Middle Tennessee State University Nutrition Degree Programs

College of Behavioral and Health Sciences • Murfreesboro, TN • Campus and Online • $623/Credit In-State (Graduate, Public)

Middle Tennessee State University lists a dietetics program that no longer admits students, plus a non-RD online master’s and a proposed graduate program:

  • B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics concentration (the ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics; admission closed after Fall 2024)
  • M.P.S. in Leadership in Nutrition (online, 30 credits; not ACEND-accredited, and not an RD route for non-dietitians)
  • MPH Dietetics Concentration (a proposed Future Education Model graduate program; ACEND status unconfirmed)
  • B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science with general, Food Industry, and Nutrition and Wellness concentrations, and a minor (not RD routes)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
M.P.S. Leadership in Nutrition (Online)About $21,660 in tuition and fees at 6 credits a term (derived, in-state)Not stated30
B.S. Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics concentration (DPD)About $11,568 a year in tuition and fees at 15 credits (derived, in-state); closed to new students4 years; terminating in summer 2028120
MPH Dietetics Concentration (proposed)Not published; the program site estimates $54,356 including $36,000 in living costs18 months, five semesters42

The lead fact is that the DPD is being terminated. The catalog and program page say the last admitted term was Fall 2024 and the program ends in summer 2028, while ACEND’s directory lists a closure pending on August 16, 2027. The school’s DPD handbook still describes admission as open, so applicants should rely on the program page and the department.

The school has also described a Future Education Model graduate program in dietetics, built as a public health master’s, planned to start in May 2027. One of its web pages calls it accredited, while the DPD page says it is in the candidacy process, and ACEND’s directory, decisions pages, and Programs Under Review page show no Middle Tennessee State graduate program.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatM.P.S.: fully online. DPD: on ground per the program page; ACEND lists a combination of in-person and online. Proposed MPH: online coursework with in-person supervised practice
ACEND AccreditationDPD: accredited, term ends June 30, 2028, with closure pending August 16, 2027. No graduate program is listed
RD/RDN EligibilityDPD alone and the M.P.S.: no. The proposed MPH program: unconfirmed
Supervised PracticeNone in the DPD or M.P.S.; the proposed MPH program describes at least 1,000 hours
Entrance ExamsNo GRE for the M.P.S.
GPA FloorM.P.S.: 3.0, with a portfolio route below that
IntakeDPD: closed. M.P.S.: deadlines not found
Tuition2026-27: $623 per graduate credit for the first 10 credits plus a $99 per credit program services fee; online non-resident eRate $887 per credit
Institutional AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Master of Professional Studies in Leadership in Nutrition

The M.P.S. is 30 credits: 12 in a core, 15 in a concentration of leadership and 6000-level nutrition courses, and a professional project of 3 to 4 credits. It is fully online, and registered dietitians or students who completed a DPD and internship can reduce it to 24 credits. In-state students taking 6 credits a term would pay about $21,660 (derived as 30 credits at $623 plus $99), and online-only non-residents about $26,610 at the eRate.

  • Admission needs a bachelor’s degree and a 3.0 GPA, or a portfolio below 3.0; a $50 graduate application fee applies and no GRE is required
  • The school lists affiliated internship partners and an audience of dietetic interns, but has no supervised practice of its own
  • The catalog says that unless a student is already a registered dietitian the program is not ACEND-accredited and does not provide eligibility for an internship or the exam, while the program page says it helps meet the master’s requirement; use the catalog wording
  • Duration and deadlines were not found

Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Food Science, Dietetics Concentration

The DPD is 120 credits. It admitted any enrolled university student with no cohort limit through Fall 2024. Courses include medical nutrition therapy I and II, nutrition coaching and counseling, food systems management, advanced nutrition, sports nutrition, community nutrition, and dietetics research.

  • The school publishes internship acceptance for its DPD graduates: 7 of 7 in 2025-26, 7 of 7 in 2024-25, 7 of 7 in 2023-24, 9 of 9 in 2022-23, 8 of 8 in 2021-22, and 15 of 15 in 2020-21
  • Other outcomes are targets only, and actual completion and exam results were not found
  • Post-baccalaureate and non-degree routes were described, and DICAS costs $50 for the first application and $25 for each additional one
  • Materials fees are $25 per credit for six nutrition courses, about $250 in total (derived)

Proposed MPH Dietetics Concentration

The program site describes a 42-credit, cohort-based Master of Public Health with a dietetics concentration: 15 public health credits and 27 dietetics credits over 18 months from May, with at least 1,000 supervised practice hours, online coursework, and sites chosen by students with faculty help. It lists DICAS applications and a 3.0 GPA. The catalog says the concentration is pending approval and is not in the 2026-27 graduate program list, so this profile treats it as proposed.

Tuition

Middle Tennessee State is public, so residency changes the price.

  • Graduate in-state: $623 per credit for hours 1 to 10 and $123 per credit above that, plus a $99 per credit program services fee capped at 12 credits
  • Graduate online-only non-resident eRate: $778 per credit plus $99 and a $10 online fee, $887 per credit; the rate is lost if any non-online course is added
  • Undergraduate in-state: $365 per credit for hours 1 to 12 plus the fee, $5,568 for 12 credits and $5,784 for 15 credits; out-of-state $1,311 per credit
  • Derived: a resident undergraduate year at 15 credits a term is $11,568
  • Course fees apply to some courses, such as $25 per credit for six nutrition courses, and no nutrition tuition differential was found

Be aware that:

Whether an in-state online M.P.S. student pays the $10 online fee was not found. Official figures are on the university’s tuition page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited to dietetic interns and registered dietitians who want a low-cost online master’s in nutrition leadership, and to current Middle Tennessee State students already in the dietetics concentration.

The online master’s supplies the graduate degree for people who completed a DPD and internship elsewhere, with six credits possibly waived. The honest limit is that the DPD is closed, the proposed graduate program’s status is contradictory, the M.P.S. offers no supervised practice, and the school’s pages disagree on closure dates.

If you want the RD credential, ask the department what is open and confirm any graduate program with ACEND first. If you want food industry or wellness work, the other concentrations remain available.

Accreditation

Middle Tennessee State is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.

ACEND’s live directory for Tennessee lists the Didactic Program in Dietetics with initial accreditation on July 1, 1976, a term ending June 30, 2028, and closure pending on August 16, 2027, while the catalog says the program ends in summer 2028. ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation after a site visit in January 2020 and no other Middle Tennessee State entry from 2019 through 2026.

The Programs Under Review page lists no Middle Tennessee State program, including the proposed graduate program. A graduate of the DPD holds a verification statement only; the M.P.S. confers no RD eligibility on its own.

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