Concordia University-Irvine Online Master of Science in Coaching and Exercise Sciences (MSCE)

Concordia Irvine's master's is a coaching degree with a science layer, not a clinical exercise physiology program. It's 36 units at $610 each, or $21,960, finished in about 15 months in eleven-week asynchronous terms, and it ends in a portfolio, not a thesis. It suits coaches and strength staff, especially in California. Skip it if you want a heavy science base or an accredited ACSM path.

Concordia University Irvine is a private Christian university in Irvine, California, accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Master of Science in Coaching and Exercise Sciences, or MSCE, is aimed at people who coach or train athletes from high school to Olympic levels. The school says performance coaches, athletic trainers and exercise movement experts designed it, and you can take it online, on campus or hybrid.

You complete nine four-unit courses, five core and four electives. Only one core course, MSCE581 Physical Performance Primer, is mainly science. The rest cover leadership, sport psychology, ethics and legal issues. The school says the exercise science coursework sits in the electives, so how science-heavy your degree feels depends on what you pick.

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

There are three ways to take it: 100% online, on campus or hybrid. Online courses are asynchronous, so you never need to log in at a set time. Four 11-week terms run each year, and you can start in any of them.

Most students finish in 15 months by taking two courses per term for four terms and one in a fifth. One course per term stretches it to two years plus one final term. In-person courses meet weekly during a term or in one-week summer intensives, and you can skip them by choosing the fully online option.

Who It Fits

• Coaches and strength staff who need a master's that bends around a coaching schedule. There are four start dates a year, eleven-week terms and asynchronous courses. The next start is November 16, 2026, and February 15, 2027 follows.
• Anyone heading toward the CSCS. MSCE 586 Advanced Strength, Speed, and Conditioning gives graduate credit through a collaboration with NSCA while you prepare for the exam, and the page ties the credential to Division I and II performance director and strength coach jobs.
• California residents who may want to teach kinesiology. The program page says the degree qualifies you to teach kinesiology at many California community colleges. Check the hiring requirements at the college you have in mind.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs a science-heavy degree. The core is mostly leadership, psychology and ethics, and four of nine courses are electives. If exercise physiology is your goal, compare online strength and conditioning degrees and other master's options first.
• Students who want a thesis or research training. The capstone is a professional portfolio. A thesis route exists at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.
• Applicants under a 2.75 GPA who don't want extra paperwork. The school asks for a 2 to 3 page petition letter explaining the GPA and what you've done since.

The five core courses are MSCE510 Legacy Leadership: Purpose-Driven Coaching, MSCE520 Psychology in Sport: The Mental Edge in Leading and Coaching, MSCE535 Ethics and Legal Aspects of Sport: Pursuing Excellence with Honor, MSCE581 Physical Performance Primer: Fusion, Flexibility, Fitness, and Fuel, and MSCE595 Manual for Exceptional Leadership in Athletics.

Electives are where the science shows up. The FAQ names Advanced Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics for Sport, Sport Medicine and Performance, Nutrition, and Advanced Strength, Speed and Conditioning, and you choose four electives. The capstone is a professional portfolio built from your best work across all your courses. It helps in interviews, but it isn't a research project.

The page contradicts itself on overlap with the school's M.A. in Coaching and Athletics Administration. One answer says the two degrees share five core courses, and another says four. One list numbers the leadership manual course MSCE595, and another lists MSCE596.

Courses the School Names

• MSCE510 Legacy Leadership: Purpose-Driven Coaching
• MSCE520 Psychology in Sport: The Mental Edge in Leading and Coaching
• MSCE535 Ethics and Legal Aspects of Sport: Pursuing Excellence with Honor
• MSCE581 Physical Performance Primer: Fusion, Flexibility, Fitness, and Fuel
• MSCE595 Manual for Exceptional Leadership in Athletics
• MSCE 586 Advanced Strength, Speed, and Conditioning

Standout Features

• Collaboration with the NSCA: graduate credit through MSCE 586 Advanced Strength, Speed, and Conditioning while preparing for the CSCS exam
• Designed by performance coaches, athletic trainers and exercise movement experts; aimed at high school, collegiate, club, professional and Olympic levels
• Optional dual-degree path: earn the Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletics Administration with five more courses (four shared core courses)
• Network of over 5,000 alumni coaching and leading across the country

Tuition is $610 per unit for 36 units, which is $21,960. Each course is four units, so a course costs $2,440. The MSCE tuition schedule adds a $60 student success fee per semester and a $50 student services fee, and applying costs $50. Financial aid is available to those who qualify.

You can transfer up to 8 graduate units in place of electives if they come from a regionally accredited school and match an MSCE course. That leaves 28 units, or $17,080 in tuition. The MSCE row lists the $50 services fee without saying whether it's charged each semester, while the M.A. row says it is.

36 credits at $610 a credit comes to $21,960 in tuition, before fees.

WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) accredits Concordia Irvine. The MSCE has no CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation, and it doesn't claim any. The NSCA collaboration is a course that earns graduate credit while you prepare for the CSCS exam, not an accreditation.

That's workable for the CSCS today, since a bachelor's plus CPR and AED is the current rule. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, and that rule looks at your bachelor's, not this master's. ACSM's CAAHEP requirement starting August 15, 2027 affects the exercise physiologist exams, which this program doesn't target.

The FAQ lists becoming an athletic trainer as an example role. Athletic training has its own accredited entry-level master's and BOC exam, and this program isn't that.

Where this degree can lead: Strength and Conditioning Coach Careers.

• The science base is thin. One core course is science, and the electives carry the exercise physiology, biomechanics and nutrition.
• There's no thesis, practicum or internship. The capstone is a portfolio, so you won't finish with a research paper to show doctoral admissions committees.
• The pages conflict on shared core courses (four or five), the leadership course number (MSCE595 or MSCE596) and how often the $50 services fee applies.
• Fees add $60 per semester to tuition, and the federal graduation rate for Concordia Irvine overall is 58 percent. That figure covers the whole university, not this program.

• Which four electives are offered fully online, and do any require a summer intensive or a weekly campus meeting?
• Do the MSCE and the M.A. share four or five core courses, and is MSCE595 or MSCE596 the current leadership course?
• Is the $50 student services fee charged once or every semester, and how many semesters will my plan include?
• Which graduate units would count toward the 8-unit transfer limit, and can I get an evaluation before I apply?
• Is MSCE 586 an elective I can count toward my four, and does it include CSCS exam preparation materials?
• Would a California community college that hires kinesiology instructors accept this degree for its minimum qualifications?
• If my GPA is below 2.75, how does the petition letter process work and how long does it take?

Concordia University Irvine is a private Christian university in Irvine, California serving over 5,000 students annually and accredited by WSCUC. Its online-friendly graduate coaching and exercise sciences programs have enrolled more graduate students than any other program of their kind at the school, per the program page.

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• Best for Working Adults Rank 13 of 50, master's
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• Best Christian Programs Rank 7 of 27, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 18 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in California Rank 2 of 4, master's

Also at Concordia University-Irvine, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (bachelor's, on campus).

• Merrimack College

  Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Science

  Massachusetts $1,180 per credit Score 60.2

• California Baptist University

  Kinesiology, MS (Online)

  California $737 per credit Score 60.0

• Lionel University

  Master of Science in Exercise Science

  California $440 per quarter credit Score 61.3

• 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