California Baptist University Kinesiology, MS (Online)

California Baptist's online M.S. in Kinesiology is a 30-unit master's built around performance, testing and coaching, not clinical rehabilitation. At $737 a unit it costs $22,110 in tuition, and a full-time schedule finishes in 12 months. Strength coaches get the most from it. It's a weak match for anyone who needs clinical hours or programmatic accreditation for an exercise physiologist credential.

California Baptist University is a private Baptist school in Riverside, California. The master's sits in its College of Health Science and has a program director who is a professor of kinesiology. The page calls the degree interdisciplinary, mixing the science of human movement, research methods and advanced fitness and wellness study.

Students who take it online complete the Exercise and Human Performance concentration, so there's no menu of tracks to choose from. One of the seven learning outcomes asks you to integrate a Christian perspective into kinesiology, health and wellness.

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

CBU holds regional accreditation from the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The master's also carries an NSCA Education Recognition Program seal, which was NSCA's older way of recognizing degree programs. Our facts file found that NSCA no longer publishes an ERP list. It now runs CASCE, the Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education, and CBU isn't on the CASCE list we pulled on September 29, 2026.

From January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, and today a bachelor's plus CPR/AED covers it. For ACSM-CEP, the clinical exercise physiologist credential, a master's route asks for 600 clinical hours, and after August 15, 2027 the program must be CAAHEP-accredited. This degree lists no CAAHEP status.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Strength coaches and trainers who want a master's aligned with National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) standards. The page says the curriculum prepares you for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam, and NSCA gave the program its Education Recognition Program (ERP) seal.
• Career changers with one science course behind them. The only prerequisite is Exercise Physiology, completed with a C or better. The course page also lets approved work experience stand in for it, so a working trainer may not need to retake the class.
• Applicants with a modest GPA. The minimum is 2.75, measured on your cumulative record or your last 60 or 90 units, and the school says extra opportunities may exist to overcome a low GPA. The requirements list has no entrance exam.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone chasing a clinical exercise physiologist credential. This isn't a clinical exercise physiology degree, and no internship or clinical hours appear in the plan. See our online clinical exercise physiology master's programs for degrees built around that route.
• Students who expect the 2030 strength coach rule to work in their favor. A master's doesn't change which bachelor's you hold, and the rule looks at the bachelor's, so read the credentials section before you rely on this degree for the CSCS.
• Students who want a live lab. The testing course uses a virtual lab, and there's no campus visit in the requirements.

Four core courses take 12 units: KIN505 Ethics and Leadership in Kinesiology, KIN550 Legal Aspects of Kinesiology, KIN570 Research Methods and KIN580 Research Project Seminar, where you complete an original research project, quantitative or qualitative. The concentration adds 18 units.

Those are KIN516 Advanced Exercise Physiology, KIN546 Sports Nutrition, KIN552 Advanced Study of Sport and Exercise Psychology, KIN562 Exercise and Fitness Education and KIN557 Fitness Testing and Exercise Prescription for Special Populations. KIN557 is an integrated lecture and virtual lab that teaches you to identify normal and abnormal responses to exercise testing.

KIN593 Applied Knowledge in Kinesiology is the capstone. You finish with a comprehensive exam, a research project or a thesis.

Courses the School Names

• KIN 505 Ethics and Leadership in Kinesiology
• KIN 516 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• KIN 546 Sports Nutrition
• KIN 550 Legal Aspects of Kinesiology
• KIN 552 Advanced Study of Sport and Exercise Psychology
• KIN 557 Fitness Testing and Exercise Prescription for Special Populations
• KIN 570 Research Methods
• KIN 580 Research Project Seminar

Standout Features

• Awarded NSCA Education Recognition Program (ERP) seal of approval
• Curriculum prepares students for the CSCS exam
• Virtual lab in Fitness Testing and Exercise Prescription for Special Populations
• Christian perspective integrated as a learning outcome

Tuition is $737 per unit, confirmed on the 2026-27 fee schedule. Thirty units come to $22,110 before fees. The same schedule charges a $365 general fee in each semester you take five or more units, so a plan that spans three semesters adds $1,095. The application fee is $45.

That's $86 more per unit than the online kinesiology master's at CSU Bakersfield. If your employer is one of CBU's preferred partners, a 20% tuition reduction would bring tuition to $17,688. Ask whether Military Tuition Assistance, listed at $250 a unit, reaches graduate courses.

30 credits at $737 a credit comes to $22,110 in tuition, before fees.

Courses are accelerated and asynchronous. CBU describes virtual lectures, HD video and instructor tutorials that introduce assessment devices, then have you practice physical testing and interpret the results to build plans for the populations you serve. The listed faculty work remotely.

The application calendar has three terms, with priority deadlines of May 15 for fall, November 1 for spring and March 1 for summer, and standard deadlines of August 1, December 1 and April 1. You apply with a statement of purpose of 500 words or fewer, or you choose an interview instead.

• There's one track. Online students take the Exercise and Human Performance concentration, so the degree can't tilt toward clinical work.
• No supervised practice appears in the plan. The testing skills come from a virtual lab and video, not a placement.
• The ERP seal is a legacy label. It won't satisfy the CASCE rule that governs the CSCS from 2030.
• CBU's federal graduation rate is 62%. That number covers the whole university, not this program.

• Which exercise physiology courses satisfy the prerequisite, and what work experience counts as a substitute?
• How does the KIN557 virtual lab work, and do I need equipment such as a blood pressure cuff or heart rate monitor at home?
• Is the NSCA ERP recognition current now that NSCA uses CASCE, and has CBU applied for CASCE anywhere?
• Does Military Tuition Assistance apply to graduate courses, and at what rate?
• Which KIN593 option do most online students choose, and does a thesis add a semester?
• How many units per semester make up the 12-month plan, and does the general fee apply in each one?

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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• Kinesiology, BS (Online)

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $541 per credit Score 62.9

• Merrimack College

  Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Science

  Massachusetts $1,180 per credit Score 60.2

• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

  Master of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Physical Education (Accelerated Online)

  Texas $444.44 per credit Score 59.7

• University of North Dakota

  Kinesiology (M.S.)

  North Dakota $586.22 per credit Score 59.6

• Concordia University-Irvine

  Master of Science in Coaching and Exercise Sciences (MSCE)

  California $610 per credit Score 60.6