East Carolina University Kinesiology, M.S. (Online: Physical Education [Pedagogy] Concentration)

East Carolina's online M.S. in Kinesiology is really a physical education pedagogy master's, because that's the only concentration ECU Online lists. It suits teachers and coaches, includes a licensure option for North Carolina, and costs $277.06 per credit for residents. If you want exercise physiology, clinical testing or strength coaching, those courses sit in other concentrations, so this isn't the degree.

East Carolina University is a large public university in Greenville, North Carolina, with 26,940 students. Its Kinesiology M.S. is 36 semester hours. The graduate school page lists six concentrations and the degree page's curriculum lists four, including biomechanics and motor control, exercise physiology, physical education pedagogy, and sport and exercise psychology. ECU Online shows one under the online degree: Physical Education.

A bachelor's degree is required, and students from unrelated fields may face extra requirements. You choose a thesis, nonthesis or licensure option. The research-lab and assistantship language on ECU's pages describes the campus program.

ECU's degree page lists the format as on-campus and online, and ECU Online's graduate list shows Kinesiology, M.S. with Physical Education beneath it. That's the whole online footprint, so start any conversation with admissions there.

The practicum is built into this concentration. You'll complete KINE 6990 and 6991 as part of the coursework, and the licensure option's action research project grows out of them. Ask how a student outside Greenville arranges a school placement, who supervises it and whether your own classroom can count.

Who It Fits

• Current or aspiring physical education teachers. The online concentration covers technology and assessment in physical education, analysis of teaching practice, global perspectives and content knowledge, and reflective supervision. The licensure option is for pedagogy students seeking M-Licensure.
• North Carolina residents on a budget. Resident distance education tuition is $277.06 per credit hour, and 36 credits works out to $9,974.16 in tuition before fees.
• Coaches who work with athletes with disabilities. KINE 6303 covers physical activity programs for people with developmental, emotional and learning disabilities.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants exercise physiology, clinical exercise testing or strength and conditioning. ECU teaches clinical exercise testing and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation in its exercise physiology concentration, and ECU Online doesn't list that concentration. Look at our online exercise physiology degrees.
• Out-of-state students. The non-resident distance rate is $1,044.06 per credit hour, and 36 credits at that rate come to $37,586.16 in tuition.
• Anyone outside North Carolina who needs teacher licensure. ECU says its curriculum meets North Carolina requirements, and your state may ask for something different.

In the pedagogy concentration, KINE 6101 covers technology, assessment and differentiated instruction in physical education. KINE 6108 analyzes teaching practice. KINE 6109 is for the reflective supervisor and practitioner. KINE 6110 covers global perspectives and content knowledge. KINE 6303 covers programs for individuals with developmental, emotional and learning disabilities.

Everyone takes KINE 6300 Research Techniques in Kinesiology and KINE 6301 Research Seminar, and pedagogy students also take practicum courses KINE 6990 and 6991.

The finish depends on your option. Thesis students write KINE 7000 for six hours and take a quantitative analysis course. Nonthesis students sit a comprehensive exam. Licensure students complete an action research project through the practicum courses.

Courses the School Names

• KINE 6101 Technology, Assessment, and Differentiated Instruction in Physical Education
• KINE 6108 Analysis of Teaching Practice in Physical Education
• KINE 6109 Reflective Supervisor and Practitioner in Physical Education
• KINE 6110 Global Perspectives and Content Knowledge in Physical Education
• KINE 6303 Physical Activity Programs for Individuals with Developmental, Emotional, and Learning Disabilities
• KINE 6300 Research Techniques in Kinesiology
• KINE 6301 Research Seminar in Kinesiology

ECU's Fall 2026 distance education graduate tuition is $277.06 per credit hour for North Carolina residents and $1,044.06 for non-residents. Fees add $25.17 per credit for the distance education fee and $3.33 per credit for campus security, plus small per-term charges. One resident credit comes to $306.73 all in.

The school caps graduate billing at nine credit hours. A load of nine or more is a flat $2,493.54 for residents, or $2,756.57 with fees, and $9,396.54 for non-residents, or $9,659.57 with fees.

Four terms at nine hours cost a resident $11,026.28 and a non-resident $38,638.28. Ask whether the cap applies to your load, because heavier terms could lower your cost per credit.

36 credits at $1,044.06 a credit comes to $37,586 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $277.06, the same 36 credits come to $9,974.

ECU's degree pages list no programmatic accreditation, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP or CASCE lists we pulled on September 29, 2026. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and CASCE is the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education.

The credential that matters here is teacher licensure. ECU says its graduate curriculum is designed to meet North Carolina licensure and certification requirements, and the licensure option is for pedagogy students seeking M-Licensure.

Nothing in the concentration aims at the ACSM exercise physiologist exams or the CSCS. The August 15, 2027 CAAHEP rule and the January 1, 2030 CASCE rule concern the degrees that qualify you for those exams, and this pedagogy master's isn't built for either.

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 name says kinesiology, but the online version is physical education teaching. The exercise physiology, biomechanics and sport psychology courses sit in campus concentrations.
• ECU's pages disagree on concentrations: six on the graduate school page, an overview that says six, a curriculum that lists four, and one on ECU Online.
• Non-residents pay $1,044.06 per credit, nearly four times the resident rate.
• ECU's federal graduation rate is 63 percent across the whole university, and this program has no numbers of its own.

• Is physical education pedagogy the only concentration I can complete online, and can I take any exercise physiology courses remotely?
• How do I complete the KINE 6990 and 6991 practicum courses if I live outside Greenville?
• Which options, thesis, nonthesis or licensure, are open to online students?
• Does the nine-credit billing cap apply to distance education students who take 12 credits in a term?
• Will I be billed as a North Carolina resident, and what documents prove it?
• Does the licensure option lead to a North Carolina teaching license, and will my home state accept it?
• Does my bachelor's need to be in kinesiology or physical education, and what extra prerequisites would you add?

East Carolina University is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, with a Department of Kinesiology whose faculty are based in the Ward Sports Medicine Building and Minges Coliseum.

S. in Kinesiology has four concentrations in the catalog (biomechanics and motor control, exercise physiology, physical education pedagogy, sport and exercise psychology; the degree explorer overview says six, adding adapted physical education and sport management) and lists an online version under ECU Online.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 85 of 99, master's
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• Best for Career Changers Rank 21 of 24, master's
• Best for Coaches Rank 38 of 43, master's
• Best Online Programs in North Carolina Rank 4 of 5, master's

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