Tarrant County College Nutrition Degree Programs

Nutrition and Dietetics Program, Southeast Campus • Arlington, TX • Hybrid (classification flagged) • $74/Credit (In-County Resident, All-In)

Tarrant County College offers 5 nutrition and dietetics credentials, and only 1 of them leads to a national credential, the NDTR (dietetic technician) exam, not the RD:

  • A.A.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (dietetic technician)
  • Dietary Manager, Level 1 certificate
  • Nutrition Specialist I, Level 1 certificate
  • Food and Nutrition Coach, Level 2 certificate
  • Healthy Meal Planning, Occupational Skills Award

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
A.A.S. Nutrition and Dietetics$4,440 in-county; $8,160 other Texas county; $18,900 out-of-state (tuition and fees, before books)5 terms over 2 years per the catalog; 2 to 3 years per the handbook60
Dietary Manager Certificate$1,332 in-countyNot clearly stated18
Nutrition Specialist I Certificate$1,184 in-countyNot clearly stated16
Food and Nutrition Coach Certificate$2,960 in-countyNot clearly stated40
Healthy Meal Planning Award$740 in-countyNot clearly stated10

Tarrant County College’s A.A.S. prepares dietetic technicians who work under a registered dietitian. Graduates who meet the program’s verification requirements can sit for the NDTR exam, but nothing at the college leads directly to the RD credential. The RD route requires transferring into an ACEND-accredited bachelor’s program, then a graduate degree and supervised practice, and no named articulation agreements with dietetics programs were found.

The A.A.S. is built on 450 supervised-practice hours assigned by the instructor. ACEND lists a reaccreditation site visit for the program on February 28, 2027, so its accreditation is active with a review pending.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatHybrid per ACEND’s in-person plus online coursework; TCC never states a format, and a third-party listing says fully online
Credit HoursA.A.S.: 60; certificates: 10 to 40
ACEND AccreditationDietetic Technician Program, accredited, term to June 30, 2028 per the directory; reaccreditation site visit February 28, 2027
RD/RDN EligibilityNone directly. A.A.S. graduates who meet verification requirements are eligible for the NDTR exam
Supervised PracticeAt least 450 hours in three practica, instructor-assigned, unpaid, within about 60 miles
GPA FloorNo minimum found for admission; B or better in four core courses to petition for practicum
IntakeSpecial admission: fall May 1, spring December 1; 30 students per semester in the 2021 handbook
Tuition2026-27: $74 per credit in-county, $136 other Texas county, $315 out-of-state, all-in
Institutional AccreditationSACSCOC, reaffirmed for 10 years

Associate of Applied Science, Nutrition and Dietetics

The A.A.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly Dietetic Technician, costs $4,440 for an in-county resident (60 credits at $74, which reconstructs exactly and includes fees but not books). The catalog maps five terms across two years, while the handbook says two to three years, with specialized courses offered once a year on the Southeast campus mostly by day.

A.A.S. Curriculum

Courses include Introduction to Dietetics, Nutrition and Diet Therapy, Principles of Food Preparation, two Dietary Manager courses, Nutrition in the Community, three medical nutrition therapy courses, Quantity Procedures, Child Nutrition, Life Cycle Nutrition, Food Management Systems, anatomy and physiology I and II, and three practicum courses. Students removed from dietetics courses for two consecutive semesters are dropped from the program.

A.A.S. Supervised Practice

  • Three practica of 150 hours each, 450 in all, at facilities with affiliation agreements; the instructor assigns sites and students do not find their own
  • Sites are typically within 60 miles of the Southeast campus, unpaid, usually Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Before practicum: a background check and drug screen at student cost, immunizations, CPR, food handler cards, ServSafe Manager, and a Texas driver’s license
  • To petition for practicum, a B or better in DITA 1301, FDNS 1309, FDNS 1346, and FDNS 1447, completed within three years

A.A.S. Admissions

  • Special admission, with a TCC ID, transcripts, an online application, and an information packet from the director; deadlines of May 1 (fall) and December 1 (spring), and late applications are not accepted
  • The 2021 handbook lists prerequisites of FDNS 1103 and HECO 1322 at B or better within five years, no minimum GPA, ranking by an applicant score, and 30 students selected each semester; the current application page lists none of these
  • Verification for the NDTR exam: C or better in program courses, a 2.0 GPA, satisfactory preceptor evaluations, 70% on assessments, an exit interview, and a 70% on an exit exam in up to three attempts
You Should Know

TCC’s pages disagree on practicum load (12 to 14 hours a week on one page and 14 to 16 on another), on whether ServSafe is optional or required, and on the practicum petition rule (B in four courses within three years against C and a two-year window in the handbook). Admission details such as prerequisites and cohort size appear only in the 2021 handbook. ACEND says practice is in person where the student is located, while the handbook says placements are typically within 60 miles of campus.

Certificates and Award

The college calls its certificates stackable. The 18-credit Dietary Manager certificate is ANFP-approved and prepares for the Certified Dietary Manager exam, with a 150-hour practicum. The 16-credit Nutrition Specialist I certificate shares most of the A.A.S. early courses. The 40-credit Food and Nutrition Coach certificate ends in a practicum but, per the catalog, its completers are not eligible for the NDTR exam. The 10-credit Healthy Meal Planning award is the shortest. Per-certificate delivery and practicum hours were not found, and the 2021 handbook lists Dietary Manager at 21 credits against 18 now.

Nutrition Specialist I

This 16-credit Level 1 certificate covers Introduction to Dietetics, Nutrition and Diet Therapy, a Dietary Manager course, community or life cycle nutrition, food preparation, and medical nutrition therapy, and the 2021 handbook describes it as open admission. It costs $1,184 in-county.

Food and Nutrition Coach

This 40-credit Level 2 certificate costs $2,960 in-county and is not NDTR-eligible.

Healthy Meal Planning Occupational Skills Award

This 10-credit award costs $740 in-county, and its credit count appears as 9 in the 2021 handbook.

Tuition

Tarrant County College’s published 2026-27 tuition is $74 per semester credit hour for Tarrant County residents, $136 for other Texas residents, and $315 for out-of-state and foreign students, with a $60 surcharge for third attempts. TCC says the rate includes fees, and no separate fee is itemized.

  • Published program totals at the in-county rate: A.A.S. $4,440, Dietary Manager $1,332, Nutrition Specialist I $1,184, Food and Nutrition Coach $2,960, and Healthy Meal Planning $740, each reconstructing exactly from credits at $74
  • Derived A.A.S. totals: $8,160 at the other-county rate and $18,900 out-of-state; a 15-credit in-county semester is $1,110
  • Excluded: books and materials, program-specific charges such as the background check, and developmental courses

Be aware that:

The $4,440 excludes the largest real costs. The 2021 handbook estimated $7,590 in all, including $3,000 for books, $250 for uniforms, $200 for background and drug screening, and $120 for the NDTR exam application, and no current equivalent was found. Official figures are on TCC’s tuition and fees page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for students who want a low-cost entry into dietetics in the Fort Worth area, as a technician credential or as a first step toward a bachelor’s degree, and who can attend weekday daytime practicum blocks.

The workload is the limit. The A.A.S. is mostly daytime on one campus, with a Wednesday and Friday practicum pattern, grade gates in four core courses, and an exit exam, which suits full-time students better than working adults.

The credential is the NDTR, and Texas does not license NDTRs, who work under a dietitian. Students aiming for the RD should confirm in writing which courses a receiving bachelor’s program will accept, since several specialized courses may not transfer.

Accreditation

Tarrant County College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and its programs are approved by the state’s higher education board. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit and federal financial aid.

ACEND’s directory lists the college’s Dietetic Technician Program as accredited, with a term ending June 30, 2028, and an A.A.S. degree offered. ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation after a site visit in January 2020 and continued accreditation after an interim or progress report in July 2023, with no entries in other years from 2019 through 2026. The Programs Under Review page lists a reaccreditation site visit scheduled for February 28, 2027. The directory dates initial accreditation to 1974, while a 2020 college news item dates developmental approval to 1977 and uninterrupted approval to 1999, so no origin year is published here.

The college’s program page says it is the only accredited nutrition and dietetics program in Texas, which is overbroad, since the directory shows it as the only dietetic technician program in the state while Texas has many ACEND DPD and internship programs. A graduate of the A.A.S. who meets verification requirements can sit for the NDTR exam. The RD requires a bachelor’s, a master’s, supervised practice, and the CDR exam at other institutions.

More Nutrition Degrees in Texas