Arizona State University Online Health Sciences - Healthy Lifestyles and Fitness Science (BS)

This is a health and wellness degree with a fitness track, not an exercise science degree. ASU's online B.S. in Health Sciences with the Healthy Lifestyles and Fitness Science concentration spends most of its 40 classes on health behavior, nutrition and health education. Pick it to coach people toward healthier habits and maybe add a trainer or wellness coaching credential. Skip it for exercise physiology depth.

The degree is 120 credits taught in 7.5-week classes, and the next start is January 11, 2027. ASU offers it in person as well, and your diploma won't say online. The Higher Learning Commission accredits the university, and the degree sits in the College of Health Solutions.

ASU describes it as a mix of exercise and nutrition with human behavior and motivation, aimed at preventive health care. The program page says you can work in clinics, community groups, corporate settings or your own business. Admission follows ASU's general undergraduate rules, the same ones the kinesiology degree uses.

Classes are 7.5 weeks. The degree has 40 classes, compared with 38 for ASU's kinesiology major. Starts happen several times each semester, and an enrollment coach guides admission.

The college requires a three-credit experiential learning course, and the program page says you'll finish with hands-on experience. Options include HSC 484 Internship, a health coaching techniques course, translational research, and courses in palliative care and dementia.

You can add courses from a second track using electives if you want more than one credential.

Who It Fits

• Aspiring health and wellness coaches. The Health and Wellness Coaching track includes HSC 440 Health Coaching Concepts and Skills, and ASU says finishing HSC 441 positions you for the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching exam with minimal extra coursework.
• Personal trainers who want a bachelor's with a behavior-change angle. ASU says the Fitness Science track prepares you to sit for the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer exam.
• People drawn to public health work. The Health Education and Promotion track prepares you for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam from NCHEC.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you want exercise physiology, biomechanics or exercise testing. The core here is health behavior, and only a few courses have an exercise focus.
• Skip it if physical therapy, occupational therapy or physician assistant school is the plan. The sciences are one anatomy and physiology course and one introductory chemistry course, which is lighter than most pre-health degrees.
• Skip it if you want to become an athletic trainer, which the program page lists as a career. That path needs a professional master's.

Everyone takes HSC 210 Cultural Aspects of Health plus ten concentration courses: CHS 340 Health Behavior Theory, EXW 101 Foundations of Fitness, Coaching and Health Promotion, EXW 325 Fitness for Life, EXW 344 Impact of Physical Activity on Health and Disease, EXW 400 Stress Management for Wellness, HEP 350, HEP 361, HEP 443, HEP 466 and HSC 355 Eating for Lifelong Health.

Then you choose a track. Fitness Science includes EXW 215 Resistance Training and Recovery Techniques, EXW 217 Cardiorespiratory and Flexibility Training, EXW 335 and EXW 425 Exercise Prescription for Health and Wellness. The others are Health Education and Promotion and Health and Wellness Coaching.

Foundations add BIO 160, CHM 101, NTR 241 Human Nutrition, statistics, math and psychology.

Courses the School Names

• EXW 101 Foundations of Fitness, Coaching and Health Promotion
• EXW 215 Resistance Training and Recovery Techniques
• EXW 217 Cardiorespiratory and Flexibility Training
• EXW 325 Fitness for Life
• EXW 335 Physical Activity and Physiological Concepts
• EXW 344 Impact of Physical Activity on Health and Disease
• EXW 400 Stress Management for Wellness
• EXW 425 Exercise Prescription for Health and Wellness

Standout Features

• Combines exercise and nutrition with human behavior and motivation; students choose a Fitness Science, Health Education and Promotion, or Health and Wellness Coaching track
• Each track is tied to a certification exam: ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, CHES, or NBHWC health and wellness coaching

ASU Online lists $580 per credit for most undergraduate programs, plus program fees that vary by major. This program page doesn't show its own rate, so confirm it with the estimator.

At that rate, 120 credits comes to $69,600 before fees. ASU accepts up to 64 transfer credits for most undergraduate programs. If all 64 count here, you'd pay for 56 credits, or $32,480.

Exam fees for any certification are separate from tuition.

120 credits at $580 a credit comes to $69,600 in tuition, before fees.

The university's accreditation comes from the Higher Learning Commission. The degree has no CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation, and it isn't a route to the ACSM exercise physiologist credential.

From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. From January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a CASCE-accredited bachelor's. Neither rule is about the ACSM personal trainer exam, which doesn't need a degree.

ASU also warns that its licensure and certification preparation is designed to meet Arizona's requirements, and other states may differ.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

The full rubric is on the methodology page. A factor marked Peer Median had no published input, so it counts at half weight.

• The exercise content is limited to a handful of EXW courses. Most of the 120 credits go to health education, nutrition, psychology and general studies.
• The program page promises preparation for certification in the top health and wellness fields but names none. The curriculum sheet names three: ACSM-CPT, CHES and NBHWC.
• The NBHWC route needs HSC 441 and minimal additional coursework, so the coaching credential isn't automatic.
• Program fees aren't listed on the page, and the cost estimate has to come from ASU's calculator.
• The career list includes athletic trainer, healthcare professor and medical and health services manager, all of which usually need graduate study or years of experience.

• Which courses count as the Fitness Science track, and can I take EXW 215 and EXW 217 as electives in addition to the required track courses?
• What exactly does 'minimal additional coursework' mean for the NBHWC exam after HSC 441?
• Does BIO 160 satisfy the anatomy and physiology requirement for a graduate program I might apply to later?
• Which experiential learning course do most fitness-track students choose, and does the internship need a local site?
• What are the program fees for this major, and what's the estimator's total for 120 credits?
• How many transfer credits would ASU accept from my community college coursework?

Large public research university whose College of Health Solutions houses the kinesiology program; ASU Online offers the same degree as its campus versions (diplomas do not say online). The college reports 6,500+ students, 160+ faculty and $14.5 million in research expenditures, with partnerships with Mayo Clinic, Banner Health, HonorHealth and Dignity Health.

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