Washington has three universities with nutrition-related programs: Washington State University, whose nutrition programs run out of its Spokane campus rather than the main Pullman campus, Central Washington University in Ellensburg, and Bastyr University in Kenmore. Resident undergraduate cost for a full year runs from about $7.5K at Central Washington to about $11.7K at WSU Spokane (tuition only, 2025-26/2026-27), and resident graduate tuition runs from about $11.8K at Central Washington to about $13.5K at WSU. Bastyr is private and charges the same to everyone, about $29K to $31K a year in tuition for its master’s with a didactic program in dietetics.
All three schools lead toward RDN eligibility, but through different structures. WSU runs a genuine Coordinated Program: one ACEND-accredited master’s degree builds all supervised-practice hours into the same program, with no separate internship search. Central Washington’s pathway is a multi-step ladder instead: a Didactic Program in Dietetics, then a graduate degree, then a separate, competitive application to an ACEND-accredited Dietetic Internship. Central Washington’s other bachelor’s specialization and its standalone master’s, like WSU’s separate research master’s and Ph.D., are not RD pathways. Bastyr’s route has two steps: a master’s with an ACEND-accredited didactic program, then a supervised practice program such as its own dietetic internship. Its counseling dual degree and online integrative master’s are not RD pathways.
Nutrition Programs in Washington — Comparison Table
| School | Credentials | Est. Cost | Format | RD Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State University Spokane | B.S. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — 120 credits, non-RD feeder major MS Coordinated Program in Dietetics — ACEND-accredited, ~1,020 practice hours built in MS Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — thesis, 3 tracks, non-RD Ph.D. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology | ~$11.7K/yr resident tuition (undergraduate); graduate ~$13.5K/yr resident | Hybrid (graduate); Campus (undergraduate) | Yes — MS Coordinated Program only |
| Central Washington University Ellensburg | B.S. Nutrition Science, Dietetics Specialization — ACEND DPD, 111 major credits B.S. Nutrition Science, Foods and Nutrition Specialization — non-RD M.S. Nutrition — thesis or non-thesis, non-RD alone Dietetic Internship — separate ACEND program, 54 credits | ~$7.5K to $7.7K/yr resident tuition (undergraduate, sources conflict); graduate ~$11.8K/yr resident | Campus | Yes — DPD, then a graduate degree, then a separate DI match |
| Bastyr University Kenmore | M.S. Nutrition with Didactic Program in Dietetics — ACEND-accredited coursework, 78 credits Dietetic Internship — separate, non-degree, about 1,200 hours M.S. Nutrition and M.A. Counseling Psychology — dual degree, non-RD M.S. Integrative Nutrition — online, non-RD | M.S./DPD $60,340 over two years in tuition; internship $14,820; integrative M.S. $500/credit | Campus; Online (integrative M.S.) | Yes — M.S./DPD, then a dietetic internship; not a coordinated program |
Figures come from each school’s own 2025-26 and 2026-27 tuition pages. Confirm current rates and accreditation status directly: CWU’s own tuition pages disagree with each other by about $257 a year, and WSU’s own pages disagree on the exact supervised-practice hour count.
Which Washington Nutrition Program Fits You
Choose Washington State University if you want the RD credential with no separate internship search. Its Coordinated Program in Dietetics builds about 1,020 supervised-practice hours into one accredited master’s, with strong reported job-placement and exam pass-rate outcomes.
Choose Central Washington if cost matters most or you want food-science training alongside the RD option. Its undergraduate tuition runs noticeably lower than WSU’s, though its RD pathway takes more separate steps: a bachelor’s, then a graduate degree, then a competitive internship match.
Choose Bastyr if you want an integrative, whole-foods approach to the RD route in the Seattle area, or a non-RD counseling or online integrative nutrition degree. Its master’s with a didactic program is not a coordinated program, so a supervised practice place still has to be won, and its bachelor’s in nutrition, food, and exercise is closed to applicants.
Washington Nutrition Schools
Washington State University
Spokane (not the main Pullman campus); Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine; hybrid for the graduate RD pathway, campus for the rest.
- B.S. Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — 120 credits, non-RD feeder major
- MS Coordinated Program in Dietetics, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — ACEND-accredited, the RD pathway
- MS Nutrition and Exercise Physiology — separate, thesis-based, 3 tracks (Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Combined)
- Ph.D., Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
The Coordinated Program bundles about 1,020 supervised-practice hours into the master’s itself, and WSU reports 100% job placement and strong exam pass rates over recent years. The separate research MS and Ph.D. are genuinely distinct programs, not tracks of the same degree.
WSU’s own pages give two different supervised-practice hour totals (1,020 versus a 1,000-hour minimum). Full Washington State University profile.
Central Washington University
Ellensburg; Department of Health Sciences; campus-based.
- B.S. Nutrition Science, Dietetics Specialization — ACEND Didactic Program in Dietetics
- B.S. Nutrition Science, Foods and Nutrition Specialization — non-RD, food technology and product development
- M.S. Nutrition — thesis or non-thesis, over 100 community partnerships
- Dietetic Internship — separate ACEND-accredited supervised practice, 54 credits, 3 quarters
Central Washington’s RD pathway takes more separate steps than WSU’s: the Dietetics Specialization issues only a verification statement, so graduates need a graduate degree, then a separate, competitive application to an ACEND-accredited internship such as CWU’s own.
CWU’s own pages disagree on this program’s name (“Nutrition Science” versus “Food Science and Nutrition”) and on its exact tuition figures. Full Central Washington University profile.
Bastyr University
Kenmore, near Seattle; Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science, School of Natural Health Arts and Sciences; campus-based, with an online master’s.
- M.S. Nutrition with Didactic Program in Dietetics — ACEND-accredited coursework, 78 quarter credits, two years
- Dietetic Internship — non-degree, about 10 months, 12 interns a year
- M.S. Nutrition and M.A. Counseling Psychology — dual degree, three years, non-RD
- M.S. Integrative Nutrition — 54 credits, online, non-RD
The master’s with a didactic program is not coordinated, so graduates apply to an internship afterward, and Bastyr’s own internship reserves places for its students through a pre-select pathway. ACEND shows a site visit for both the didactic program and the internship on October 4, 2026 and an April 2026 action to continue the internship’s accreditation after a complaint, with no details published.
Bastyr’s own pages disagree on the number of reserved internship places and on supervised practice hours. Full Bastyr University profile.
How to Choose a Nutrition Program in Washington
RD or not
All three schools lead toward the RD credential, but the structure differs sharply. WSU’s Coordinated Program bundles supervised practice into one accredited master’s; Central Washington requires a bachelor’s, a graduate degree, and a separately matched internship, in three distinct steps; Bastyr’s master’s supplies the didactic coursework and the internship is a separate application. The other nutrition-science, food-science, integrative, and counseling tracks at these schools do not lead to RDN eligibility.
Cost architecture
Central Washington’s undergraduate tuition runs noticeably lower than WSU’s, at roughly $7.5K against $11.7K a year for residents. The gap narrows at the graduate level, where WSU’s Coordinated Program costs somewhat more than Central Washington’s standalone MS, but WSU’s bundles the internship into that cost rather than requiring a separate one afterward. Bastyr is private: its master’s with a didactic program is about $60.3K in tuition over two years and its internship about $14.8K more.
Program structure and certainty
WSU’s Coordinated Program removes the internship-match risk entirely: admission to the program is admission to the whole pathway. Central Washington’s ladder leaves a genuine gap between the bachelor’s and the internship, where a graduate degree and a competitive DI application both still have to happen, and CWU’s own internship is not guaranteed to its own graduates over applicants from other schools.
Nutrition Licensure and Credentials in Washington
The Commission on Dietetic Registration’s requirements apply regardless of state: an ACEND verification statement, a graduate degree, supervised practice, and a passing national exam score. Confirm Washington’s current licensure or certification requirements directly with the state before relying on them.
Before applying in Washington, verify three things directly: WSU’s current supervised-practice hour count, since its own pages disagree, and Central Washington’s current tuition and Dietetic Internship accreditation status, since its own pages disagree with each other on both, and the outcome of Bastyr’s October 4, 2026 ACEND site visit. The school pages above were built and verified against each school’s own current pages and ACEND’s accreditation-decisions records.