Nutrition Science - MS

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics defines the educational and professional requirements for becoming an RDN (pdf):

• Complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree at a U.S. regionally accredited university or college or foreign equivalent, and coursework through accredited Didactic (DPD), Coordinated (CP), Future Graduate (FG) or Foreign (FDE) or International Dietitian Education (IDE) program
• Complete required supervised practice experience through ACEND® accredited Dietetic Internship (DI), Coordinated (CP), Future Education Model Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GP) or International Dietitian Education (IDE) Program or an Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP) offered through an ACEND® accredited program
• Pass the national Registration Examination for Dietitians administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)
• Become licensed/certified if required in your state. Pacific’s MSCN program resides in California, where there is title protection without state regulation (no license is required to use the title). Please visit this webpage of Commission on Dietetic Registration to learn more about State Licensure.

Please visit the ACEND website for further details about Routes to RDN Registration Eligibility.

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement for eligibility to take the registration examination for dietitians administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) will change from a bachelor’s degree to a graduate degree. Almost all other health care professions have increased entry-level educational standards beyond bachelor's degrees. Elevating the entry-level RDN education to a graduate level is consistent with the knowledge, skills, and research base required in the field of nutrition and dietetics. For more information on the 2024 graduate degree requirements, please visit the Commission on Dietetic Registration.

• Practicing dietitians who have not earned a graduate degree yet
• Future dietitians who are in different stages of their education and training including DPD graduates (with DPD verification), current dietic interns, and graduates of dietetic internship programs (with DI verification statement).

• Nutrition Science program offers courses on scientific and clinical subjects.
• The program is designed to have room to address emerging and niche subjects

• Faculty who are subject experts and have years of experience in higher education
• Faculty who are leaders of the dietetic profession

• The fully online, asynchronous format provides students with the maximum flexibility in pursuit of quality graduate education
• The program positions graduates well for the pursuit of their terminal degrees

• Certificate in Nutrition Research: completion of NUTR 202, NUTR 231A, and NUTR 231B
• Certificate in Nutrition Leadership and Innovation: completion of any three courses among NUTR 202, NUTR 224, NUTR 225, and NUTR 227
• Certificate in Functional Nutrition: Completion of any three courses among NUTR 202, NUTT 225, NUTR 226, and NUTR 228