Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Online Master of Science in Applied Exercise Physiology

Commonwealth's online M.S. in Applied Exercise Physiology shows up on CAAHEP's public list as continuing accredited, and that's the credential ACSM will require after August 15, 2027. The school's own pages never say so, so get it confirmed for the online version. Beyond that, it's 30 credits, needs no GRE, costs $557 per credit in-state, and ends in either a practicum or a thesis.

Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania is a public university in the Pennsylvania State System, with campuses at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield. The exercise science faculty at Bloomsburg run an Exercise Physiology Lab, a Resistance Training Lab and a Body Composition Lab. The master's is taught 100% online, and the school says most students finish in 12 to 18 months.

The degree is 30 credits. Six are a practicum or thesis, nine are electives, and you must keep a 3.0 GPA. Admission asks for a 3.0 GPA (2.7 to 2.99 is considered provisionally), a goals statement, two recommendations and transcripts. You don't need an exercise science degree, but anatomy and physiology I and II plus exercise physiology are expected, and gaps can be made up without degree credit.

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

Commonwealth is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The programmatic story is more interesting. Our pull of CAAHEP's public list on September 29, 2026 shows a Master of Science in Applied Exercise Physiology at Commonwealth with continuing accreditation since 2008. The program page only calls CAAHEP the largest programmatic accreditor of the health sciences, and CAAHEP doesn't mark the program as distance.

That matters because ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, or one in the process, starting August 15, 2027. The ACSM-CEP master's route also wants 600 clinical hours and names a master's in clinical exercise physiology or equivalent. CAAHEP files this one under Applied, so ask ACSM how it's treated.

The page also cites NSCA's Education Recognition Program for the NSCA-CPT and CSCS. NSCA now accredits through CASCE, and Commonwealth isn't on that list. The CSCS rule that starts January 1, 2030 looks at your bachelor's degree, not this master's.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Physiologist Careers, ACSM Exercise Physiologist Certification.

Who It Fits

• Career changers with a science background. The page names biology, biomedical science, health science and psychology majors, and it says no exercise science degree is needed. If anatomy and physiology or exercise physiology are missing from your transcript, Commonwealth lets you make them up while you work on the master's.
• People aiming at a clinical or doctoral next step. Electives include EXER 511 ECG, Exercise Testing, and Cardiac Rehabilitation and EXER 553 Clinical Exercise Physiology, and graduates moved on to doctoral programs at schools like Penn State and Virginia Tech. The thesis option gives you a research project to show admissions committees.
• Students who want a public-school price. In-state online tuition is $557 per credit, which comes to $16,710 for 30 credits before fees. Out-of-state is $613 per credit, or $18,390, though that block is labeled Spring 2026 on the tuition page.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants a start date they can count on. The overview says fall, the FAQ says spring, summer and fall, and the degree map says any semester. An advisor has to build your plan.
• Students headed for athletic training or physical therapy licensure. This master's doesn't replace the accredited entry-level program you need to become an athletic trainer or physical therapist. Start with pre-physical therapy exercise science degrees and check prerequisites.

You take five required courses: EXER 500 Research Methods, EXER 560 Exercise Nutrition and Supplements, EXER 575 and EXER 576 Advanced Exercise Physiology I and II, and EXER 577 Advanced Exercise Program Design. Then comes the six-credit EXER 598 Practicum in Exercise Science or the six-credit EXER 590 Master's Thesis.

Electives cover the rest, from EXER 510 Instrumentation and Laboratory Techniques and EXER 551 Mechanics of Human Movement to EXER 511, EXER 553 and two sport psychology courses.

The school's learning objectives read like a clinical job description: screening a participant's medical history and risk, writing an exercise prescription, and coordinating with health care professionals.

Courses the School Names

• EXER 500 Research Methods
• EXER 560 Exercise Nutrition and Supplements
• EXER 575 Advanced Exercise Physiology I
• EXER 576 Advanced Exercise Physiology II
• EXER 577 Advanced Exercise Program Design
• EXER 510 Instrumentation and Laboratory Techniques
• EXER 511 ECG, Exercise Testing, and Cardiac Rehabilitation
• EXER 551 Mechanics of Human Movement
• EXER 553 Clinical Exercise Physiology
• SPPP 510 Foundations of Sport and Performance Psychology

Standout Features

• Graduate assistantships available within the department and across the university
• Program reports 100% national certification exam pass rate, 100% placement and 100% retention for 2025-26 outcome data
• Recent graduates entered doctoral programs at UConn, Florida State, Penn State, Penn, Pitt, Virginia Tech and others
• Electives include ECG, Exercise Testing, and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Clinical Exercise Physiology

In-state online students pay $557 per credit in tuition, plus an $81 technology fee, a $78 academic enhancement fee and a $38 student services fee. That's $754 per credit, or $22,620 over 30 credits, plus a one-time $30 registration fee. The academic enhancement and student services fees cap at 9 credits, so a heavier term costs a little less.

Out-of-state online students pay $613 in tuition and $826 all in, which is $24,780 for the degree. Ask which block applies to your start term, because the out-of-state figures are labeled Spring 2026.

30 credits at $613 a credit comes to $18,390 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $557, the same 30 credits come to $16,710.

Commonwealth says the program is built for working professionals and full-time students alike. Terms run fall, winter, spring and summer. The degree map is a sample plan, and an advisor rebuilds it if you start in spring or summer or go part-time. You track progress in Degree Works.

The sample one-year plan carries nine credits in fall, three in winter, nine in spring and nine in summer. That's a heavy load beside a full-time job, so the part-time option matters. The practicum lands in the summer term, so plan that stretch early.

• The pages disagree with each other. Start terms are fall only, spring, summer and fall, or any semester depending on the page. One blurb calls it a two-year curriculum while the program facts say 12 to 18 months.
• The FAQ says the GRE isn't required, but the admissions list adds that scores may be requested. You'll need to ask which one applies to you.
• The school reports 100% retention, exam pass rate and placement for 2025-26 without saying how many students that covers, so a few people could produce those numbers.
• Fees add $197 per credit on top of $557 in-state tuition, so the sticker price understates the bill.
• The accreditation isn't claimed on the program page. Until the school confirms it for the online version in writing, treat it as promising, not settled.

• Does the CAAHEP accreditation of the Applied Exercise Physiology master's cover the online delivery, and can you send that in writing?
• Would a graduate qualify for ACSM's 600-hour master's route to the clinical exercise physiologist exam, given the Applied label?
• Which start terms are open right now, and can I begin in spring or summer?
• How do online students find and document a site for EXER 598, and can it be at my current job?
• Do any courses or labs meet at set times, or is everything on my own schedule?
• Do you ask any applicant for GRE scores, and what does provisional admission at a 2.7 GPA involve?
• Which tuition block applies to my start term, and are the Spring 2026 out-of-state rates still current?

Public university in the Pennsylvania State System with campuses at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield. The College of Health Sciences' Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Bloomsburg runs the exercise science programs, with an Exercise Physiology Lab, Resistance Training Lab and Body Composition Lab.

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