Eastern Iowa Community College District Online Exercise Science & Kinesiology Transfer Major

Eastern Iowa's Exercise Science and Kinesiology Transfer Major is a two-year online start on a bachelor's degree, not a finish line. It costs $230 a credit, includes the two-semester anatomy and physiology sequence, and comes with guaranteed transfer agreements to Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

It's a smart, cheap first two years if you plan to transfer. As a stand-alone credential for fitness or clinical work, it's too thin.

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a public district made up of Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges in the Quad Cities area, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. EICC says more than 4,500 students took 100% of their courses online in 2025.

The Associate in Arts in Exercise Science and Kinesiology is 62 credits. It's part of Iowa's statewide Transfer Major program, built by the community colleges, public universities and many private colleges to spell out which courses you need before moving to a four-year school. EICC's page lists careers such as exercise physiologist and cardiac rehab specialist, but it points you toward a bachelor's first.

EICC lists the program among its online degrees. Classes are either live online through Zoom or available anytime through Canvas, and each course is developed and taught by EICC faculty.

The calendar is flexible. Fall 2026 has a 16-week term starting August 24, two 8-week terms and a 12-week term that starts September 21. There's a winterim from December 22, 2026 to January 17, 2027, then spring and summer terms. Advisors help you choose your schedule.

One thing to confirm: the program's own page and catalog list Clinton, Muscatine and Scott campuses without the word online. Ask which labs, if any, you must complete in person.

Who It Fits

• You're a high school graduate, career changer or working adult who wants to finish two years of a bachelor's at a low price. At the 2026-27 online rate, 62 credits of tuition comes to $14,260.
• You expect to end up at Iowa State, the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa. Each shows a 2.0 GPA requirement for transfer and about two more years to finish.
• You need your schedule to bend. Courses run 4, 8, 12 or 16 weeks, live on Zoom or anytime in Canvas, so you can stack short terms around a job.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you want to work as a personal trainer soon. Trainer certifications like NSCA-CPT, ACSM-CPT, NASM-CPT and ACE-CPT don't require a degree, so an associate degree isn't the fastest or cheapest way in.
• Skip it if you're planning to leave Iowa's public university system. The transfer promise covers named Iowa schools. A school elsewhere decides on its own what counts.
• Skip it if you want to finish with a credential you can use as is. There's no clinical training, and the school's own list of career ideas includes work that needs a bachelor's or more.

The catalog builds the degree from three blocks. The discipline courses are BIO 151 Nutrition (3 credits), BIO 168 Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4), BIO 173 Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4) and MAT 156 Statistics (3). You also pick one more science: PHY 162 College Physics I, BIO 114 General Biology IA or BIO 157 Human Biology, each 4 credits.

That's 18 credits of core science and statistics with physics. The rest is general education, such as communications, and electives. Choose the electives with your transfer school's degree plan open, since EICC says some transfer schools have added requirements. Learning outcomes include anatomical terms, the musculoskeletal system and how the cardiorespiratory system works.

Courses the School Names

• BIO 151 Nutrition
• BIO 168 Human Anatomy and Physiology I
• BIO 173 Human Anatomy and Physiology II
• MAT 156 Statistics
• One of PHY 162, BIO 114 or BIO 157

Standout Features

• Iowa statewide Transfer Major with transfer agreements with Iowa State University, University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Waldorf University (2.0 GPA required, then about 2 more years); some institutions may have additional requirements
• Online tuition of $230 per credit, per the 2026-27 tuition table

Online students pay $230 per credit for 2026-27, the same as last year. Over 62 credits, tuition is $14,260. The $209 in-state rate is for on-campus students and comes to $12,958.

Expect two fees. There's a $3 per credit online fee, or $186 for the degree, and a flat $23 per credit access (bookstore) fee, or $1,426. Together with tuition, that's $15,872.

The out-of-state on-campus rate is $276 a credit. The $230 rate also covers students in the nearby Illinois counties of Carroll, Henry, Mercer, Rock Island and Whiteside.

62 credits at $230 a credit comes to $14,260 in tuition, before fees.

The Higher Learning Commission accredits EICC. That's a regional accreditor, which is what most public universities accept for transfer.

EICC says the partner colleges and universities approved its courses, so every credit fully transfers toward your bachelor's. The catalog is more careful. It lists Iowa State, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa and Waldorf University, and adds that some may have additional requirements.

No associate degree qualifies you for ACSM-EP or the CSCS. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program starting August 15, 2027. U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program starting January 1, 2030. Check your future bachelor's against both lists before you transfer.

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.

• It's only half a degree. Everything career-related on EICC's page depends on finishing a bachelor's elsewhere.
• The transfer promise reads bigger than the fine print. The web page says all credits fully transfer, and the catalog says some schools have extra requirements.
• The online label is soft. The program page doesn't mention online delivery, and the catalog lists three campuses.
• The fees are easy to overlook. The $23 per credit access fee adds $1,426 to the degree, and the $3 online fee adds $186.

• Which courses in this degree, especially the anatomy and physiology labs and physics, can I take fully online?
• Does the $23 per credit access fee cover my textbooks and lab materials?
• Which bachelor's degree at Iowa State, the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa will these 62 credits count toward, and what extra courses does each require?
• The catalog lists Waldorf University as a transfer partner, and the program page doesn't. What does that agreement cover?
• If I want the ACSM-EP or CSCS later, which of those schools' bachelor's programs are accredited by CAAHEP or CASCE?
• Can I earn credit for work or military training, and how would it be applied?

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a public district of Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges in the Quad Cities area. Over 4,500 students took 100% of their courses online in 2025, and its Exercise Science & Kinesiology Transfer Major feeds Iowa's public universities.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 6 of 11, associate
• Best Online Associate Programs Rank 6 of 11, associate
• Cheapest Online Programs Rank 4 of 11, associate
• Best for Working Adults Rank 5 of 8, associate
• Best Pre-Physical Therapy Programs Rank 2 of 4, associate
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 6 of 11, associate

• Bryan University

  Associate of Arts in Applied Exercise and Fitness

  Arizona $538.75 per credit Score 47.5

• Angelina College

  Associate of Arts in Health and Physical Education

  Texas $210 per credit Score 49.8

• Georgia Military College

  Associate of Science in Kinesiology

  Georgia $169 per quarter credit Score 47.0

• Central Texas College

  Kinesiology (KIN4.AS, CIP 31.0505)

  Texas $250 per credit Score 41.2