Franklin University Online B.S. in Exercise Science

Franklin's online B.S. in Exercise Science is built for adults who already have college credit. It takes up to 90 transfer credits, offers eight start dates a year and charges $398 per credit with a locked-in rate. The curriculum lines up with ACSM testing guidelines, but there's no programmatic accreditation, and the required courses skip anatomy and physiology unless you add a science focus area.

Franklin University is a private nonprofit school in Columbus, Ohio, founded in 1902 and built for adult learners. Its B.S. in Exercise Science is 120 semester credits, delivered 100% online in 6-week and 12-week courses. Franklin says the curriculum is aligned with ACSM guidelines for exercise testing and prescription.

You can add an optional focus area in pre-medical sciences, pre-physical therapy or pre-occupational therapy. Admission asks for a high school diploma or an associate, bachelor's or master's degree, and with 60 or more transferable credits you skip the diploma paperwork.

To graduate you need a 2.00 Franklin GPA, a 2.25 in the major and a C or better in every major course. Availability varies by state, and in some states it's offered through employer partnerships only.

Franklin says classes are 100% online, in 6-week and 12-week courses. The school describes itself as built for adult learners, and an academic advisor and a program chair are available for schedule and transfer questions. Franklin also wants you to take College Writing and a learning strategies course before any 200-level class.

The field experience is the one place you leave the screen. You do it at an organization you choose, such as a healthcare facility, fitness center or community recreation center, under an on-site supervisor and a Franklin faculty member.

EXS 491 asks for at least 80 hours of work, and the program chair has to approve your registration. The capstone is a personal e-portfolio and senior project, and its credit can't be transferred in.

Who It Fits

• Transfer students. Franklin accepts up to 90 credits, which is 75 percent of the degree, and it must be at least 30 credits taken at Franklin. Its own example says the average student transfers 67 credits and finishes in about 20 months.
• Service members. Current service members pay $250 per credit instead of $398. Combine that with maximum transfer credit and you're paying for 30 credits.
• Working adults who need frequent starts. The 2027 calendar lists start dates in January, February, March, May, June, August, September and November. Courses run six or twelve weeks, so a missed start costs you weeks, not a semester.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited bachelor's for the ACSM exercise physiologist exam after August 15, 2027. The bachelor's isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026. The Franklin master's is a separate case.
• Students who want strong human anatomy coverage by default. The required major courses list no anatomy and physiology course, and it shows up in the pre-physical therapy focus area.
• Anyone who wants hands-on lab time in a campus lab. Everything here is online, and even the field experience takes place at a site you arrange.

Required major courses are EXS 204 Introduction to Sports and Exercise Psychology, EXS 252 Exercise Physiology, EXS 335 Principles of Strength Training and Conditioning, EXS 351 Kinesiology/Biomechanics, EXS 460 Exercise Testing and Prescription, HEA 254 Nutrition and Fitness, SPM 351 Sport Law, HIM 150 Medical Terminology and SOCL 335 Applied Research Methods.

EXS 460 introduces ACSM guidelines with health screening, risk assessment and testing. EXS 252 uses discussion boards, quizzes and laboratory work you complete on your own or with a partner. You also choose 12 credits from electives such as EXS 400 Exercise for Special Populations, EXS 201 Designing Exercise Programs and HEA 152 Wellness.

The degree ends with either EXS 491 Field Experience or EXS 490 Exercise Science Capstone, each four credits. Major-area courses come to 49 of the 120 credits, and 34 credits are open electives.

Courses the School Names

• EXS 252 Exercise Physiology
• EXS 335 Principles of Strength Train/Condition
• EXS 351 Kinesiology/Biomechanics
• EXS 460 Exercise Testing and Prescription
• EXS 400 Exercise for Special Populations
• EXS 201 Designing Exercise Programs
• EXS 204 Introduction to Sports and Exercise Psychology
• HEA 254 Nutrition and Fitness
• SPM 351 Sport Law
• EXS 490 Exercise Science Capstone

Standout Features

• Curriculum aligned with ACSM exercise testing and prescription guidelines; students use tools such as the Just Jump system and ergometers
• Optional Pre-Medical, Pre-PT and Pre-OT focus areas
• Tuition guarantee locks the first-term rate

Standard tuition for 2026-27 is $398 per credit, so all 120 credits come to $47,760. Franklin adds a $100 resource fee every semester, and international students pay $526 per credit. The tuition guarantee locks your first-term rate as long as you stay actively enrolled.

Transfer credit does the heavy lifting. Franklin's example shows $21,094 in tuition for an average of 67 transfer credits and $11,940 at the 90-credit maximum. Service members at $250 per credit would pay $7,500 for those 30 credits. The page labels $47,760 as the total after a partner discount, although that equals 120 times $398, so ask what a partner would actually save.

120 credits at $398 a credit comes to $47,760 in tuition, before fees.

Franklin is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The degree carries no programmatic accreditation, and the page names ACSM only as a curriculum alignment, not a certification eligibility promise. The CSCS needs a bachelor's degree today, and from January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need one from a CASCE-accredited program. Franklin isn't on the CASCE list we pulled.

Personal trainer certifications don't require a degree at all. For the ACSM-EP, candidates after August 15, 2027 must come from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process, so ask Franklin directly whether it has. The optional pre-physical therapy focus adds biology, anatomy, chemistry, physics and psychology, but a doctorate is still needed for physical therapist licensure.

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 program page calls the field experience required, but the curriculum lets you take EXS 490 instead, and EXS 491 mentions SPM 491 as another option. Ask which one your advisor plans for you.
• The major courses don't include anatomy and physiology. You'd cover it in the pre-physical therapy focus or your 34 open electives.
• Franklin's federal graduation rate is 11 percent. It counts only first-time, full-time students, and Franklin students transfer in an average of 67 credits, so it's a narrow view. But it's the only outcome number we have.
• Every major course needs a C or better, and you need a 2.25 GPA in the major. One weak grade in a required course means retaking it before it counts.

• Will you send a transfer evaluation showing how many of my credits count before I apply?
• Do I take the EXS 491 field experience or the EXS 490 capstone, and which one do students with my goals pick?
• How do the laboratory sessions in EXS 252 and EXS 460 work for online students, and what equipment do I need?
• Which anatomy and physiology course can I take to cover the gap, and does it require an in-person lab?
• Is this program offered in my state, or only through an employer partnership?
• Has the bachelor's begun the CAAHEP process for ACSM-EP candidates after 2027?
• What partner discount might apply to me, and does it stack with the tuition guarantee or the service member rate?

Franklin is a private nonprofit university in Columbus, Ohio, founded in 1902, that says it was built for adult learners; nearly 80% of students take online courses. It offers an online B.S. in Exercise Science and two online M.S. in Exercise Science specializations.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 23 of 46, bachelor's
• Best Online Bachelor's Programs Rank 23 of 46, bachelor's
• Cheapest Online Programs Rank 9 of 15, bachelor's
• Best for Military Students Rank 8 of 21, bachelor's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 15 of 23, bachelor's
• Best for Career Changers Rank 11 of 20, bachelor's
• Best Degree Completion Programs Rank 18 of 34, bachelor's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 16 of 33, bachelor's
• Best Pre-Physical Therapy Programs Rank 10 of 24, bachelor's
• Best Pre-Health Programs Rank 9 of 23, bachelor's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 21 of 34, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Ohio Rank 1 of 1, bachelor's

• M.S. in Exercise Science, Strength & Conditioning Specialization

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $690 per credit Score 44.5

• M.S. in Exercise Science, Clinical Exercise Physiology Specialization

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $690 per credit Score 43.4

• Tarleton State University

  Kinesiology, B.S.

  Texas Score 55.0

• Arizona State University

  Kinesiology (BS)

  Arizona $580 per credit Score 55.6

• University of Saint Mary

  Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (Online Degree Completion)

  Kansas $435 per credit Score 54.5

• University of Missouri

  Bachelor of Science in Sport Science with an Emphasis in Strength and Conditioning (Online)

  Missouri $841.70 per credit Score 55.9