Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design • Morgantown, WV • Campus • $493/Credit (Undergraduate, Resident)
WVU offers 4 nutrition-related credentials, all housed in an agricultural sciences college rather than a health-sciences one:
- B.S., Human Nutrition and Foods (Dietetics or Pre-Health Professions emphasis)
- M.S., Nutritional and Food Science, combined with the Dietetic Internship (ACEND-accredited, the RD pathway)
- M.S., Nutritional and Food Science (standalone, research, non-RD unless paired with the internship)
- Ph.D., Animal, Food, and Nutrition Sciences
Program Tracks Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. Human Nutrition and Foods | $5,916/semester resident (2026-27) | 4 years | 120 |
| M.S./Dietetic Internship | $6,858/semester resident graduate rate | 2 years (3 with thesis) | 30, plus about 1,199–1,200 supervised-practice hours |
| M.S. Nutritional and Food Science | $6,858/semester resident | About 2 years | 30 |
| Ph.D. Animal, Food, and Nutrition Sciences | $6,858/semester resident | 5 years | At least 45 |
WVU’s RD pathway runs through its Didactic Program in Dietetics into a separately matched, ACEND-accredited internship combined with the M.S., not a Coordinated Program. Its differentiator is housing: nutrition sits inside the Davis College of Agriculture rather than a health-sciences college, which shapes the Ph.D.’s animal-and-human comparative framing and explains why the standalone M.S. and Ph.D. require no GRE.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Campus, Morgantown, for all four programs |
| Credit Hours | B.S.: 120; M.S. (both tracks): 30; Ph.D.: at least 45 plus dissertation research |
| ACEND Accreditation | Didactic Program in Dietetics: full and continued accreditation after a July 2024 site visit. Dietetic Internship: full and continued accreditation after a July 2025 site visit, term through June 30, 2033 (per the hosting hospital’s own page). No Coordinated Program or Future Education Model Graduate Program |
| RD/RDN Eligibility | Yes, via the DPD followed by a separate DICAS/D&D Digital match into the combined M.S./Dietetic Internship; the DPD alone and the standalone M.S. or Ph.D. do not confer RDN eligibility |
| Supervised Practice | About 1,199 to 1,200 hours over a 41-week rotation schedule, beginning the summer between Year 1 and Year 2 of the combined program |
| DI Admissions | DICAS application, D&D Digital computer match, $65 matching fee, registration/priority deadline February 15; about 8 applicants matched a year; open to WVU’s own DPD graduates and to applicants completing a different DPD, including one concurrently enrolled in Marshall University’s online M.S. |
| You Should Know | WVU’s own pages disagree on the GPA needed to finish the DPD: the DPD page states 2.75, while the Dietetic Internship page’s “Becoming a Dietitian” narrative states 3.0 for the same undergraduate milestone |
| Tuition | Undergraduate resident: $493/credit up to 12 hours, $5,916/semester full time (2026-27); non-resident $1,387/credit, $16,644/semester. Graduate resident: $762/credit up to 9 hours, $6,858/semester; non-resident $1,937/credit, $17,433/semester. A new $250/term athletics fee applies starting fall 2026 |
| Institutional Accreditation | HLC (Higher Learning Commission), reaffirmed through 2035 after an April 2025 review |
Bachelor of Science, Human Nutrition and Foods
The estimated tuition for the B.S. is $5,916 a semester for residents (2026-27), $493 per credit up to 12 hours. The degree is 120 credits, with Dietetics and Pre-Health Professions emphases.
B.S. Curriculum and the DPD
The Dietetics emphasis houses WVU’s ACEND-accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics. The DPD does not include a supervised-practice component; graduates must separately apply and match into an accredited internship to move toward RD eligibility.
You Should Know
WVU’s DPD page states a 2.75 cumulative GPA is needed to complete the DPD and receive a verification statement. The Dietetic Internship page’s own “Becoming a Dietitian” narrative instead states 3.0 for that same step, before separately and correctly requiring 3.0 to complete the internship and master’s. Confirm the current DPD completion GPA directly with the department.
M.S., Nutritional and Food Science, Combined with the Dietetic Internship
The estimated tuition is the standard graduate resident rate, $6,858 a semester (2026-27). This is a combined program: 2 years for the non-thesis path, 3 years if a thesis is added, with about 1,199 to 1,200 supervised-practice hours across a 41-week rotation schedule.
Structure and Admissions
- Year 1 is mostly graduate coursework; supervised practice begins the summer between Year 1 and Year 2
- About 8 applicants matched a year, via DICAS and the D&D Digital computer match, $65 matching fee, registration deadline February 15
- Open to WVU’s own DPD graduates, applicants who already hold a graduate degree, or applicants concurrently enrolled in another school’s DPD, including Marshall University’s online M.S.
M.S., Nutritional and Food Science (Standalone)
The estimated tuition matches the standard graduate resident rate, $6,858 a semester. The degree is 30 credits: 24 coursework plus 6 thesis credits on the thesis track, or 30 coursework credits (up to 3 as research or a problem report) on the non-thesis track. A 12-credit Dietetics Area of Emphasis concentration is available.
Admission requires a 2.75 GPA overall (or 3.0 for the last 60 credits), three references, and a 500-word statement; the GRE and MCAT are not required. On its own, without the Dietetic Internship, this degree does not lead to RDN eligibility.
Ph.D., Animal, Food, and Nutrition Sciences
The estimated tuition matches the standard graduate resident rate, $6,858 a semester. The degree requires at least 45 credit hours of coursework and research over a 5-year structure, with comprehensive exams in year 2 and a dissertation defense in year 5.
Concentrations include agricultural biochemistry, animal nutrition, animal physiology, human nutrition, and production management. Admission requires a 3.0 GPA, three references, and a 1-to-2-page letter of intent; the GRE is not required.
You Should Know
Davis College’s current master’s program list has no separate “M.S. in Animal and Nutritional Sciences.” That name appears to conflate the real M.S. in Animal Physiology, which shares nearly identical “comparative approach” language, with the real M.S. in Nutritional and Food Science. Neither the undergraduate Animal and Nutritional Science, B.S./B.S.Agr. (a livestock-focused degree) nor Animal Physiology is a human-nutrition RD pathway.
Tuition
WVU’s 2026-27 Morgantown, Davis College rates, from the university’s own tuition pages:
- Undergraduate resident: $493/credit up to 12 hours, $5,916/semester full time; non-resident $1,387/credit, $16,644/semester
- Graduate resident: $762/credit up to 9 hours, $6,858/semester full time; non-resident $1,937/credit, $17,433/semester
- A new $250/term Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee applies starting fall 2026, on top of these figures
Be aware that:
A distinct 2025-26 rate could not be confirmed; WVU’s tuition pages appear to publish only the current year. A “2023-2024 Graduate Costs of Attendance” table still live on WVU’s own dietetic-internship page is stale and should not be used for current planning.
Official figures are on WVU’s undergraduate and graduate tuition pages.
Why Choose This Nutrition Program?
Best suited for students who want West Virginia’s flagship RD pathway, or research training in nutrition science framed through an agricultural college with genuine animal-nutrition depth.
Students aiming for the RD credential get an ACEND-accredited DPD feeding a combined M.S./Dietetic Internship with about 1,200 practice hours, though a competitive DICAS match with roughly 8 seats a year still stands between the two.
Students who want research training can take the standalone M.S. or the Ph.D., both GRE-free, with a genuinely comparative animal-and-human nutrition framing available through the Ph.D.’s concentrations.
The honest trade-off is that the DPD does not guarantee an internship seat, WVU’s own pages disagree on the DPD completion GPA, and a distinct 2025-26 tuition figure could not be confirmed.
Accreditation
WVU is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), reaffirmed through 2035 following an April 2025 review with no follow-up actions required, which governs credit transfer, graduate admission eligibility, and federal financial aid access across the university.
ACEND lists WVU’s Didactic Program in Dietetics as fully and continually accredited after a July 2024 site visit, and its Dietetic Internship, combined with the M.S., as fully and continually accredited after a July 2025 site visit, with a term through June 30, 2033. WVU holds no Coordinated Program or Future Education Model Graduate Program. The standalone M.S. and the Ph.D. carry no ACEND accreditation.
Graduates who complete the DPD, then match into and complete the combined M.S./Dietetic Internship, hold a master’s degree, accredited coursework, and about 1,200 supervised-practice hours, making them eligible for the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s national exam. The DPD alone, and the standalone M.S. or Ph.D., do not lead to RDN eligibility.