California Baptist University Kinesiology, BS (Online)

California Baptist's online B.S. in Kinesiology is a broad kinesiology major more than a narrow exercise science degree. You take 50 units in eight-week courses at $541 a unit, which is $27,050 before fees, and you can start six times a year. It fits someone who already holds college credit. It has no programmatic accreditation, so the newer ACSM and NSCA degree rules can leave it short.

California Baptist University is a private Baptist school in Riverside, California, and this degree sits in its College of Health Science. The page says the faculty are 100% Christian, and one of the seven learning outcomes is integrating faith, values and ethics into kinesiology practice. Admissions is rolling, and a counselor calls the same business day you apply.

You get a decision and a full transfer breakdown one to three days after your application and official transcripts arrive. The 50 units are only the major. General education sits on top of them, and CBU accepts up to 100 units in transfer. The 16-month estimate assumes you arrive with general education done and study full time.

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

Courses are asynchronous and run eight weeks. The program page lists six starts a year, and the next ones are November 2, January 11, March 8 and May 10. The page says most online students are working professionals or parents, and instructors include public school teachers and recreation and athletic directors.

There's no internship, practicum or thesis on the course list, and no campus visit is stated. That keeps the schedule simple, but the only hands-on training is what a course delivers online. First Aid and Safety is listed as meeting Red Cross CPR and first aid requirements, so ask how the skills check works.

Who It Fits

• Community college graduates and returning students. The transfer breakdown comes before you commit, so you can see what's left. If an associate degree already covered general education, the 50-unit major is the piece you're paying for.
• Active-duty service members. Military Tuition Assistance is billed at $250 a unit, which is $750 for a three-unit course and $3,000 for a full-time semester. Employees of CBU's preferred partner employers get a 20% tuition reduction, though CBU says it can't be combined with other discount offers.
• Future coaches, trainers and graduate school applicants. CBU says the curriculum lines up with National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) standards and meets entrance requirements for physical therapy, athletic training, nutrition and sport science programs. Confirm with each graduate program that CBU's claim matches its own prerequisite list.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone counting on ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP. Starting August 15, 2027, candidates for those two exercise physiologist credentials must graduate from a program accredited by CAAHEP, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Nothing CBU publishes for this degree names that accreditation. Start with our certification-ready online exercise science degrees instead.
• Students who want a lab-heavy exercise science curriculum. Only one exercise physiology course is required. Fitness testing and conditioning are electives, and they compete with electives on teaching physical education to elementary, middle and high school students.
• Anyone who needs the full price on day one. CBU publishes the cost of the 50-unit major but not the unit count for the whole degree, so a student with no transfer credit should ask for a written degree plan first.

Lower division is 11 units: Anatomy and Physiology I with its lab, First Aid and Safety, Movement Anatomy and Applied Movement Anatomy. Upper division requires seven three-unit courses. They include KINE3830 Exercise Physiology, KINE3530 Care and Prevention of Athletic Injury, KINE3320 Lifelong Motor Development and KINE4730 Research Methods and Evaluation in Kinesiology.

You then pick four of eight electives. The exercise-science choices are KINE3930 Applied Exercise Physiology, KINE4900 Principles of Conditioning Athletes and KINE4800 Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription, which covers graded exercise stress testing, ECG recording and body composition analysis. The rest cover nutrition, children's movement, physical education teaching and PE administration.

The program page says the three groups total 44 units while the headline says 50. The course page lists two three-unit English composition prerequisites, which would close the gap.

Courses the School Names

• KINE3030 Foundations of Kinesiology
• KINE3830 Exercise Physiology
• KINE3930 Applied Exercise Physiology
• KINE4800 Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription
• KINE4900 Principles of Conditioning Athletes
• KINE2640 Movement Anatomy
• KINE3530 Care and Prevention of Athletic Injury
• KINE3000 Nutrition Science
• KINE4540 Behavioral Aspects of Sport
• KINE4730 Research Methods and Evaluation in Kinesiology

Standout Features

• Curriculum aligned with NSCA and ACSM standards
• Includes Applied Exercise Physiology, Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription and Principles of Conditioning Athletes
• 100% Christian faculty
• Free first class promotion for new Fall 2026 session 2 students (limited)

CBU charges $541 per unit for online undergraduates. That's $1,623 for a three-unit course and $6,492 for a full-time semester. Fifty units come to $27,050 before fees. The 2026-27 fee schedule adds a $365 general fee each semester you take six or more units and a $125 lab fee for the First Aid course and its certification. Books and graduation fees are extra.

Two rates are lower. Military Tuition Assistance is $250 a unit, and the partner-employer reduction is 20% off tuition only. The fee schedule also prices prior learning portfolio units at $196 each plus a $120 reading fee per discipline, though the program page never mentions credit for experience.

50 credits at $541 a credit comes to $27,050 in tuition, before fees.

CBU is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, a regional accreditor. The degree itself lists no CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation. CASCE is NSCA's Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education. The page says coursework prepares you to sit for both organizations' exams. Today that holds for the CSCS, which asks for a bachelor's degree and CPR/AED training, and for personal trainer exams that need no degree.

Two rules change that picture. From August 15, 2027, ACSM exercise physiologist 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 bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program. This degree isn't on either list we pulled on September 29, 2026.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• The whole-degree price isn't published. The $27,050 covers the major, and any general education you still need adds to it.
• The pages disagree on unit counts. Three sequences add to 44 units, the headline says 50, and the two English prerequisites are the only way we can make the math work.
• There's no supervised experience. No internship, practicum or capstone appears anywhere on the course list.
• CBU's federal graduation rate is 62%. That covers the whole university, not this program, but it's the only outcome number available.

• How many total units does the B.S. require, and what remains after my transfer evaluation and the 50-unit major?
• Do the two English composition courses count inside the 50 units or on top of them?
• KINE3530 lists KINE2530 as a prerequisite, and that course isn't on the online list. Is it required or waived?
• How is the First Aid and Safety skills check done online, and does the $125 lab fee cover the certification cards?
• Does the prior learning portfolio apply to this major, and how many units can it replace?
• Do KINE4800 and KINE4900 run every semester, or only some sessions?
• Is my employer a preferred partner, and can I use both the 20% reduction and any aid?

Private Christian university on a 162-acre campus in Riverside, California; its College of Health Science hosts the online BS in Kinesiology, delivered in 8-week asynchronous sessions.

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• Best Online Programs in California Rank 2 of 3, bachelor's

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