Lander University Online Master of Science in Exercise Science

Lander's online M.S. in Exercise Science is a 36-credit master's from a public university, priced at $545 per credit in-state or out. You choose Sport Performance & Rehabilitation, which points at the CSCS (the NSCA's Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam), or Clinical Exercise Physiology, which points at cardiac rehab work. The price is strong, but starts are mostly fall and no CAAHEP accreditation is listed.

Lander University is a public university in Greenwood, South Carolina, accredited by SACSCOC, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The master's runs through its College of Graduate & Online Studies. Lander's on-campus B.S. carries CAAHEP accreditation, but the master's doesn't. Program goals include kinesiology, nutrition, exercise assessment and preparation for doctoral study such as a PhD in exercise science or a Doctor of Physical Therapy.

You need a bachelor's degree and completed anatomy and physiology I and II before you start, eight hours with labs in total. Exercise physiology and exercise testing coursework is preferred. Lander says students can only start in the fall, with some spring starts decided case by case.

The catalog divides the 36 credits into 15 core and 21 in a concentration. Core is EXSC 711 Advanced Exercise Physiology, EXSC 741 Advanced Research Methods and Design, EXSC 762 Advanced Exercise/Fitness Assessment, and six credits of either an internship (EXSC 701) or a thesis (EXSC 799). Lander's 2022 proposal, which used older course numbers, says the exercise physiology course covers cellular respiration, ventilation and the endocrine system.

Clinical Exercise Physiology takes seven three-credit courses, including Cardiovascular Physiology, Chronic Disease Management, Perspectives on Special Populations and EXSC 765 Exercise Testing and Prescription for Clinical Populations. The proposal says the testing course prepares you to run cardiopulmonary and metabolic tests in clinical and hospital settings.

Sport Performance & Rehabilitation also takes seven, adding Rehabilitative Exercise, Nutrition & Human Performance, Scientific Foundations of Sport Psychology and Entrepreneurship in the Fitness Industry. The proposal says the strength and conditioning course has a lab portion where you administer performance tests and practice program design.

Courses the School Names

• EXSC 711 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• EXSC 741 Advanced Research Methods and Design
• EXSC 762 Advanced Exercise/Fitness Assessment
• EXSC 702 Advanced Methods of Strength and Conditioning
• EXSC 705 Advanced Program Design
• EXSC 710 Applied Biomechanics
• EXSC 712 Cardiovascular Physiology
• EXSC 763 Chronic Disease Management
• EXSC 765 Exercise Testing and Prescription for Clinical Populations
• EXSC 754 Scientific Foundations of Sport Psychology

Standout Features

• Two concentrations: Sport Performance & Rehabilitation (CSCS-ready) and Clinical Exercise Physiology (cardiac rehab and clinical settings)
• Non-thesis finish can be a certification exam (ACSM-CEP or NSCA-CSCS) in place of a comprehensive exam
• Same per-credit rate for in-state and out-of-state online students
• Thesis option (EXSC 799) for students headed to PhD or DPT programs

Who It Fits

• Working adults who want one course at a time. Lander's 2022 state approval proposal describes two courses per semester, taken in sequence across its Fall I and II, Spring I and II and Summer 1 and 2 sessions, so you focus on a single course at a time and finish 18 credits a year.
• Future strength and conditioning coaches. The Sport Performance & Rehabilitation track includes EXSC 702 Advanced Methods of Strength and Conditioning, EXSC 705 Advanced Program Design and EXSC 710 Applied Biomechanics. Lander says students in this concentration are well prepared for the CSCS exam.
• Public employees, nonprofit staff and military families. The graduate online rate is $360 per credit for employees of public agencies and nonprofits, $410 for employees of corporate partners, $250 for active duty and National Guard and $380 for veterans and spouses. The last two rates list a $500 comprehensive fee.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs to start in January or summer. Lander says the program starts in the fall, and its 2022 proposal describes a cohort that starts once a year. Miss August and plan on waiting for the next fall unless the program approves a spring start.
• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited degree for the ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP, the exercise physiologist certifications, after August 15, 2027. Lander's pages list SACSCOC only, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled September 29, 2026. Compare online clinical exercise physiology master's programs.
• Career changers without anatomy and physiology. The prerequisite comes before admission, so you'd spend a semester or more on it first.

Lander's Fall 2026 online graduate rate is $545 per credit, in-state or out-of-state, with no comprehensive fee listed at that rate. Thirty-six credits come to $19,620. The reduced rates apply to the same 36 credits: $12,960 at $360, $14,760 at $410, $9,000 at $250 and $13,680 at $380, before the $500 comprehensive fee on the two military rates.

Plan for a $130 graduate graduation fee. Lander's fee page also tells students who aren't in the Bearcat Bundle to allow $500 to $600 per semester for textbooks.

36 credits at $545 a credit comes to $19,620 in tuition, before fees.

Lander describes the master's as fully online for working professionals, and the state proposal calls for 100% online delivery. Sessions follow Lander's online calendar, so you take one course at a time in shorter sessions rather than two at once across a full semester.

Non-thesis students finish with a comprehensive exam or by sitting for an approved certification exam, ACSM-CEP or NSCA-CSCS. The thesis route replaces the internship. The proposal described the thesis in two courses: first an advisor, committee and research plan, then data collection, defense and the final manuscript.

SACSCOC accredits Lander as a whole. The master's has no programmatic accreditation listed, and it isn't on CAAHEP's list. The CSCS point is worth knowing: today it takes a bachelor's degree, and from January 1, 2030 U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program. That rule is about the degree you already hold, not this master's.

The catalog lets non-thesis students sit for the ACSM-CEP as their exit requirement. ACSM's master's route asks for 600 hours of clinical experience, and from August 15, 2027 the degree must come from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. Lander's internship is 3 to 6 credits, so ask how many hours that equals and whether ACSM would count them.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs, ACSM Exercise Physiologist Certification.

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

• Lander's own catalog disagrees with itself. The concentration heading says four courses, but seven courses worth 21 credits are listed. EXSC 799 Thesis is listed at 3 credits while the degree requires 6 hours of it.
• The 2022 state proposal described three areas of emphasis and nine elective credits. The current catalog lists two concentrations and no electives, so treat the proposal as background, not a promise.
• The $500 comprehensive fee on the military and veteran rates isn't explained on the fee page, so those discounts may be smaller than the per-credit numbers suggest.
• Lander's federal graduation rate is 50 percent. That covers the whole university, mostly on-campus undergraduates, not this master's.

• Are courses fully asynchronous, or do any meet live at set times?
• How many hours is EXSC 701, and how do out-of-area students arrange an internship site?
• Does my concentration require four courses or seven, and is any of it elective?
• Is the thesis six credits in one course or spread across two, and how does that change my timeline?
• Has the program started the CAAHEP process for ACSM candidates after August 15, 2027?
• Is the $500 comprehensive fee charged each term or once, and does the veteran rate stack with employer tuition help?
• What decides a spring start, and how do I apply for one?

Lander University is a public university in Greenwood, South Carolina, that describes its catalog as serving mainly traditional full-time students while also welcoming non-traditional and part-time students. Its Department of Exercise Science & Human Performance runs the on-campus B.S. (CAAHEP accredited) and, through its College of Graduate & Online Studies, a fully online M.S. in Exercise Science.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 40 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 40 of 99, master's
• Best Online Exercise Physiology Degrees Rank 6 of 19, master's
• Best Clinical Exercise Physiology Master's Rank 8 of 15, master's
• Best Online Strength and Conditioning Degrees Rank 24 of 39, master's
• Best for Military Students Rank 13 of 35, master's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 20 of 32, master's
• Best Pre-Physical Therapy Programs Rank 7 of 12, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 32 of 78, master's

Also at Lander University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (bachelor's, on campus).

• Hardin-Simmons University

  Master of Science in Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation (Exercise Science and Human Performance concentration)

  Texas $595 per credit Score 56.8

• Calvin University

  Master of Science in Exercise Science (Master of Exercise Science)

  Michigan $720 per credit Score 57.0

• University of Louisiana at Monroe

  Master of Science in Exercise Science (Sport Management Concentration)

  Louisiana $500 per credit Score 56.4

• Fort Hays State University

  Master of Science in Health and Human Performance (online)

  Kansas $362.73 per credit Score 57.4