Lenoir-Rhyne University Online Exercise Science, M.S.

Lenoir-Rhyne's online M.S. in Exercise Science is a flexible, general master's built for working adults. It's 33 credits at $550 per credit, $18,150 in tuition, with starts in summer, fall and spring and no cohort to keep pace with. It fits coaches, trainers and wellness staff. It has no clinical track and no CAAHEP accreditation, so it isn't the route to a clinical exercise physiologist credential.

Lenoir-Rhyne is a private university in Hickory, North Carolina, founded in 1891 by four Lutheran pastors and still sponsored by the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. SACSCOC accredits it. LR says its online courses are taught by the same instructors who teach on campus.

The master's covers sports nutrition, exercise and sport psychology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, testing and prescription and research methods. Its objectives also mention managing fitness and wellness programs in sport, clinical, industrial and corporate settings. You need a bachelor's degree plus Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs, passed within the last 10 years.

The 33 credits are 27 core and 6 elective. The named core is MPH 516 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis, borrowed from the public health program, plus EXS 505 Sports Nutrition, EXS 510 Sport and Exercise Psychology, EXS 515 Human Movement & Biomechanics, EXS 520 Seminar in Exercise Science, EXS 525 Exercise Physiology and EXS 530 Exercise Testing and Prescription.

Then you choose a track. EXS 540, 541 and 542 make up the Integrated Experience, which the page describes as a practicum final project. EXS 545, 546 and 547 make up a thesis. Electives are selected with your academic advisor, so ask which ones fit coaching, fitness leadership or a research path.

Courses the School Names

• EXS 505 Sports Nutrition
• EXS 510 Sport and Exercise Psychology
• EXS 515 Human Movement & Biomechanics
• EXS 520 Seminar in Exercise Science
• EXS 525 Exercise Physiology
• EXS 530 Exercise Testing and Prescription
• MPH 516 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
• EXS 545-547 Thesis I-III

Standout Features

• Non-cohort, start in any of three semesters, full-time or part-time pace
• Choice of practicum final project or thesis
• Program curriculum described as preparing students for ACSM, NSCA or NASM national certification
• Same-price flat rate $550/credit is below most other LR graduate programs listed (MBA $710, MPH $690)

Who It Fits

• Working adults who want to set the pace. Lenoir-Rhyne calls the program non-cohort, so you can start in summer, fall or spring and study full time or part time. There's no lockstep schedule to fall behind on.
• Coaches, trainers and wellness staff who want a broad degree. The required courses include Sports Nutrition, Sport and Exercise Psychology, Human Movement & Biomechanics and Exercise Testing and Prescription, and you choose six credits of electives with your advisor.
• Students who'd like a thesis or a practicum. You pick either the three-part Integrated Experience sequence, a practicum final project, or a three-part thesis. The thesis gives you research experience if a doctorate is on your horizon.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone aiming at clinical exercise physiology. There's no clinical track, no ECG or pharmacology course, and no CAAHEP accreditation. Look at online clinical exercise physiology master's programs instead.
• Career changers without anatomy and physiology. Two lab courses are required before you start, and they expire after 10 years, so an old transcript may not count.
• Anyone who wants a certification built into the degree. The master's page names none. The only mention of ACSM, NSCA and NASM preparation is one sentence on the bachelor's page.

The 2026-27 rate is $550 per credit, or $18,150 for 33 credits. LR says its figures are tuition only, without fees, books, supplies or personal expenses. Its 2024-25 cost of attendance estimate for exercise science students included $1,360 for books and course materials.

For comparison, the same page lists the MBA at $710 per credit and graduate certificates at $690, so this is one of LR's less expensive graduate degrees. You'll file the FAFSA for financial aid. Non-degree students aren't eligible for aid, so aid only helps once you're admitted to the degree.

33 credits at $550 a credit comes to $18,150 in tuition, before fees.

LR describes the program as fully online, with coursework you can reach from anywhere in the world, and it names no campus visit. Because it's non-cohort, you and your classmates will be at different points in the sequence, so expect to direct your own pace more than in a cohort program. The online page promises faculty who get to know your interests and career goals.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. LR says the average turnaround for an admission decision is two to four weeks for programs like this one, which don't have set deadlines.

SACSCOC accredits Lenoir-Rhyne, and the master's has no programmatic accreditation. It isn't on CAAHEP's list, which we pulled September 29, 2026. The master's page names no certification. A sentence on the bachelor's page says the curriculum prepares you for ACSM, NSCA or NASM certification, but it sits in a paragraph about moving into the master's, so ask which degree it describes.

Personal trainer certifications don't require a degree. The CSCS takes a bachelor's today, and from January 1, 2030 U.S. candidates need one from a CASCE-accredited program, which is about your undergraduate degree. The ACSM-CEP master's route needs 600 clinical hours, and from August 15, 2027 the degree must be CAAHEP accredited. This one isn't.

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.

• LR's pages disagree on testing. The apply page promotes no standardized testing, while the exercise science admission section says GRE or MAT scores may be requested, with minimums of 147 verbal and 147 quantitative on the GRE or 390 on the MAT.
• There's no programmatic accreditation and no clinical coursework, which closes off the clinical exercise physiologist path after August 15, 2027.
• The $18,150 excludes fees, books and supplies, so your real total will be higher.
• Lenoir-Rhyne's federal graduation rate is 48 percent. That covers the whole university, not this master's.

• Will you ask for GRE or MAT scores from me, and at what point in the process?
• How do the labs and hands-on assessments work for online students?
• What does the Integrated Experience involve, including hours, site, supervisor and the final deliverable, and can my workplace serve as the site?
• Are courses live at set times or on my own time, and how many run each semester?
• Which electives are available online, and can my advisor approve courses from other LR graduate programs?
• What graduate student fees will I pay each semester on top of the $550 per credit?
• If I want the CSCS or another certification, does the program director recommend a specific electives path?

Private university in Hickory, NC with about 2,230 students (1,477 undergraduate on campus, 753 graduate on campus and online) and additional sites in Asheville, NC and Columbia, SC. The exercise science department is housed in the 47,000 sq ft McCrorie Center with an exercise physiology laboratory (on-campus undergraduate program).

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 61 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 61 of 99, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 36 of 50, master's
• Best Christian Programs Rank 21 of 27, master's
• Best Part-Time Programs Rank 16 of 23, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 49 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in North Carolina Rank 1 of 5, master's

Also at Lenoir-Rhyne University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Exercise Science, B.S. (bachelor's, on campus).

• Lindenwood University

  Strength and Conditioning, MS

  Missouri $595 per credit Score 50.6

• Montreat College

  Master of Science in Kinesiology (Online)

  North Carolina $630 per credit Score 49.8

• Concordia University-Saint Paul

  Master of Science in Exercise Science

  Minnesota $475 per credit Score 50.9

• Culver-Stockton College

  Master of Athletic Training (MAT)

  Missouri $415 per credit Score 49.3