School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies • Portland, OR • Campus and Online • $538/Credit (Graduate, Private)
The National University of Natural Medicine lists 4 nutrition degrees, and none leads to RD/RDN eligibility:
- M.S., Nutrition, Clinical concentration (ACNPE-accredited)
- M.S., Nutrition, Culinary concentration
- Accelerated B.S. to M.S., Nutrition (3 years)
- B.S., Nutrition
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.S. Nutrition, Clinical Concentration | $35,508 in tuition; $36,943 with published fees in person, $36,393 online | 2 to 3 years | 66 (the program page says 70) |
| M.S. Nutrition, Culinary Concentration | $35,508 in tuition; $37,443 with published fees in person, $36,393 online | 2 to 3 years | 66 (the program page says 70) |
| Accelerated B.S. to M.S. | $296 per credit for the undergraduate years, then $538 | 3 years | 138 |
| B.S. Nutrition | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated | Not clearly stated |
NUNM has no ACEND program, and its catalog lists no ACEND accreditation. The Clinical concentration is accredited by ACNPE, which makes its graduates eligible for the Certified Nutrition Specialist exam on the degree and coursework side. The Culinary concentration is food-focused, is not CNS-eligible, and has no programmatic accreditation stated.
Both concentrations cost the same and can be taken in person with a teaching kitchen or online. The 66-credit figure comes from the catalog’s course tables and the school’s tuition tables, while the program page says 70.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | In person in Portland or online, as two parallel options; the in-person option adds a teaching kitchen |
| ACEND Accreditation | None; the Oregon directory lists only Oregon State and Oregon Health and Science University |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | No |
| Supervised Practice | Clinical: three 2-credit clinic rotations, hours not stated. The CNS needs 1,000 hours outside the degree |
| Entrance Exams | None mentioned |
| GPA Floor | 3.0 strongly encouraged; no hard floor found |
| Intake | Rolling; the online M.S. lists a winter 2027 cohort with a December 8, 2026 deadline |
| Tuition | 2026-27: $538 per credit for all students |
| Institutional Accreditation | Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities |
Master of Science, Nutrition: Clinical Concentration
The estimated tuition for the M.S. in Nutrition at NUNM is $35,508 for 66 credits at $538, split $20,444 for 38 credits in year one and $15,064 for 28 in year two. Published program totals including fees are $36,943 in person and $36,393 online. The program page’s 70 credits would be $37,660, $2,152 more than the published tables.
Clinical Curriculum
Beyond the shared core, the Clinical concentration adds medical nutrition therapy and applied therapy, clinical biochemistry, advanced nutritional biochemistry, nutritional immunology, and three 2-credit nutrition clinic rotations, which the online option replaces with virtual clinical experience courses. The accreditor ACNPE lists the Clinical concentration with initial accreditation in June 2025 and its next evaluation in fall 2032.
- The shared core covers culinary skills, fundamentals of nutrition, nutritional biochemistry, pathophysiology, nutritional assessment, food relationship coaching, lifecycle nutrition, the gut microbiome, farm to table, cultural humility and food justice, and the business of nutrition
- Graduates meet the CNS educational requirements only; the 1,000 supervised hours are a separate requirement, partly supported by a post-graduate clinical nutrition internship offered as continuing education, whose current dates are stale
- The catalog says graduates are not currently eligible to apply for licensure in Oregon, and its state lists conflict with the school’s licensing page, so check state boards directly
M.S. Admissions
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, an essay of up to 2,000 words, transcripts, a resume, a government ID, and a $75 fee; no interview, GRE, or program prerequisites are required
- Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the fall 2026 deadline has passed; applicants may apply up to a year ahead
- NUNM uses its own application and not DICAS; cohort size was not found
You Should Know
The program page says 2 to 3 years while the curriculum page describes a 2-year program and links 3-year online overviews. The catalog’s fee rows describe the clinical rotation and capstone courses inconsistently, so ask NUNM before relying on any rotation hours. NUNM’s older tuition page showing $504 per credit is stale.
Master of Science, Nutrition: Culinary Concentration
The Culinary concentration is also 66 credits and $35,508 in tuition, split $19,368 for 36 credits and $16,140 for 30, with published totals of $37,443 in person and $36,393 online. Its distinguishing courses are recipe and menu development, food marketing and communication, personal chef and food service, cooking with medicinal herbs, a food educator training course, and a two-part capstone that is an industry-mentored project, in place of the clinical rotations.
- It is not eligible for licensure, the school’s March 2026 blog says it is not eligible for credentialing as a CNS, and it is not on ACNPE’s accredited list
- Fees are not itemized; the school lists $100 for each in-person cooking course and a $200 acceptance deposit applied to first-term tuition
- Capstone hours were not stated
Accelerated Bachelor to Master of Science
The accelerated program is 138 credits over three years, in person or online, with a bachelor’s awarded after year two and the master’s after year three. Students pay undergraduate rates, $296 per credit on the program page and $294 or $305 in the catalog, for undergraduate credits, and $538 for graduate credits. The page says nothing about CNS eligibility. A four-year dual degree with naturopathic medicine appears only in the catalog and was not researched.
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition
NUNM also offers a B.S. in Nutrition, in person or online. Its credits, cost, and curriculum were not researched for this profile.
Tuition
NUNM’s published rate is $538 per graduate credit from summer 2026, with no residency split. Its cost-of-attendance page shows program tables for each concentration and format, and every pathway totals 66 credits and $35,508 in tuition.
- Published totals with fees: Clinical in person $36,943, Clinical online $36,393, Culinary in person $37,443, Culinary online $36,393; the fee itemization is not published
- Known fee pieces include a technology fee of $75 or $170 a quarter depending on enrollment date, $125 parking, a $35 activity fee, $160 for graduation, and a 3% surcharge on card payments
- The cost-of-attendance estimate of rent, food, and transportation is not program cost
Be aware that:
The accredited Clinical concentration costs the same as the Culinary one, so the choice turns on credential eligibility, not price. Official figures are on NUNM’s tuition page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited to career changers and health or food professionals who want a hands-on, food-centered master’s in Portland, with a choice between a clinical track aimed at the CNS and a culinary track aimed at food-based work.
The credential value sits in the concentration choice: only the Clinical track is accredited by ACNPE and CNS-eligible, and the accreditation is new, dating from June 2025, so only recent cohorts have graduated from an accredited program. The culinary track trades that eligibility for chef and food-business skills, with no extra tuition.
If you want a teaching kitchen, the in-person option adds one. If you want to become a registered dietitian, neither concentration is that route.
Accreditation
NUNM is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which reaffirmed it in March 2025 and has an ad hoc report with a virtual visit scheduled for fall 2026, and that matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid. Its catalog also lists programmatic accreditations for naturopathic medicine and acupuncture.
ACEND’s live directory for Oregon lists four programs, at Oregon State and Oregon Health and Science University, and none at NUNM. ACEND’s decisions pages for 2019 through 2026, read through archived copies, contain no NUNM entry, and the catalog never mentions ACEND. ACNPE lists the M.S. in Nutrition, Clinical Concentration as accredited, and does not list the Culinary concentration.
A graduate of either concentration holds a master’s degree in nutrition and is not eligible for the CDR exam on that basis.
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