin’s two-year transfer degree is about $15,100 all-in. Compare each school’s current schedule, and note that Minnesota’s community colleges offer a lower-cost first two years.
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, with at least 1,000 supervised practice hours. That requirement is precisely why Minnesota’s graduate landscape is shifting — the transitions described above are programmes restructuring to meet it.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Minnesota
Minnesota’s regulation of dietetics differs from states with full practice-act licensure, and the University of Minnesota notes in its own materials that completing an accredited programme alone does not qualify anyone for licensure or certification in any state. Confirm what Minnesota currently requires for the work you intend to do.
The national CDR requirements apply regardless: an ACEND verification statement, a master’s degree, supervised practice hours, and a passing exam score, with continuing education to maintain registration.
Before applying anywhere in Minnesota, verify three things directly with the school: the current accreditation status and term of any graduate programme you are considering, since three are in transition, whether Mankato’s continuous Professional Program route applies to you, since it requires two separate approvals, and — if you are considering the University of Minnesota — how the proposed 2027 coordinated programme would affect the timeline you are planning. Profiles for the University of Minnesota, St. Catherine, and North Hennepin are linked above, and profiles for the other schools are in progress. For a city view, see Minneapolis.