Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology • Salt Lake City, UT • Campus • $332.86/Credit (Marginal Graduate Rate, Resident)
The University of Utah offers 3 graduate Nutrition and Integrative Physiology credentials. There is no bachelor’s degree in nutrition here, only an undergraduate minor:
- Coordinated Master’s Program (Coordinated Program in Dietetics, ACEND-accredited)
- M.S. with Nutrition Emphasis (research, thesis-based)
- Ph.D. in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology (two emphases)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinated Master’s Program | About $4,688/semester in program fees (resident), plus base graduate tuition | About 2 years (one university page says up to 36 months) | 54 to 62 (59 stated as the primary figure) |
| M.S. with Nutrition Emphasis | About $12,649 at the $332.86/credit resident marginal rate | Up to 4 years (department limit) | 38 minimum, including 6 thesis credits |
| Ph.D. in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology | Billed at standard graduate resident rates; total not published | 4 to 5 years | Not clearly stated |
Utah’s differentiator is a single ACEND-accredited Coordinated Program that builds all 1,000 supervised-practice hours into the degree, with a choice of capstone focus after admission, including a sports-nutrition option. There is no separate bachelor’s track here: students arrive with an outside bachelor’s degree (or Utah’s own nutrition minor) and enter directly at the graduate level.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus; no fully online nutrition graduate option currently accepts applications |
| Credit Hours | CMP: 54 to 62 (59 stated primary figure, varies by thesis/non-thesis and electives); M.S. Nutrition Emphasis: 38 minimum; Ph.D.: not clearly stated |
| ACEND Accreditation | Yes — Coordinated Program in Dietetics, full and continued accreditation after an October 2024 site visit; no term end date published |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the Coordinated Master’s Program only; the M.S. Nutrition Emphasis and Ph.D. are research degrees and do not lead to RDN eligibility |
| Supervised Practice | 1,000 hours across clinical, food management, and community settings, mostly completed in the summer between Year 1 and Year 2 |
| Reported Outcomes | First-time RDN exam pass rate reported as 88.8% (as of 2024) on the program’s main page and as 89% over the past five years on a separate university page; 100% employment within one year on both pages |
| Admissions | Fall 2027 priority deadline October 1, 2026; regular deadline January 15, 2027; no GRE; 3 letters of recommendation; 500-word statement; not currently accepting international applicants for Fall 2027 |
| Tuition | Graduate resident: $1,075.50 base plus $332.86/credit (2026-27); CMP adds about $4,688/semester in program fees; non-resident rate not published |
| Institutional Accreditation | NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities) |
Coordinated Master’s Program (Coordinated Program in Dietetics)
The estimated cost for the CMP is about $4,688 a semester in program-specific fees for residents, on top of base graduate tuition (about $5,599 a semester with fees at 12 credits, 2026-27), for roughly four semesters. Utah’s own program pages describe the CMP as both a two-year, four-semester program and, on a separate page, a 36-month program.
CMP Curriculum and Capstone Options
Students are not admitted into a track directly. After admission, they choose a capstone experience: a Nutrition and Dietetics focus or a Sports Nutrition focus. Both sit inside the same single ACEND-accredited program; sports nutrition is not a separately accredited credential.
You Should Know
Utah’s own pages disagree on two points worth flagging before you apply. Program length is stated as two years / four semesters on the main program and curriculum pages, but as 36 months on the program’s own “Becoming an RDN” page. And the published first-time exam pass rate is 88.8% (labeled “as of 2024”) on the main CMP page, but 89% over a five-year average on the “Becoming an RDN” page. Both pages agree on 100% employment within a year. Ask the program which figures are current.
CMP Supervised Practice
- 1,000 hours total across clinical (University of Utah Hospital and others), food management (Primary Children’s, LDS Hospital, Intermountain Medical Center), and community settings (VA Medical Center, school nutrition)
- Most hours completed in the summer between Year 1 and Year 2
CMP Admissions
- No published minimum GPA; applicants report cumulative undergraduate GPA
- Prerequisites: biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, food science, nutrition coursework, statistics, calculus, communications/social science; exercise physiology required for students interested in the sports-nutrition capstone
- Fall 2027: priority window opens August 5, 2026, priority deadline October 1, 2026, decisions by November 1, 2026; regular deadline January 15, 2027, decisions by March 1, 2027
- No GRE; TOEFL 80+ for international applicants; 3 letters of recommendation (2 academic, 1 professional); 500-word statement of purpose
- Not accepting international applications for Fall 2027 due to F-1 visa availability limits
M.S. with Nutrition Emphasis (Research Track)
The estimated tuition for this track is about $12,649 for 38 credits at the $332.86 per-credit resident marginal rate (2026-27), plus the $1,075.50 base charge each semester. Students have up to four years to complete the degree under department policy.
M.S. Curriculum
The degree requires at least 38 credits, including a minimum of 6 credits of thesis research (NUIP 6970) that is expected to result in a peer-reviewed publication. This is a research degree and does not lead to RDN eligibility. A separate, discontinued online version of this degree is no longer accepting applications.
Ph.D. in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology
The Ph.D. takes four to five years and offers two emphases: Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, or Molecular Metabolism. Credit totals and a program-specific tuition estimate were not clearly stated on the pages reviewed; doctoral students are billed at standard graduate rates.
Tuition
The University of Utah charges graduate residents a base of $1,075.50 per semester plus $332.86 per credit hour (2026-27); for example, 12 credit hours totals about $5,069.82 in tuition, or $5,598.87 with mandatory fees.
- Graduate resident: $1,075.50 base, plus $332.86/credit (2026-27)
- CMP program fee: about $4,688/semester for residents, roughly $18,753 across four semesters
- Non-resident graduate rate: not published on the pages reviewed
- A distinct 2025-26 schedule was not found; the university’s tuition PDFs appear to be overwritten in place each year rather than archived by year
Be aware that:
The hub figure of a 91.4% pass rate does not match either of the university’s own published figures (88.8% or 89%). Non-resident graduate tuition could not be confirmed in this research; ask the Bursar’s office directly.
Official figures are on the Bursar’s graduate tuition page.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree and want the RD credential without a separate internship match, or who want a dedicated research master’s or doctorate in nutrition and integrative physiology.
Students aiming for the RD credential get all 1,000 supervised-practice hours built into one accredited program, with a choice of clinical or sports-nutrition capstone after admission.
Students who want research training can pursue the thesis-based M.S. or the Ph.D., both aimed at publication, teaching, or further doctoral or professional study rather than clinical practice.
The honest trade-off is that there is no undergraduate degree here: applicants need a bachelor’s elsewhere first, non-resident graduate tuition is unpublished, and the university’s own pages disagree on CMP length and pass rate.
Accreditation
The University of Utah is institutionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), continuously since 1933, which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND lists the Coordinated Program in Dietetics as fully and continually accredited following an October 2024 site visit; no term end date was published. This accreditation covers only the Coordinated Master’s Program. The M.S. with Nutrition Emphasis and the Ph.D. carry no ACEND accreditation and are not RD pathways.
Graduates of the Coordinated Master’s Program complete accredited coursework, a graduate degree, and 1,000 supervised-practice hours together, making them eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam. Graduates of the research M.S. or Ph.D. are not RDN-eligible on those degrees alone.
More Nutrition Degrees in Utah
- Brigham Young University - Provo
- Snow College - Ephraim
- Southern Utah University - Cedar City
- Utah Nutrition Programs & Online Degrees
- Utah State University - Logan
- Weber State University - Ogden