Stephen F. Austin State University Nutrition Degree Programs

Department of Allied Health Studies, College of Health Professions • Nacogdoches, TX • Hybrid and Online • About $481 to $535/Credit (Graduate, Public, Texas Resident, Derived)

Stephen F. Austin State University lists 3 nutrition credentials, and 1 of them is a direct RD route:

  • M.S. in Nutrition and Integrative Health, Registered Dietitian concentration, a combined master’s and ACEND-accredited Dietetic Internship (the direct RD route)
  • M.S. in Nutrition and Integrative Health, Functional Nutrition concentration (online, not an RD route)
  • B.S. in Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences (the ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics; verification statement only)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
M.S. Nutrition and Integrative Health, Registered Dietitian (MS/DI)$18,279 in tuition and fees (derived); the school estimates $16,000 to $17,000About 2 years36
M.S. Nutrition and Integrative Health, Functional Nutrition$17,298 at 9 credits a term, or $19,260 at 6 (derived); the school estimates $16,000 to $17,000Not stated36
B.S. Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences (DPD)$12,188 a year at the flat rate, or $12,938 on the guaranteed-price planNot statedAt least 120

The lead fact is that the RD master’s is a combined program with a fixed cohort of 10. Year one can be taken online or by livestream, but year two requires living in the Deep East Texas region for in-person rotations, and some placements are 70 to 90 miles away at the student’s own cost. The functional nutrition master’s shares the same degree title and is fully online, but its handbook says it does not lead to the registered dietitian credential.

The functional nutrition master’s can serve as the master’s degree before an outside ACEND internship, and the dietetics bachelor’s gives a verification statement only. Applicants must choose the right concentration when they apply.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatMS/DI: year one online or by Zoom livestream, year two mostly in person in Deep East Texas. Functional M.S.: online and hybrid livestream. B.S.: many courses online or by livestream, with science and math possibly in person
ACEND AccreditationDietetic Internship: accredited, term ends June 30, 2031. Didactic Program in Dietetics: accredited, term ends December 31, 2030 per ACEND’s directory
RD/RDN EligibilityMS/DI: yes on completion. Functional M.S.: no. B.S.: no on its own
Supervised PracticeMS/DI: at least 1,000 hours in year two, in two regions, with up to 300 alternate hours allowed
Entrance ExamsGRE not required for either master’s
GPA FloorMS/DI: 3.2 bachelor’s and 3.4 DPD. Functional M.S.: 3.0. B.S.: university admission only
IntakeMS/DI: one cohort of 10 a year; DICAS opens August 5 and closes January 15. Functional M.S.: rolling for fall, spring, and summer
Tuition2026-27: about $4,325 a term at 9 graduate credits for Texas residents, $3,210 at 6
Institutional AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Master of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health, Registered Dietitian Concentration

The estimated tuition for the MS/DI at Stephen F. Austin is $18,279 in tuition and fees for Texas residents (derived: two terms at 9 credits for $4,324.50 each plus three terms at 6 credits for $3,210 each). The school’s own estimate is $16,000 to $17,000, which the bursar tables do not support. It is 36 credits over about two years, with a comprehensive e-portfolio instead of a thesis.

MS/DI Curriculum

Required courses include public health nutrition, nutrition counseling, advanced nutrition, and two terms each of the supervised practice courses, with six to nine credits of electives. The supervised practice schedule has a 1,000-hour minimum plus a 92-hour buffer: acute care 352 hours, diabetes clinic 96 to 128, dialysis 64, community about 128, food service 128, and electives 192 to 224. The e-portfolio includes the best two of six case studies, a presentation, a blog, a grant proposal, an IRB proposal, and work samples.

MS/DI Admissions

  • A bachelor’s GPA of at least 3.2 and a DPD GPA of at least 3.4, reviewed holistically, plus a DPD verification statement or intent to complete one; no GRE and no separate application fee
  • External applicants use DICAS, which opens August 5 with a January 15 deadline; decisions come by March 1 and acceptance is due March 10, and the application may reopen until July 15 if seats remain
  • The cohort is limited to 10, placed in two regions, Nacogdoches and Lufkin or Tyler and Longview, with four to five students each
  • Fall DPD graduates with 95 or more hours and a 3.0 GPA may start the master’s early, but are not eligible for assistantships
  • Program costs include about $300 for uniforms, $80 to $100 for onboarding, and a $58 Academy membership; supervised practice is typically unpaid
You Should Know

The school’s handbooks mention a $33 per credit hour fee for web-based courses that does not appear in the 2026-27 rate tables, which would add up to $1,188 over 36 credits if it applied. The master’s course list marks one core course as requiring a substitution in the internship handbook, so the effective electives are nine rather than six. Travel is described as within 90 miles on one page and 70 to 90 miles in the handbook, and the program’s headers on several pages carry another university’s name.

Master of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health, Functional Nutrition Concentration

The functional nutrition M.S. is 36 credits, non-thesis, and offered online and by hybrid livestream, with no requirement to live in the area. Tuition for Texas residents is $17,298 at 9 credits for four terms or $19,260 at 6 credits for six terms (derived), against the school’s $16,000 to $17,000 estimate.

  • The curriculum includes integrative and functional nutrition I and II, functional nutrition assessment, public health nutrition, women’s health nutrition, private practice in health and wellness, research methods, and a literature review, plus a focused elective in sports nutrition, integrative pediatric nutrition, or advanced nutrition and metabolism
  • The culminating requirement is a written comprehensive exam of 15 to 18 pages and an oral exam
  • Admission is rolling for fall, spring, and summer with a 3.0 GPA (below 3.0 is considered case by case), prerequisites in introductory nutrition, cell biology, and human physiology, a resume, transcripts, and a 1,000-word statement of purpose; the GRE is not required
  • The program page asks for a bachelor’s in an allied health field, while the handbook asks only for a bachelor’s from an accredited U.S. institution plus the prerequisites
  • The same track appears under three names, Functional Nutrition, General Nutrition and Integrative Health, and Nutrition and Wellness, so applicants must pick the right concentration

Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences

The B.S. is at least 120 credits and is the accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics. It has two concentrations, Registered Dietitian and Pre-Professional, and all nutrition, culinary, and restaurant courses are online, while science and math courses may not be. Admission is through the university with no separate DPD application, and a verification statement needs 70 percent or higher on every competency assessment.

Tuition

Stephen F. Austin is public, so residency changes the price. The 2026-27 bursar tables publish term totals, and the per-credit figures below are derived from them.

  • Graduate totals per term for Texas residents: $3,210 at 6 credits, $4,324.50 at 9, and $6,429 at 12, which is about $535, $481, and $536 per credit; the rate is tiered rather than flat
  • Border-state graduate students pay $3,390, $4,594.50, and $6,789 at the same loads; non-residents pay $5,778, $8,176.50, and $11,565, or $3,930, $5,404.50, and $7,869 for fully online courses
  • Derived MS/DI totals: $19,359 border state and $33,687 non-resident on campus, using the 9, 9, 6, 6, 6 credit pattern
  • Non-resident assistants employed at least half time in a degree-related position pay resident tuition; overlap students are not eligible for assistantships
  • Undergraduate Texas tuition is a flat $6,094 per semester at 12 to 21 hours, $12,188 a year, or $6,469 a semester ($12,938 a year) on the guaranteed-price plan, and no nutrition differential was found

Be aware that:

The school’s $16,000 to $17,000 estimate is lower than its own published rates produce, and the unexplained web-course fee could add more. Official figures are on Stephen F. Austin’s tuition and fees page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited to Texas students who can live in the Deep East Texas region for year two of an RD master’s with an integrative and functional framing, and to students who want an online functional nutrition master’s without the RD credential.

The combined route pairs a required master’s with an accredited internship in one 36-credit package for a small cohort. The honest limit is that there are only 10 seats, year two needs relocation and unpaid, self-funded travel, the school’s cost estimate understates its own rate tables, and no pass or completion results are published, only targets.

If you want functional nutrition and already have an RD route elsewhere, the online track fits. If you want the RD credential and cannot move for year two, choose a program with a distance internship.

Accreditation

Stephen F. Austin is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, last reaffirmed in 2021 with the next reaffirmation due in 2031. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.

ACEND’s live directory for Texas lists the Dietetic Internship with initial accreditation on July 1, 1993 and a term ending June 30, 2031, and the Didactic Program in Dietetics with initial accreditation on December 1, 1970 and a term ending December 31, 2030. The school states the internship through June 30, 2031 and the DPD through December 30, 2030. The school’s handbooks give earlier founding dates of 1992 for the internship and 1973 for the DPD, and the directory still lists the unit under its former name.

ACEND’s decisions show a 2020 consortium arrangement with Tarleton State University, full and continued accreditation after site visits for the DPD in July 2023 and the internship in October 2023, and, in July 2026, both programs continuing accreditation after a progress report, for reasons that are not published. The Programs Under Review page lists no Stephen F. Austin program. A graduate of the MS/DI is eligible for the CDR exam; the functional M.S. and the B.S. alone are not.

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