Eight Missouri institutions offer nutrition or dietetics coursework, spanning a two-year technician degree through the master’s. Seven of them have a profile built from the school’s own pages and ACEND’s records, linked below. Published graduate rates run from $414 per credit at Missouri State to $1,450 at Saint Louis University.
The University of Missouri is the one school ACEND’s Missouri directory lists with a Coordinated Program, and since 2016 it has admitted students only to a five-year bachelor’s-to-master’s structure. Missouri State, Saint Louis University, Central Missouri, and Southeast Missouri State run master’s programs that include or bundle supervised practice, Northwest Missouri State pairs an internship with an online master’s, and every accredited bachelor’s is a didactic program. Missouri requires an accredited internship of at least 900 hours and state registration to practise.
Nutrition Programs in Missouri — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Missouri Columbia |
Accelerated Coordinated Program in Dietetics — five-year B.S. and M.S., ACEND-accredited B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — not RD routes |
$567.80/credit graduate resident; about $87,700 over five years for a resident (derived) | Campus in Columbia | Yes — the coordinated program; ACEND’s term runs to December 31, 2026, so confirm renewal |
| Missouri State University Springfield |
MS Nutrition and Dietetics — includes the dietetic internship practica, Population Health or Clinical track BS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND-accredited DPD Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate — 16 credits, for those with a graduate degree |
$414/credit graduate resident, $825 non-resident for seated courses; $317/credit undergraduate resident | Hybrid and campus | Yes — the M.S. includes supervised practice |
| Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau |
MS Applied Nutrition — online coursework with in-person supervised practice, 36 credits BS Nutrition — Didactic Program in Dietetics, Nutrition Science, and Nutrition and Wellness tracks |
$457/credit graduate and $352/credit undergraduate, with fees, for all domestic students | Mostly online (M.S.); campus (B.S.) | Yes — the M.S.; the B.S. DPD alone gives a verification statement |
| Northwest Missouri State University Maryville |
Dietetic Internship — ACEND-accredited, up to 8 interns MS Nutrition — online, general track or dietetics internship track BS Foods and Nutrition — dietetics track is the DPD |
$492/credit online graduate for all; about $22,700 for the M.S. with the internship (derived) | Online (M.S.); campus (B.S.) | Yes — the internship with the master’s, after a DPD |
| University of Central Missouri Warrensburg |
MS Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition Option — ACEND graduate program, 43 credits MS Nutrition, Sport Nutrition Option — not an RD route |
$450/credit online and hybrid graduate; about $21,670 for the Clinical option by the school’s estimate | Hybrid and online | Yes — the Clinical option only |
| Saint Louis University St. Louis |
MS Nutrition and Dietetics with Dietetic Internship — 30 credits, the RD route BS Nutrition and Dietetics — ACEND-accredited DPD MS Nutrition and Dietetics without the internship, with culinary, therapy, or performance concentrations, also a dual M.P.H. |
$1,450 per graduate credit; $58,960 a year undergraduate | Campus, private | Yes — the combined master’s and internship, after a DPD |
| St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley St. Louis |
AAS Dietetic Technology — management or nutrition care options, roughly 450 practice hours | Community college rates — verify | Campus | No — leads to the NDTR technician credential |
| College of the Ozarks Point Lookout |
BS Applied Nutrition | Private — verify | Campus, private | No — not an accredited dietetics programme |
Rates are 2026–27 figures from each school’s published tables where profiled; the University of Missouri figure is for residents, and several schools publish a single rate for online students. Confirm accreditation status and rates directly before applying.
Which Missouri Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose the University of Missouri if you want the coordinated route and can commit early. ACEND lists its Coordinated Program as accredited since 1972, with a term ending December 31, 2026. It admits only to the five-year bachelor’s-to-master’s structure, capped at 20 students a year, which means deciding as an undergraduate rather than applying later.
Choose Missouri State if you want the master’s and supervised practice as one program. Its M.S. includes the dietetic internship practica, with a Population Health or Clinical track, and its early-decision route for its own DPD seniors is capped at 12 places a year.
Choose Southeast Missouri State if you want an online master’s with supervised practice in about 14 months. Its M.S. in Applied Nutrition is online with in-person practice in Missouri, Illinois, or a student-arranged site, and it bills one rate to domestic and online students.
Choose Northwest Missouri State if you already hold a DPD and want the internship attached to an online master’s. The accredited internship takes up to eight interns and the master’s alone does not give RD eligibility.
Choose Central Missouri if you want a 16-month graduate route near Kansas City or a separate sport nutrition master’s. Only its Clinical Nutrition Option is ACEND-accredited, and both options share the degree title.
Choose Saint Louis University if you want a master’s with the internship built in and a culinary or performance concentration. Its combined M.S. and Dietetic Internship is 30 credits at $1,450 per credit, full time and on campus, with rotations in the St. Louis area; it is a combined program rather than a coordinated one, and a DPD verification statement is required to enter.
Choose St. Louis Community College if you want to work in nutrition sooner. Its Dietetic Technology associate runs management and nutrition care options with around 450 supervised hours, leading to the NDTR credential rather than the RDN.
Missouri Nutrition Schools
University of Missouri
Mizzou runs dietetics through the Division of Food, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
- Accelerated Coordinated Program in Dietetics — a five-year B.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition and M.S. in Dietetics with supervised practice built in
- Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — B.S., M.S., and Ph.D., not RD routes
Students apply after about 90 credits and complete two years in the program, with a 3.0 GPA and B- or better in required courses. ACEND’s directory shows initial accreditation in 1972 and a term ending December 31, 2026, and the school’s pages disagree on the credit total (149 or 151) and on the undergraduate degree name. The school reports a 97 percent five-year first-time pass rate with no year window.
Full University of Missouri profile
Missouri State University
Missouri State in Springfield runs its dietetics programs through the School of Health Sciences in the McQueary College of Health and Human Services.
- MS Nutrition and Dietetics — 35 credits with the internship practica, about 1,064 hours (derived)
- BS Nutrition and Dietetics — the accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate — 16 credits, requires a completed graduate degree
ACEND accredits the Dietetic Internship, with the master’s as its degree option, and the DPD, both through December 31, 2031. The school publishes dated DPD pass and internship acceptance rates, and its cost estimate for the master’s does not reconcile with its own rate sheet.
Full Missouri State University profile
Southeast Missouri State University
SEMO in Cape Girardeau runs both an ACEND-accredited DPD and a graduate program.
- MS Applied Nutrition — 36 credits, online coursework with in-person supervised practice, summer start
- BS Nutrition — Dietetics (DPD), Nutrition Science, and Nutrition and Wellness tracks
Only the Dietetics track of the bachelor’s is accredited. The graduate program is listed by ACEND as a Future Education Model program, which the school says becomes a Coordinated Program on August 1, 2027, and its published $17,452 cost is $100 above its own semester table.
Full Southeast Missouri State University profile
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State in Maryville has an accredited DPD and its own accredited internship.
- Dietetic Internship — 1,188 hours over 9 months, up to 8 interns
- MS Nutrition — online, 30 credits, with a general track or a dietetics internship track
- BS Foods and Nutrition — dietetics track is the DPD; the general track is not accredited
The master’s alone does not give a verification statement, and the internship requires a DPD first. Rotations are at assigned sites in Missouri and Iowa, with a remote track.
Full Northwest Missouri State University profile
University of Central Missouri
UCM in Warrensburg offers one accredited graduate program and one that is not, under a single degree title.
- MS Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition Option — 43 credits, 16 months, an ACEND graduate program with supervised experiential learning
- MS Nutrition, Sport Nutrition Option — 30 or 33 credits, not accredited, not an RD route
The university no longer offers a bachelor’s in dietetics; ACEND records the old DPD as closing in May 2023. The Clinical option holds full accreditation from October 2024, and its cohort is limited to 15.
Full University of Central Missouri profile
Saint Louis University
SLU is a private university in St. Louis whose Department of Nutrition and Dietetics sits in the Doisy College of Health Sciences.
- MS Nutrition and Dietetics with Dietetic Internship — 30 credits, full time, the direct RD route
- BS Nutrition and Dietetics — the ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics, 121 credits
- MS Nutrition and Dietetics without the internship — culinary entrepreneurship, nutrition therapy, and nutrition and physical performance concentrations, not an RD route, and a dual degree with an M.P.H.
ACEND’s directory lists the internship and the DPD as separate accredited programs with terms ending June 30, 2028, and lists no coordinated program for SLU. The university’s pages disagree on the internship’s length, hours, and cost, so confirm them directly. It also holds records for Fontbonne University’s closed dietetics programme.
Full Saint Louis University profile
St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley
Florissant Valley offers Missouri’s technician route into nutrition practice.
- AAS Dietetic Technology — with a management option and a nutrition care option, including roughly 450 supervised practice hours
The two options serve different work: management points toward food service operations, nutrition care toward clinical support roles alongside registered dietitians. Both lead to the NDTR credential rather than the RDN, and both include roughly 450 hours of supervised practice — far less than the 1,000 or more an RDN route requires.
Being in the St. Louis metro puts the programme near the largest concentration of hospitals and health systems in Missouri, which matters for placements and for employment. It also sits within reach of the four-year programmes a graduate might transfer into later, if the technician credential turns out to be a first step rather than a destination.
Given the 2024 graduate degree requirement lengthened the RDN route considerably, a two-year technician credential is a more serious alternative than it once was, particularly for someone who wants to be working sooner.
College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, near Branson, offers an applied nutrition bachelor’s at a private institution known for its work-study model.
- BS Applied Nutrition
The degree suits students heading toward wellness, community health, food service, or further graduate study. It is not an accredited dietetics programme and does not produce a verification statement.
If the credential is the goal, confirm with the college what accredited coursework would still be required, because completing a didactic programme afterwards is a longer route than starting in one.
College of the Ozarks is unusual in another respect: it operates a mandatory work-study model in place of tuition for enrolled full-time students, which changes the cost calculation substantially compared with other private institutions. Ask how that applies to the nutrition programme specifically, and what remains payable in fees and living costs.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Missouri
The coordinated route requires deciding early
Mizzou’s program is the one ACEND lists as a Coordinated Program in Missouri, and the only way in is the five-year bachelor’s-to-master’s structure. That means committing as an undergraduate rather than applying at graduate level. If you already hold a bachelor’s, the graduate programs at Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State, Central Missouri, and Saint Louis University are the closest alternatives in state.
Check what each master’s includes
Several Missouri master’s degrees share a title with a non-accredited sibling. Southeast Missouri State’s B.S. has three tracks and one is accredited, Northwest Missouri State’s master’s needs a DPD and an internship place for RD eligibility, Central Missouri’s two options differ, and Saint Louis University offers the master’s with and without the internship. The degree title will not tell you which you are entering.
Missouri closed a programme recently
Fontbonne University in St. Louis ran an accredited coordinated programme in nutrition and dietetics until the university closed permanently after August 2025. It no longer accepts students. Graduates needing a verification statement should contact the Office of the Registrar at Saint Louis University, which holds the records. Some national directories still list the programme; it does not exist.
Cost depends on delivery as much as on school
Graduate prices run from $414 per credit resident at Missouri State to $1,450 at Saint Louis University. Several schools bill one rate to online students regardless of residency, but supervised practice is in person, so compare relocation and travel as well as tuition.
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. Missouri separately requires an accredited internship of at least 900 hours, so plan both steps together rather than sequentially.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Missouri
Missouri regulates dietitians through the State Committee of Dietitians, within the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. The committee requires completion of an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship of at least 900 hours.
The national CDR requirements apply alongside — an ACEND verification statement, a master’s degree, supervised practice, and a passing exam score. Registration in Missouri follows the exam. Confirm current requirements with the State Committee of Dietitians before relying on them.
Before applying anywhere in Missouri, verify two things directly with the school: the current accreditation term at the University of Missouri, which ACEND lists as ending December 31, 2026, and the application dates and accreditation wording for the graduate programs that changed recently, including Southeast Missouri State’s planned move to a coordinated program label in 2027 and Central Missouri’s newer accreditation. Profiles for seven Missouri schools are linked above.