Florida Atlantic University Online Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion

Florida Atlantic's B.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion is the cheapest four-year route in this batch for Florida residents, at $203.29 per credit. You enter it with 60 credits already done. Exercise physiology can be finished fully online, while strength and conditioning mixes online and in-person courses and ends with a required internship. FAU doesn't show CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation, so check the certification path first.

Florida Atlantic University is a public research university in Boca Raton, and this degree lives in its Department of Exercise and Health Science. The department runs three concentrations: exercise physiology, strength and conditioning, and pre-physical therapy and occupational therapy. Only the first two are covered here, because the pre-PT and OT concentration is labeled as in-person and online courses.

FAU says it built its online courses with its Center for Online and Continuing Education and that they earned a "High-Quality" distinction. To get into the major you need the general admission requirements, a 2.0 or higher, 60 completed credit hours, FAU's general education or an associate degree from a Florida state university or college, and the ESHP prerequisites. An advisor then programs you into the major.

Classes run on fall, spring and summer semesters. The exercise physiology concentration is offered fully online, with some in-person sections for students who want them, and FAU says the format gives maximum flexibility. The internship is the hands-on part and the final requirement, and its paperwork is due a semester before graduation.

FAU's internship steps are strict. You attend a mandatory pre-internship meeting, interview at an approved site and submit a letter of agreement signed by your site supervisor.

You also need CPR and AED certification and professional liability insurance for the full internship, with limits of three million dollars in aggregate and one million per claim. Documents are due December 1 for spring, April 26 for summer and July 27 for fall, with no late submissions.

Who It Fits

• Florida associate-degree graduates. An A.A. from a Florida state university or college covers FAU's general education, so you arrive ready for the upper-division work. At the resident rate, the remaining 60 credits cost $12,197.40 in tuition and fees before any online fee.
• Future strength coaches. The strength and conditioning concentration adds four courses dedicated to the subject to the nutrition, biomechanics and exercise physiology courses. FAU designed it to cover every subject area on the CSCS exam, and it ends with an internship working with at least two distinct athletic populations.
• Students who may want a master's. Seniors can apply to the combined program, where twelve graduate credits count as undergraduate electives. The online master's is 30 credits, so both degrees take five years total. The strength and conditioning version asks for 90 credits and a GPA above 3.25.

Who Should Skip It

• Out-of-state students watching the budget. The posted non-resident rate is $799.72 per credit, nearly four times the resident rate. Ask admissions whether online students from other states pay that rate.
• Anyone who needs strength and conditioning fully online. The department heading says flexible schedule with a fully online option, but its description says a mix of in-person and online courses. The internship happens at an approved site.
• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited degree for the ACSM exercise physiologist exam after August 15, 2027. FAU isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026. Compare the online exercise physiology degrees first.

FAU publishes a program sheet for the exercise physiology concentration and none for strength and conditioning. Before the major you complete prerequisites with a C or better, including anatomy and physiology I and II with labs, general chemistry with a lab, statistics, college algebra and general psychology.

The upper-division core covers Exercise Physiology and Exercise Lab Techniques, Exercise Physiology 2, Applications of Training Physiology I and II, Exercise Testing and Prescription at four credits, Neurophysiology of Human Movement, Biomechanics, Nutrition in Health and Exercise, and Health Promotion. You choose five electives, at least 15 credits, from a list that includes genetics, obesity, physics and a TSAC course.

That's a real science load for a bachelor's. The strength and conditioning concentration has no published sheet, so ask for its course list before you apply.

Standout Features

• Four dedicated strength and conditioning courses alongside nutrition, biomechanics and exercise physiology, aimed at CSCS exam coverage
• Combined bachelor's-to-master's option (90 credits completed, GPA above 3.25)
• Online courses eDesigned with FAU's Center for Online and Continuing Education and given the 'High-Quality' distinction
• Combined bachelor's-to-master's option lets 12 graduate credits count, finishing both degrees in five years

FAU's 2026-27 rate is $203.29 per credit for Florida residents and $799.72 for non-residents. For 120 credits that's $24,394.80 and $95,966.40. Online sections coded for distance learning add $30 per credit, so 60 online credits add $1,800.

Every student also pays a Transportation Access Fee, even online, of $76.90 for fall or spring and $32.04 for summer. Lab fees and books aren't included in FAU's estimate. Because you enter with 60 credits, most of your bill is the upper-division half, so a transfer evaluation moves the total more than anything else.

120 credits at $799.72 a credit comes to $95,966 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $203.29, the same 120 credits come to $24,395.

The program sheets list no CAAHEP or other programmatic accreditation, and FAU doesn't appear on the CAAHEP list we pulled. The strength and conditioning concentration is built around the CSCS. Today the CSCS asks for a bachelor's degree and CPR/AED. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, and FAU isn't on the CASCE list we pulled.

The ACSM rule takes effect August 15, 2027 for ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates, who must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. That matters most for the exercise physiology concentration. Ask the department in writing where accreditation stands.

Where this degree can lead: Strength and Conditioning Coach Careers, CSCS Certification Requirements.

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

• The department page says the exercise physiology concentration includes 9 credit hours of internship. The program sheet lists the internship at 3 to 9 credits, so ask how many you actually need.
• The sheet requires 45 hours between the 3000 and 4000 levels to graduate, while FAU's university sheet says 42 credits at upper division minimum. Ask your advisor which count applies to you.
• The strength and conditioning concentration has no linked program sheet, so its four dedicated courses aren't listed on the pages we found.
• Admission isn't open to first-year students in the major. You need 60 credits and the ESHP prerequisites first, so the path isn't a start-from-zero online degree.

• How many internship credits does the exercise physiology concentration require, 3 or 9?
• Is the 45-hour upper-division rule or the 42-credit rule the one I have to meet?
• Can I get the strength and conditioning program sheet, and which of its courses are online?
• What do out-of-state online students pay per credit, and does the distance learning fee apply to every course?
• Which approved internship sites are near me, and can my current workplace qualify?
• Has the department filed with CAAHEP or CASCE, and will graduates in 2027 and 2030 qualify for ACSM-EP and CSCS?
• Which of my transfer courses satisfy the anatomy and physiology, chemistry and statistics prerequisites?

Public research university in Boca Raton, Florida with several campuses in southeast Florida. The Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion (now Exercise and Health Science) offers the bachelor's in exercise science and health promotion with exercise physiology and strength and conditioning concentrations, each with a fully online option, and also runs an online master's.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 33 of 46, bachelor's
• Best Online Bachelor's Programs Rank 33 of 46, bachelor's
• Best Online Exercise Physiology Degrees Rank 1 of 1, bachelor's
• Best Online Strength and Conditioning Degrees Rank 8 of 12, bachelor's
• Best for Athletes Rank 3 of 4, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Florida Rank 1 of 1, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion

  M.S., Master's

  Online With Campus Requirements $1,125.06 per credit Score 49.3

Also at Florida Atlantic University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, Pre-Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy Concentration (bachelor's, hybrid).

• Montreat College

  Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Online)

  North Carolina $445 per credit Score 47.5

• Lewis-Clark State College

  Kinesiology: Coaching (BA/BS)

  Idaho $423 per credit Score 46.9

• Eastern Oregon University

  Bachelor of Science/Arts in Health & Human Performance, Exercise Science Concentration

  Oregon $338 per quarter credit Score 46.7

• California State University, Monterey Bay

  Kinesiology Online Degree Completion, B.S.

  California $550 per credit Score 48.9