Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences • Blacksburg, VA • Campus (Degrees) or Hybrid (Internship) • $928.25/Credit (Graduate, In-State)
Virginia Tech offers 5 nutrition credentials, with 3 distinct routes toward the RD credential:
- B.S., Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise – Nutrition and Dietetics major (the ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics)
- M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (an ACEND Graduate Program, direct-entry or accelerated B.S./M.S.)
- Virginia Tech Internship in Nutrition and Dietetics (a separate ACEND-accredited supervised-practice program)
- M.S., Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (thesis-based research, non-RD)
- Ph.D., Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (research, non-RD)
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics | $17,087/yr (tuition and mandatory fees, 2026-27) | Not clearly stated | 120 |
| M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics | About $33,418 in tuition (four full-time semesters at the 2026-27 cap) | 17 months direct entry; 22 months accelerated B.S./M.S. | 51 |
| Internship in Nutrition and Dietetics | $10,000 program fee (2026-27) | 8 months with a master’s in hand; 15 months paired with an online master’s | Not clearly stated; 1,000 practice hours |
| M.S. and Ph.D., Research Degrees | About $27,848 for the 30-credit M.S. at the uncapped $928.25 per-credit rate | Not clearly stated | 30 (M.S.); 90 (Ph.D.) |
Virginia Tech’s differentiator is route choice. Students can take the DPD, then a single-degree Graduate Program that bundles coursework and supervised practice in as little as 17 months, or arrive with a master’s already in hand and complete only the separate internship. A current Virginia Tech DPD major can also compress the path to 22 months through an accelerated B.S./M.S.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus, Blacksburg, for the B.S. and M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics (in person, with no distance option); the Internship meets weekly, about half in person; research degrees are campus-based |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 120 (39 department core, 35 major); M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics: 51 (19 are supervised practice); M.S. HNFE: 30; Ph.D.: 90 |
| ACEND Accreditation | All three RD components are fully accredited: the Graduate Program (full and continued accreditation after a site visit, October 2022), plus the Didactic Program in Dietetics and the Dietetic Internship (both full and continued accreditation after a site visit, July 2026). Virginia Tech’s 2024-25 handbook gives a Graduate Program term through June 30, 2030; ACEND’s pages publish no term dates |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes: through the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, or through the Internship paired with a separate graduate degree. The DPD alone and the research degrees do not lead to RDN eligibility |
| Supervised Practice | M.S.: 19 credits at about 50 hours each, with the handbook listing 855 to 950 total hours; Internship: 1,000 hours. Virginia Tech’s own licensure table notes some M.S. students might not reach the 1,200 hours Nevada requires |
| Reported Outcomes | DPD alumni one-year exam pass rate “consistently ranges from 95-100%” (no years given); the Internship reports 96% passing within one year and 89% employed within three months (no year given); the M.S. publishes targets only, with results “available upon request” |
| M.S. Admissions | Direct entry: DICAS, deadline September 27 for fall, $75, bachelor’s degree, 3.0 GPA over roughly the last two years, two letters, resume, personal statement, ServSafe Manager, no GRE, 14 prerequisites. Accelerated: current Virginia Tech DPD juniors with a 3.4 GPA, apply to the Graduate School by February 1 |
| Tuition | Graduate: $928.25/credit in-state, $1,865.50 out-of-state (2026-27); about $8,354 a semester in-state at the full-time cap. Undergraduate: $6,969/semester in-state tuition, $13,938 a year before fees |
| Institutional Accreditation | SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) |
Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Dietetics (Didactic Program in Dietetics)
The estimated cost is $8,543.50 a semester in-state including mandatory fees, or $17,087 a year (2026-27), plus a $375 per-semester college supplemental fee. The degree is 120 credits, with at least 22 completed at Virginia Tech. A duration was not stated on the pages reviewed.
The Nutrition and Dietetics major is its own major in the B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, not a concentration; Exercise and Health Sciences is a separate, non-RD major. Students changing into the major need a 2.8 overall GPA, a C or better in HNFE 1004, and a C- or better in the required chemistry. The DPD gives eligibility for the dietetic technician exam, but the RDN requires a graduate degree plus supervised practice. Virginia Tech’s page also states that RDN licensure does not exist in Virginia.
You Should Know
Virginia Tech’s own pages give two GPAs for earning the DPD verification statement: 3.0 on the verification page, and 2.8 on the program-completion and major pages. Confirm the current figure with the department. The DPD’s accreditation also runs on a term the department’s page lists as “through 2026”; ACEND’s July 2026 decision renews it, but the new end date was not found.
M.S., Nutrition and Dietetics (Graduate Program)
The estimated tuition is about $33,418 in-state for four full-time semesters at the 2026-27 cap of about $8,354 a semester, or about $47,341 at the uncapped $928.25 per credit across 51 credits. It is a non-thesis professional degree that combines coursework and supervised practice in one program; it is not a Coordinated Program and not a DPD plus a separate internship.
Two Entry Tracks
- Track One, direct entry: 17 months over four semesters (13, 16, 10, then 12 credits), for bachelor’s holders with or without a DPD verification statement who have finished the prerequisites
- Track Two, accelerated B.S./M.S.: 22 months starting fall of senior year, open only to current Virginia Tech Nutrition and Dietetics majors; students pay undergraduate rates until the B.S. is conferred, then graduate rates for three semesters
Supervised Practice and Carilion
Rotations run Dietetics and Professional Management, Community Nutrition, Foodservice Management, and finally Clinical Nutrition, the largest at 10 credits. Virginia Tech partners with Carilion Clinic and lists 13 Carilion sites, alongside university dining, student health, extension, and community sites. This is an in-person program that requires relocating to the Blacksburg and Roanoke region.
You Should Know
The M.S. does not publish a pass rate, completion rate, or employment rate; it lists only targets (80% one-year pass rate, 80% completion within 150% of program length, 85% employed within 12 months). The program site calls the accreditation a “Graduate Program,” its handbook calls it a “Future Education Model Graduate Program,” and ACEND’s 2022 entry says only “Graduate Program.” Cohort size was not found. A separate “Accelerated B.S./M.S.” page with a June 1 deadline and 3.4 GPA belongs to the research M.S., not this track.
Direct-Entry Prerequisites
Fourteen prerequisite items: introductory nutrition, psychology, statistics, general chemistry I and II with labs, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology with lab, anatomy and physiology I and II, nutrition across the lifespan, health counseling, food selection and preparation lab, and two semesters of metabolic nutrition. Basic sciences must be within 10 years and dietetics coursework within 5. Three can be taken online at Virginia Tech the summer before the program.
Virginia Tech Internship in Nutrition and Dietetics
The estimated cost is a $10,000 program fee for 2026-27. This separate, ACEND-accredited program is for applicants who already hold or are finishing a graduate degree, and it can be paired with Virginia Tech’s online master’s program for roughly $30,000 in additional tuition at 2025-26 rates, the same regardless of residency.
- 1,000 supervised-practice hours, 24 intern positions a year
- 8 months (August to April) with a master’s in hand, 15 months paired with the online master’s
- Weekly class meetings, about half in person on the Blacksburg or Alexandria campus; rotations Tuesday through Friday
- Locations across the Washington, D.C. area, Blacksburg and Roanoke, Abingdon, Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach, Winchester, and Martinsburg, West Virginia
- DICAS application, fall priority deadline October 10 with notification by November 1, winter deadline January 31, $50 university fee, and a 3.0 GPA in DPD coursework
M.S. and Ph.D., Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (Research Degrees)
The M.S. is 30 credits (20 course credits and 6 research or thesis credits) and the Ph.D. is 90 credits (27 course and 30 research or dissertation), both with three tracks: Behavioral and Community Science, Clinical Physiology and Metabolism, and Molecular and Cellular Science. Both require a faculty advisor. Neither leads to RDN eligibility, and the thesis requirement is what separates the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, which has none, from this degree.
An online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences with an Applied Nutrition and Physical Activity concentration is also offered, at 30 credits. Its dietetic-internship version pairs with the Internship but does not by itself make graduates RD-eligible.
Tuition
Virginia Tech charges graduate students on the Blacksburg campus $928.25 per credit in-state and $1,865.50 out-of-state for 2026-27, with tuition capped for students taking 9 or more credits.
- Graduate, 2026-27: $928.25/credit in-state, $1,865.50 out-of-state; full-time cap about $8,354.50 in-state and $16,790.50 out-of-state per semester; $9,929 and $18,667 per semester with mandatory fees
- Graduate, 2025-26: $901.75/credit in-state, $1,812.25 out-of-state
- Undergraduate full time, 2026-27: $6,969 a semester in-state tuition, $8,543.50 with fees; non-resident $18,213.50 and $20,090
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences supplemental fee: $375 per full-time semester
- M.S. costs: textbooks about $650, $125 for background check and drug screen, and rent and utilities of $900 or more a month in Blacksburg or Roanoke
Be aware that:
The $33,418 figure assumes every semester, including the summer term, bills at the full-time cap; Virginia Tech has not published summer 2027 graduate rates, and column order in the rate sheets was inferred from totals. A “$200 to $800 per semester” book estimate applies only to the undergraduate major, not the M.S.
Official figures are on Virginia Tech’s Bursar tuition pages.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want a choice of RD routes from a single department and are willing to relocate to southwestern Virginia for in-person practice.
Students aiming for the RD credential can take the DPD and an accelerated B.S./M.S. in 22 months, enter directly from another bachelor’s in 17 months, or complete just the internship if they already hold a master’s.
Students who want research training can choose the thesis-based M.S. or the Ph.D., each with three tracks, instead of the professional degree.
The honest trade-off is transparency and fit: the M.S. publishes no results, the handbook’s practice hours run below 1,000, and the in-person format means relocating.
Accreditation
Virginia Tech is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), with a fifth-year interim report due March 2027, which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND records full and continued accreditation after a site visit for the Graduate Program in October 2022, and for both the Didactic Program in Dietetics and the Dietetic Internship in July 2026. No probation, candidacy, closure, or reorganization entry was found. The research M.S., the Ph.D., and the online master’s carry no ACEND accreditation.
Graduates of the M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics, or of the Internship plus a separate graduate degree, are eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam. The DPD alone and the research degrees do not lead to RDN eligibility.
More Nutrition Degrees in Virginia
- George Mason University - Fairfax
- James Madison University - Harrisonburg
- Liberty University - Lynchburg
- Radford University - Radford
- Virginia Nutrition Programs & Online Degrees
- Virginia State University - Petersburg