Exercise Science Courses: What You'll Study in an Online Degree

Exercise science courses start with anatomy, exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and exercise testing and prescription. Then they add motor learning, sport psychology, strength training and a supervised internship. Most online bachelor’s degrees run 120 credits. Most master’s degrees run 30 to 36 credits and go deeper on physiology and research methods. The real titles below come from the online programs we track.

What Exercise Science Classes Will You Take in a Bachelor’s Degree?

The titles change from school to school, but the core repeats. You study how the body works, then you learn to test people and write exercise plans, then you get hands-on experience.

We recorded three or more course titles for 41 of our 46 online bachelor’s programs. This table shows how many of those 41 list each kind of course, with examples of the actual names.

Read those counts as minimums. Each list holds the courses a school names on its own pages, not every line in the catalog. A missing course usually means the school didn’t highlight it.

What Do the Core Exercise Science Courses Cover?

Four groups of classes carry most of the degree. Here’s what each one asks of you.

Exercise Physiology

This is the course 30 of those 41 programs name. You learn how the heart, lungs and muscles respond to one workout and how they adapt over months of training.

Some schools split it in two. Maryville University has EXSC 309 Exercise Physiology I and EXSC 310 Exercise Physiology II. University of Wisconsin-Superior has HHP 363 and HHP 364, and it describes the second as a combined lecture and laboratory course.

Anatomy, Kinesiology and Biomechanics

These classes treat the body as a machine. Kinesiology maps which muscles move which joints. Biomechanics adds forces, levers and joint angles.

Some programs combine the two. Franklin’s EXS 351 is Kinesiology/Biomechanics, and University of the Southwest’s KES 3703 is Kinesiology & Biomechanics. Anatomy and physiology often comes first. American Public University System puts two Human Anatomy and Physiology with Lab courses inside its major, and Georgia Military College’s associate degree lists BIO 207 and BIO 208.

Exercise Testing and Prescription

This is where you learn the job itself. You screen a client for risk, measure fitness, and write a program that fits what you found.

Franklin’s EXS 460 is a four-credit course that introduces the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines. Abilene Christian’s online bachelor’s in exercise science bundles testing, evaluation and prescription into a single course, KINO 342. If you plan to sit for an ACSM certification, look for this course by name.

Nutrition, Psychology and Behavior Change

These classes cover the client side of the work. A good exercise plan fails if the person won’t follow it.

Lionel University’s associate degree lists XSCI246 The Science of Behavior Change. The University of the Cumberlands lists HESS 403 Behavior Change for Lifestyle Wellness. Colby-Sawyer College’s master’s includes Behavioral Change & Health Coaching, so the subject keeps showing up after the bachelor’s too.

How Big Is the Major Inside a 120-Credit Degree?

Two degrees can both be called exercise science and hand you very different course loads. The major is only part of the credit count. The rest is general education, electives, a minor and transfer credit.

A 33-credit major leaves room for the chemistry, physics and anatomy classes a pre-health student needs. A 57-credit major puts more exercise science on your transcript. Neither is better. Match it to what you plan to do after graduation.

What Does CAAHEP Require an Exercise Science Curriculum to Teach?

CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. It accredits exercise science programs on the recommendation of its Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences.

Its published standards say the curriculum must include an internship experience. They also require four performance domains: health and fitness assessment, exercise prescription and implementation, exercise counseling and behavior modification, and risk management and professional responsibilities.

The standards don’t hand you a course list. Each school picks its own titles, which is why a transcript can say Kinesiology or Human Performance and still cover the same ground.

The risk management domain includes skills, not only knowledge. The standards list applying basic life support, first aid, CPR and AED techniques. Look for a course like American Public University System’s SPHE250 Sports First Aid and Safety.

The rule matters more soon. Starting August 15, 2027, candidates for the ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP) and the ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-CEP) must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, or one that has started the process, according to ACSM’s programmatic accreditation page. ACSM’s exercise physiologist page lists a bachelor’s in exercise science, exercise physiology or kinesiology, adult CPR/AED and, starting in 2027, first aid.

A school saying its courses “align with” ACSM is not the same as accreditation. Check any program you like against CAAHEP’s own list, and read our guide to exercise science degree accreditation. Our certification-ready ranking sorts programs by what they can document.

Do Online Exercise Science Courses Include Labs?

Yes, but each school solves it differently.

American Public University System ships lab materials to you. Its catalog says the material for lab courses is provided only once, so you buy replacements if you lose it or retake the course. North Carolina Central University builds recorded video laboratory sessions into its online delivery, including testing demonstrations filmed in a strength and conditioning facility.

California Baptist University’s online kinesiology master’s runs its fitness testing course in a virtual lab. Other programs bring you to campus instead:

• Lindenwood University asks for at least one weekend on campus per semester for two hybrid courses in its strength and conditioning master’s.

• Saint Xavier University has a two-day onsite session in its Human Performance Lab during the last semester.

• Lebanon Valley College’s clinical exercise physiology master’s has three residency weekends in Annville, Pennsylvania.

A demonstration video teaches you the procedure. It can’t give you practice with a real client, which is why the internship matters so much. Our guide on whether an online exercise science degree is worth it goes deeper on that tradeoff.

How Do Master’s and Doctoral Exercise Science Courses Differ?

At the master’s level you stop learning the basics and start reading studies. Eighty-nine of the 94 master’s programs with a published credit count run 30 to 36 credits. Forty of our 99 master’s programs offer a thesis option.

We recorded three or more titles for 89 master’s programs. Of those, 64 list a physiology course, 66 list research methods or statistics, 50 list nutrition, 43 list psychology and 42 list strength and conditioning.

Examples show the jump in depth. Lander University’s MS in exercise science lists EXSC 711 Advanced Exercise Physiology, EXSC 741 Advanced Research Methods and Design, and EXSC 762 Advanced Exercise/Fitness Assessment. Western Michigan University lists HPHE 6700 Cardiopulmonary Exercise Physiology and HPHE 6710 Environmental Exercise Physiology. Browse the full online master’s in exercise science ranking to compare more.

Doctoral programs turn toward research. Concordia University-Chicago’s PhD in exercise science is 69 credits and lists Cardiovascular Responses to Exercise, Neuromuscular Responses to Exercise, Mixed Methods Research and Advanced Topics in Statistics. Concordia University-Saint Paul’s PhD in kinesiology is 67 credits.

Which Courses Do Specializations Add?

A specialization swaps some general courses for narrower ones. Three are common enough to know.

Clinical exercise physiology. These programs add electrocardiogram (ECG) reading, pharmacology and cardiac rehabilitation. Lebanon Valley College lists ECG Interpretation I and II plus Pharmacology, and a 600-hour clinical internship. Tiffin University lists CEP575 Exercise Pharmacology and a 150-hour internship. Grand Canyon University lists EXS-540 Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physiology and 600 practicum hours. See the clinical exercise physiology master’s ranking.

Strength and conditioning. The University of Missouri’s strength and conditioning emphasis lists SP_SCI 4480 Technology and Science in Strength and Conditioning, a capstone, and an internship worth 3 to 6 credits. Franklin’s master’s lists EXS 672 Scientific Principles of Strength and Conditioning and EXS 673 Practical Resistance and Conditioning Training. Our CSCS certification guide explains why the accreditation of these programs matters after 2030.

Fitness, wellness and coaching. American Public University System offers five concentrations, including coaching, fitness and wellness, and nutrition. Lewis-Clark State College’s kinesiology coaching degree lists KIN-340 Advanced Coaching Theory. The University of Southern Mississippi’s fitness and nutrition degree lists Exercise Specialist Certification Preparation.

Which Prerequisite Classes Do Pre-PT Students Add?

Physical therapy programs set their own prerequisite lists, so start with the schools you want to apply to. Then look for exercise science degrees that already hold those classes.

Salem University’s biology degree with a physiology and exercise science specialization is the science-heavy end. It lists General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, General Physics, Microbiology and Pathophysiology, and it asks for 30 core biology credits beside 75 foundational and elective credits.

The other route starts small. Eastern Iowa Community College District’s 62-credit transfer associate degree has you take Anatomy and Physiology (a two-semester survey that’s part lecture and part lab), Biology, College Physics, Nutrition and Statistics, then transfer to Iowa State University.

Our guide to exercise science as a pre-physical therapy path covers what to confirm, and the pre-PT ranking lists programs by that lens.

How Can You Read a Course List Before You Enroll?

Course lists are marketing until you read them line by line. Check these five things:

• Exercise physiology and testing and prescription, by name. If neither appears, the degree may lean toward health promotion or coaching. That’s fine if it’s what you want. It’s a problem if you’re aiming for an ACSM certification.

• Where anatomy and physiology sits. It might be inside the major, as at American Public University System, or in general education. Ask whether it includes a lab.

• The balance of subjects. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s online kinesiology degree lists wellness, epidemiology and stress management next to KNES 400 Measurement and Evaluation in Kinesiology. That’s a health promotion flavor.

• The hands-on requirement, in hours. Franklin asks for a capstone or a field experience of at least 80 hours at an employer you choose. Maryville lists 200 supervised contact hours in a setting you choose from its partners. University of Wisconsin-Superior requires 450 site hours for internship credit.

• The accreditation. Ask whether that exact program is on CAAHEP’s list, not just the department.

What Are the Downsides of Exercise Science Coursework?

A few things surprise students, so it’s better to know them now.

The science load is real. Anatomy, physiology and biomechanics come first, and a pre-health path adds chemistry and physics. Graduate programs add statistics and research methods.

Online labs have limits. A shipped kit or a recorded video isn’t a fitness testing room. Some programs require campus visits, and those cost travel money and time off work.

You often arrange your own internship. Franklin says students select their own employer. That’s flexible, but it puts the search on you.

The same class goes by different names. Physiology of Exercise, Exercise Physiology and Applied Exercise Physiology can be the same course. Ask a transfer advisor to match your credits before you pay for one twice.

A course list isn’t a credential. ACSM-EP and CSCS each have their own eligibility rules and exams. Our what is exercise science guide explains how degrees and certifications fit together.

How We Gathered These Course Lists

Course titles come from each school’s own program and catalog pages, recorded in the program reviews linked above. Counts use the 168 online programs in our database as of September 29, 2026.

We re-read the CAAHEP standards, ACSM’s certification pages, and the pages for Franklin, Methodist, American Public University System, North Carolina Central, Salem, Eastern Iowa, University of the Cumberlands, University of Wisconsin-Superior and the University of Missouri on September 29, 2026. Catalogs change every year, so confirm the current course list on the school’s page before you apply. If a school’s page contradicts something here, tell us.