UT Southwestern Medical Center Nutrition Degree Programs

Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Health Professions • Dallas, TX • Campus (Coordinated Program) or Online (M.S.) • $291/Credit (Texas Resident Tuition, Coordinated Program)

UT Southwestern Medical Center offers 2 nutrition degrees, and 1 of them leads to RD/RDN eligibility:

  • Master of Clinical Nutrition, Coordinated Program in Dietetics
  • M.S., Nutritional Health (online, non-RD)

Program Tracks Overview

ProgramEst. TuitionEst. DurationCredit Hours
Master of Clinical Nutrition (Coordinated Program)$23.6K in-state, $54.0K out-of-state (tuition and mandatory fees, derived)24 months (6 semesters)71
M.S. Nutritional Health (Online)$17.8K to $19.1K in-state, $30.6K to $31.9K out-of-state (derived, by pace)12 to 24 months30

UT Southwestern’s Master of Clinical Nutrition is a full-time Coordinated Program that integrates 1,200 supervised-practice hours into a 71-credit master’s on a medical center campus, with no separate internship. It accepts a bachelor’s in any field, but requires about 42 credits of prerequisites, so a career changer faces a heavy science load before applying.

The online M.S. in Nutritional Health is a separate, non-RD degree with no supervised practice and one online program only, not two. Ten scholarships are available to Coordinated Program students, including awards of $5,250 a year for Texas residents.

Quick Facts

FeatureDetails
FormatCoordinated Program: campus, with some coursework online. M.S.: online, self-paced with deadlines
Credit HoursCoordinated Program: 71; M.S.: 30
ACEND AccreditationCoordinated Program in Dietetics: full and continued accreditation, January 2021; term end not found
RD/RDN EligibilityCoordinated Program: yes on completion. Online M.S.: no
Supervised Practice1,200 hours integrated, about 30 hours a week early rising to nearly 32 in year two
Entrance ExamsNot found for either program
GPA Floor3.0 recommended overall and in prerequisites for the Coordinated Program; C or better in prerequisites
IntakeCoordinated Program: August only, DICAS deadline February 1, 2027. M.S.: April 1 for an August start
Tuition2026-27 per credit: Coordinated Program resident $291, non-resident $719; online M.S. $541 and $969
Institutional AccreditationSACSCOC, last reaffirmed 2019, next scheduled 2029

Master of Clinical Nutrition, Coordinated Program

The estimated cost of the Master of Clinical Nutrition is about $23,647 for a resident and $54,035 for a non-resident, including mandatory fees (71 credits at $291 or $719 plus $2,986 in fees, derived from the 2026-27 bursar tables). It runs six consecutive semesters from August, for 24 months.

Coordinated Program Curriculum

Credits run 17, 16, and 9 in the first year and 12, 13, and 4 in the second, with 27 credits of practicum. Coursework covers the Nutrition Care Process, medical nutrition therapy in chronic, acute, and pediatric care, food science, food service management, nutrition in aging, nutrition in media communications, and the business of health care. Students complete a graduate research project under a faculty mentor, with no thesis named, plus 1 to 15 hours of service learning.

Coordinated Program Supervised Practice

  • 1,200 supervised hours, integrated with no separate internship, with one-on-one preceptors
  • Sites include Children’s Medical Center, the Dallas VA, Methodist Dallas, Parkland, Clements University Hospital, and area dialysis clinics and school districts
  • The page gives about 30 hours a week in the first semester to nearly 32 in year two, and whether sites are assigned or arranged was not found; students pay for travel to sites

Coordinated Program Admissions

  • A bachelor’s in any field completed before fall; a recommended 3.0 overall and prerequisite GPA, with C or better in all prerequisites
  • About 42 prerequisite credits: English composition, college algebra, statistics, general and organic chemistry with labs, upper-division biochemistry, microbiology, human physiology, introductory nutrition, a nutrition elective, a social science, and a management course
  • DICAS (opened August 5, 2026), three letters, a personal statement, a February in-person interview with a facility tour, and TOEFL for international applicants; the deadline is February 1, 2027, with notification by March 1 for August 2027 entry
  • Cohort size and GRE policy were not found
You Should Know

UT Southwestern’s own cost sources disagree. The program costs page says about $22,900 for residents and $52,400 for non-residents including books and fees, the 2026-27 bursar schedule gives $23,647 and $54,035 before books, and the cost-of-attendance table, whose footnote is dated March 2025, sums to $23,666 and $52,421. Term credits differ between the program page (12 and 4 in the second fall and summer) and the bursar (13 and 3), though both total 71. The program page’s three-steps list still begins with a bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics, which contradicts the any-field admission rule.

Master of Science, Nutritional Health (Online)

The online M.S. in Nutritional Health is 30 credits chosen from a menu of 21 three-credit courses, with a 12-month accelerated path and a 24-month maximum. It costs about $17,764 for a resident on the 12-month path and $19,058 on the 24-month path, or $30,604 and $31,898 as a non-resident (derived, with a $250 per-credit distance fee), plus a $120 graduation fee.

It includes no supervised practice, offers a graduate project in place of a thesis, and is not an RD route; UT Southwestern’s FAQ says hours would have to come from a separate internship. Admission needs a bachelor’s, a recommended 3.0 GPA, and one semester each of biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry, with an April 1 deadline through UT Southwestern’s own portal and no F-1 or J-1 visa sponsorship. The SHP curriculum page lists a sample sequence that sums to 66 credits, but the catalog’s 30-credit rule governs.

Tuition

UT Southwestern’s published 2026-27 Coordinated Program tuition is $291 per credit for residents ($50 statutory plus $241 designated) and $719 for non-residents ($478 plus $241). Mandatory fees are a Student Service Fee of $42 per credit capped at $250 a term, a $75 medical service fee, and a $186.33 computer fee, for $511.33 a term at the cap.

  • Derived Coordinated Program: 71 credits is $20,661 resident and $51,049 non-resident in tuition, plus $2,985.98 in fees; about $23,967 to $23,997 resident with a $100 supply fee, course fees, graduation fee, and malpractice fees
  • Online M.S. adds a $250 per-credit distance education fee, for $541 per credit resident and $969 non-resident, and it keeps the resident and non-resident split
  • Scholarships for Coordinated Program students: up to five Texas residents at $5,250 a year, renewable for up to three years, up to four non-residents at the same amount, and one non-resident award with a $1,000 foundation gift and an in-state tuition waiver
  • Not included: transportation to sites, housing, health insurance, a laptop, Academy membership, scrubs, immunizations, a background check, CPR, and a drug screen

Be aware that:

The non-resident premium is $428 per credit, about $30,400 over 71 credits (derived). The cost-of-attendance table appears to use an older non-resident rate and understates the bursar-derived total by about $1,600. Use the bursar rates. Official figures are on UT Southwestern’s tuition and fees page.

Why Choose This Nutrition Program?

Best suited for career changers in North Texas who can complete a heavy science prerequisite stack and want a full-time, medical-center route to the credential with no match.

For career changers, any bachelor’s works, but the 42 prerequisite credits mean extra terms before you apply. The program is competitive and space-available, and it gives about a 24-month full-time commitment with weekday practice.

For Texas residents, the total is under $24,000 before extras, with scholarships that can offset part of it. For non-residents, the premium is about $30,000, and one award includes an in-state waiver.

For working health professionals who want a master’s without the credential, the online M.S. is a 12- to 24-month option, but it ends without supervised practice.

Accreditation

UT Southwestern is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), last reaffirmed in 2019 with the next scheduled for 2029, per its provost page. Institutional accreditation matters for transfer credit, graduate admission, and federal financial aid.

ACEND’s decisions pages show full and continued accreditation of the Coordinated Program in Dietetics in January 2021, and of the same program after a progress report in July 2016. No UT Southwestern entry appears in 2019, 2020, or 2022 through 2026, and the program is not on the Programs Under Review page. ACEND’s live directory could not be filtered to Texas, so no initial accreditation date or term end is published here; UT Southwestern’s provost page lists a next reaffirmation in 2028, which is the school’s statement, not an ACEND term.

ACEND lists no UT Southwestern DPD or dietetic internship, and the online M.S. has no programmatic accreditation. A graduate of the Coordinated Program completes the degree and supervised practice and can sit for the CDR exam, while a graduate of the online M.S. is not eligible on that degree alone.

More Nutrition Programs in Texas