Exercise Science Internships: How to Find One for an Online Degree

Most online programs build exercise science internships into the degree, and you usually arrange yours near home. Of the 168 online programs we’ve reviewed, 96 list an internship or practicum and 17 say it’s required. Where programs name hours, they run from 64 at the associate level to 600 in the clinical master’s programs at Lebanon Valley and Grand Canyon.

Do Online Exercise Science Programs Require an Internship?

Many do, and the share rises with the degree level. Here’s what our records show for every program on the list.

“Required” means the school’s own page uses that word. The other 79 programs list the experience as a course, capstone or option. Fourteen call it optional or one choice among several, like Texas Tech’s optional 200-hour capstone internship. For the rest, ask admissions whether you can skip it.

Accreditation pushes the number up. CAAHEP’s exercise science standards say the curriculum must include an internship experience. ACSM will also require a CAAHEP-accredited or in-process degree for its exercise physiologist exams from August 15, 2027. Our accreditation guide explains the rule.

More than a dozen master’s programs treat the internship as one way to finish, not the only way. Liberty lets you pick a 6-credit internship or a thesis. The University of Louisiana at Monroe offers a 400-clock-hour internship or a thesis. Canisius offers a 120-hour internship or a research project.

Which Online Programs Require Exercise Science Internships?

Eleven of the 17 required internships sit in fully online programs, with no campus visits listed. The other six add something in person.

The fully online group is the easiest to picture. Methodist University’s bachelor’s requires two internship courses. University of Toccoa Falls requires two clinical practice courses, 3 credits each, in community health, wellness centers or clinical environments. Northeastern State’s master’s requires a 4-credit internship plus a capstone.

Franklin University’s strength and conditioning master’s requires an internship in a real-world performance environment. Pennsylvania Western’s master’s lists the internship as an elective, and requires a 6-credit one in the Applied Sport Science concentration.

The in-person group is smaller. Concordia University-Saint Paul runs coursework online but requires the internship in person at an approved site such as a gym, wellness program or rehabilitation facility. Florida Atlantic’s bachelor’s and master’s require an internship with at least two distinct athletic populations.

University of Wisconsin-River Falls places clinical exercise physiology students in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation at a regional hospital or rehabilitation center. Hardin-Simmons’ athletic training master’s fills year two with full-time clinical rotations.

One of the 17 is a doctorate with a different kind of requirement. Ohio University’s Doctor of Athletic Training asks for evidence of full- or part-time work as an athletic trainer each semester, so your job is the experience.

How Do Hours Work in Online Exercise Science Internships?

The classes are online and the hours aren’t. A gym, clinic, team or wellness program near you supervises the work. What changes from school to school is who finds the site and how much freedom you get.

Start the site search for your exercise science internships early. Arizona won’t enroll you in the course until you hold a placement. East Texas A&M’s coaching master’s needs instructor approval in your final semester and an internship seminar in May or December before you enroll.

Parker University shows the other end of the scale for exercise science internships. Its master’s strength and conditioning internship is 300 hours in person, full time, in the final semester, and you can complete it at a training facility anywhere in the country, so you don’t have to relocate to Dallas.

How Many Hours Do Exercise Science Internships Take?

Eighteen of the 96 programs name a clock-hour figure for their internships. The rest give credits, which don’t convert cleanly. UW-Whitewater’s internship is 6 credits, Missouri’s runs 3 to 6, and Sam Houston’s 3-credit internship course covers 200 to 400 contact hours.

These are the hours programs name that the table above doesn’t already show:

Turn hours into weeks before you commit. At 20 hours a week, a pace CSCCa calls common for its practicum, 150 hours takes about 8 weeks, 300 hours takes 15 and 600 hours takes 30. At 10 hours a week, double each of those.

Do Exercise Science Internships Count Toward a Certification?

The hours in your degree and the hours a credential asks for are separate counts. Sometimes they overlap and sometimes they don’t.

For the ACSM clinical exercise physiologist credential, ACSM’s candidate handbook says hours must come from a clinical setting. Observation, non-clinical experience, time with athletes or apparently healthy people, and personal training don’t count. Virtual hands-on counseling is accepted up to 50% of the total. ACSM also publishes a clinical experience log you can fill in as you go.

That makes the school’s hour count a starting point. Lebanon Valley’s 600 hours match the master’s pathway number exactly. Tiffin’s 150 hours cover one quarter of it, and you’d find the other 450 through work or volunteering. Our ACSM clinical exercise physiologist guide shows the hour split by condition.

For strength and conditioning, CSCCa’s practicum page sets a 640-hour minimum under an approved mentor and a $230 practicum fee. You file a waiver form before you start, or the hours risk not being approved. Assistantships can count and can run while you take classes. Our strength and conditioning coach guide covers the full path.

What Do Exercise Science Internships Involve?

It depends on the career you’re aiming at, and the best programs put you where that career happens.

Clinical work. Wisconsin-River Falls places students in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation. Lebanon Valley describes a cardiopulmonary or rehabilitation exercise program for special populations. ACSM lists exercise testing, exercise prescription and patient education as clinical work, and it’s the daily routine in a cardiac rehab specialist career.

Strength and conditioning. Wisconsin-River Falls describes its strength internship as NCAA strength and conditioning positions or private training centers. Logan requires a CSCS-credentialed supervisor. Florida Atlantic wants you to work with at least two athletic populations, so one team won’t cover the requirement.

Fitness and wellness. Concordia University-Saint Paul names gyms, wellness programs and rehabilitation facilities. Toccoa Falls names community health and wellness centers. Ouachita’s option is a fitness and wellness facility.

Teams and clinics. Concordia University Texas lists internships with professional, college and high school sports teams and physical therapy clinics. William Paterson’s program flyer lists past placements that include professional teams, the US Olympic Training Center, cardiac rehab centers, chiropractic offices and hospital medical fitness programs.

Athletic training. Hardin-Simmons’ year two runs at least 300 hours a semester, 30 or more hours a week, across at least three setting types. Our exercise science vs. athletic training guide explains why that path works differently.

Can You Keep Your Job During Exercise Science Internships?

Sometimes, and the program design decides. Parker’s 300-hour concentration internship is full time for 12 weeks. Hardin-Simmons’ year two is 30 or more hours a week. If you work full time, neither fits unless you can take leave.

Other designs bend. Tiffin counts a current job. Ohio University’s doctorate counts the athletic training work you already do. East Tennessee State lets you pick any site for its 240 hours, which means a gym near your job or home. UW-Whitewater says its 6-credit internship can be completed as a distance learner.

Ask each program two questions. Can the hours spread across a full term, or must they happen in a block? And will the school accept evenings and weekends at your site? A yes on both makes a 150-hour or 240-hour internship workable next to a full-time job.

How Do You Find Exercise Science Internships Near You?

Start with the program, then widen the search.

Ask the program’s coordinator first. Oregon State routes experiential learning through a coordinator. Eastern Oregon says faculty help students find local placements. Franklin’s bachelor’s field experience happens at an organization you choose, such as a healthcare facility, fitness center or community recreation center, and availability varies by state.

Look at your own employer. If you already work in a gym, clinic or wellness program, ask whether a supervisor there can sign off. Tiffin and Ohio University both build that route in. Ask early, because Concordia, Florida Atlantic and Lebanon Valley all use approved sites.

Use the credential bodies. CSCCa’s jobs board lists internships and marks the ones approved for the SCCC practicum. If nothing fits, you can contact a CSCCa-approved mentor directly. ACSM’s clinical experience log lets you record clinical hours from day one.

Call local clinical sites. Hospital cardiac and pulmonary rehab departments, college athletics weight rooms, private training facilities and high school programs all appear in the placements above. Bring your program’s requirements and the supervisor qualifications it asks for.

What Should You Ask Before You Choose a Program?

Send these to admissions and keep the answers:

• Is the internship required, optional or replaceable with a thesis or project?

• How many hours is it, and how many credits?

• Who finds the site, and can I use my current job?

• Does the experience need to happen in person, and does it run full time or part time?

• Does the program’s CAAHEP or CASCE status fit the credential I want?

• When must the site be approved, and what happens if I can’t find one by then?

Then compare programs that fit your answers. Our online clinical exercise physiology master’s ranking covers the clinical programs, and the online strength and conditioning degrees ranking covers the coaching track. The online bachelor’s in exercise science and online master’s in exercise science lists compare cost and format.

How We Checked These Facts

We read the ACSM, CSCCa, NSCA and CAAHEP pages in November 2026. Program details come from each school’s own pages, recorded in the program reviews linked above on September 29, 2026. Hour counts and requirements come from those pages as written.

Hour counts, site rules and fees shift from year to year, so reread the source pages before you register or enroll. If a school page says something different from what we found, tell us.