Concordia University-Saint Paul Online Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science

Concordia St. Paul's online B.A. in Exercise Science is a transfer-friendly bachelor's for working adults. You pay $420 per credit, start six times a year, and could finish with as few as 23 credits at CSP with plenty of transfer credit. The internship has to happen in person near you, and the program pages list no programmatic accreditation, so verify that before planning around ACSM or CSCS exams.

Concordia University, St. Paul is a private Lutheran school in Minnesota, and CSP Global is its online arm. The B.A. comes in two sizes: a 120-credit degree with up to 53 elective credits, and a 90-credit, 3-year degree that trims the electives. You need a high school diploma or equivalent, and transfer students need a 2.0 GPA from regionally accredited schools. There's no application fee.

The school says the coursework can be done entirely online, but the internship can't. You also build a career portfolio as you go, with interview practice along the way and a reflective self-evaluation at the end.

Six start dates a year means you never wait long. The pages don't say how long a term runs or whether classes meet live, so ask. CSP Global describes its faculty as industry-experienced and says the online format mimics studying on campus.

Time to finish depends on your load. With no transfer credit, the 120-credit degree takes 4 years full-time or 5 to 6 part-time, and the 90-credit degree takes 3 years full-time. The internship is the part you can't do from your couch. An approved site can be a gym, a wellness program or a rehabilitation facility.

Who It Fits

• Transfer students with an associate degree or a stack of credits. CSP accepts up to 90 transfer credits into the 120-credit degree and up to 67 into the 90-credit one, evaluated course by course. The transfer credit evaluation is free, so you can see your number before you apply.
• Military members and spouses. Active-duty, Guard and Reserve members and current spouses pay $250 per credit, and CSP lists GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support too. You'll need proof of status, and you can't also take the Military Service Scholarship.
• Trainers and coaches who live near a gym, clinic or wellness program that will host an internship. The program says it prepares you for the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM-CPT) exam and trainer exams from NETA, NSCA and ACE.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs proof of CAAHEP accreditation (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs). A category page says CSP Global's exercise science programs are accredited, but the program pages don't, and this degree isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026. Start with the certification-ready online degrees.
• Students who can't set up a local internship. KHS 498 has to be done in person, so this isn't a fully remote degree.
• Future physical therapy applicants who want a full lab science sequence built in. The required list has no chemistry or physics, so you'd choose electives with your target schools' prerequisites in hand. See the pre-physical-therapy rankings.

The exercise science core is 37 credits across eleven courses. KHS 230 Foundations of Exercise and Sports Science starts you on a personal development plan. KHS 340 Functional Anatomy takes a regional approach to the body. KHS 474 Exercise Physiology and KHS 473 Biomechanics are four credits each. KHS 318 Applied Nutrition, KHS 425 Sport and Exercise Psychology and KHS 436 Motor Development fill out the science side.

KHS 480 Exercise Assessment covers stress testing and fitness evaluations. KHS 475 Applied Exercise Prescription has you choose fitness tests and design programs for team and individual athletes, and it requires KHS 474 first. KHS 345 Sport Business covers finance, accounting and budgeting. KHS 498 Internship is three credits. Everything else is general education and electives.

Courses the School Names

• KHS 230 Foundations of Exercise and Sports Science
• KHS 340 Functional Anatomy
• KHS 474 Exercise Physiology
• KHS 473 Biomechanics
• KHS 318 Applied Nutrition
• KHS 436 Motor Development
• KHS 480 Exercise Assessment
• KHS 475 Applied Exercise Prescription
• KHS 425 Sport and Exercise Psychology
• KHS 498 Internship
• KHS 345 Sport Business

Standout Features

• 90-credit, 3-year option allows completing only needed electives
• Career Portfolio developed throughout the program

Tuition is $420 per credit. That's $37,800 for the 90-credit degree and $50,400 for the 120-credit one if you take every credit at CSP. Transfer credit changes the math fast. Bring the maximum 67 credits into the 90-credit degree and you pay for 23 credits, or $9,660. Bring 90 into the 120-credit degree and you pay for 30, or $12,600.

Textbooks, supplies and loan fees aren't included, and $2,000 partnership scholarships exist for some students. At the $250 military rate, all 90 credits would cost $22,500.

120 credits at $420 a credit comes to $50,400 in tuition, before fees.

CSP is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditor, and has been since 1967. The program pages list no programmatic accreditation. The category page's CAAHEP statement doesn't name this degree, and it isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled.

That matters because of two rules. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP (Certified Exercise Physiologist) and ACSM-CEP (Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist) candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process.

From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates for the CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) need a bachelor's from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE). We didn't find CSP on the CASCE list either.

Personal trainer exams don't require a degree. Athletic training needs its own accredited program, and CSP says this degree alone doesn't qualify you.

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 site contradicts itself on the core. The courses page lists 37 core credits, while the FAQ says the 49 core credit hours can be finished in as little as six semesters. The program page also names research methods and health psychology, but no required course carries either title.
• Delivery is described two ways. The category page says 100% online, and the program FAQ says the internship must be in person at an approved local site.
• Only 37 credits are exercise science courses. The rest is general education and electives, and federal data puts the whole university's graduation rate at 46 percent.
• The page says 95 percent of students are employed a year after graduation. It doesn't say which students or how that was measured, so we wouldn't treat it as a result for this degree.

• How many hours is the KHS 498 internship, and who approves the site if I don't live near a big city?
• Which CAAHEP program ID covers this B.A., and can I find it in CAAHEP's own search?
• Is the core 37 credits or 49, and which required course teaches research methods?
• Can you run a course-by-course transfer evaluation before I apply, and which limit applies to me, 90 credits or 67?
• How long is each term, and do any classes meet live?
• Will you tell me in writing whether this degree meets the CASCE rule for the CSCS exam after 2030?
• Which electives cover the physical therapy prerequisites at the schools I'm targeting?

Concordia University, St. Paul is a private Lutheran university in Saint Paul, Minnesota accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1967. Its online arm, CSP Global, runs a full online exercise science ladder from a B.A. through master's degrees to a PhD/EdD in Kinesiology.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 30 of 46, bachelor's
• Best Online Bachelor's Programs Rank 30 of 46, bachelor's
• Cheapest Online Programs Rank 11 of 15, bachelor's
• Best for Military Students Rank 9 of 21, bachelor's
• Best for Career Changers Rank 15 of 20, bachelor's
• Best Degree Completion Programs Rank 23 of 34, bachelor's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 22 of 33, bachelor's
• Best Christian Programs Rank 8 of 11, bachelor's
• Best Part-Time Programs Rank 2 of 4, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Minnesota Rank 1 of 1, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $475 per credit Score 57.9

• Master of Science in Exercise Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $475 per credit Score 50.9

• Doctor of Education in Kinesiology (emphases: Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning)

  Ed.D., Doctorate

  Fully Online $690 per credit Score 44.5

• Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (emphases: Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning)

  Ph.D., Doctorate

  Fully Online $690 per credit Score 44.5

• Methodist University

  Bachelor of Science in Exercise & Sport Science (online)

  North Carolina $445 per credit Score 52.5

• Concordia University-Chicago

  Kinesiology (BS) Online

  Illinois $440 per credit Score 52.8

• University of Toccoa Falls

  Exercise Science

  Georgia $400 per credit Score 52.8

• University of Missouri

  Bachelor of Science in Sport Science (Online)

  Missouri $841.70 per credit Score 52.9