Liberty University Online Master of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness

Liberty's Master of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness is the flexible, mid-priced way to add a graduate degree if you already work in fitness, coaching, or wellness. It's 33 credits, eight start dates a year, no GRE, and $600 a credit. It isn't a clinical program. There's no lab, thesis, or internship, and nothing about it carries programmatic accreditation.

Liberty University is a private nonprofit Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, with about 104,327 students and more than 600 online degrees. This master's sits in its School of Health Sciences. Of the 33 credits, 15 are a shared core in exercise physiology, statistics, research methods, fitness assessment, and nutrition. The other 18 come from one of two specializations, Fitness and Performance or Nutrition and Wellness.

Admission takes a bachelor's degree with at least a 3.0 GPA from a recognized accreditor. There's no application fee and no standardized test. If your transcript lacks physiology or exercise physiology, biomechanics or physics, and statistics, you'll make those up or start with EXSC 505 Foundations of Human Performance.

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

Liberty calls the degree 100% online, in 8-week courses with no set login times. Some courses follow a full-semester schedule instead, and the Course Registration Tool shows which sub-term each one runs in.

One caution is buried in the course-format note. Liberty says some courses may be required in intensive or alternative formats, which can mean scheduled meeting times, travel to campus, or required login sessions. Nothing in this program's sample plan is marked that way, but check your elective before you register.

The rules are firm. You need a 3.0 GPA to graduate, no more than two grades of C can count, and you have five years to finish. Eight-week terms move fast when you work full time, so plan a steady weekly routine.

Who It Fits

• Strength coaches and trainers. The Fitness and Performance track runs EXSC 540 Advanced Strength Development, 541 Speed and Agility, 542 Conditioning and Recovery, and 550 Biomechanical Analysis. Liberty aims it at people in high school, college, and pro strength work, plus performance specialists at commercial centers.
• Wellness and health promotion staff. Nutrition and Wellness swaps in EXSC 640 Public Health and Physical Activity, EXSC 650 Promoting Physical Activity in the Community, HLTH 643 Public Health Nutrition, and HLTH 644 on diabetes, obesity, and eating disorders.
• Service members and their families. The military graduate rate is $310 a credit, so 33 credits cost $10,230. The technology fee is waived for actively serving military and their spouses.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants supervised clinical hours. This degree has no internship, thesis, or lab. Look at Liberty's Master of Science in Human Performance, which adds two campus labs and a thesis or internship, or browse the online clinical exercise physiology master's.
• Students who don't want a faith framework. Liberty says each course is integrated with biblical principles.
• Anyone counting on a CAAHEP-accredited degree after August 15, 2027. None of Liberty's master's programs is on our CAAHEP pull.

Everyone takes EXSC 510 Advanced Exercise Physiology, EXSC 520 Statistical Analysis, EXSC 525 Research Methods, EXSC 660 Fitness Assessment and Programming, and HLTH 640 Principles of Nutrition. EXSC 660 covers laboratory and field fitness tests and how to turn results into an exercise prescription. EXSC 525 teaches study design, manuscript preparation, and data evaluation, but it doesn't lead to a thesis here.

Fitness and Performance adds EXSC 540, 541, 542, 550, and HLTH 645 Performance Nutrition, plus one three-credit elective. That list includes life coaching, health and wellness coaching, disability exercise, and two sport management courses. Nutrition and Wellness uses the same slot on a shorter list.

The sample plan runs four semesters of 9, 9, 9, and 6 credits. EXSC 505 appears as an elective and as the prerequisite workaround, so ask whether it counts toward your 33 or adds three credits.

Courses the School Names

• EXSC 510 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• EXSC 520 Statistical Analysis in Exercise Science
• EXSC 660 Fitness Assessment and Programming
• HLTH 640 Principles of Nutrition
• EXSC 540 Advanced Strength Development
• EXSC 542 Advanced Conditioning and Recovery
• EXSC 550 Advanced Biomechanical Analysis
• HLTH 645 Performance Nutrition for the Physically Active
• EXSC 505 Foundations of Human Performance

Standout Features

• Two specializations, each 18 credits: Fitness and Performance (strength, speed/agility, conditioning/recovery, biomechanics) or Nutrition and Wellness
• Fitness and Performance page names strength development, speed and agility, conditioning and recovery, and biomechanical analysis
• Biblical-principles integration across coursework

For 2026-27, Liberty charges graduate students $600 a credit at full time and $665 at part time. Thirty-three credits come to $19,800 at the lower rate and $21,945 at the higher one. The program page doesn't define full and part time, so ask how many credits you need in a term to get $600 if you take one eight-week course at a time.

Fees add up. The technology fee is $349 a semester, which is $1,396 over four semesters, and Liberty estimates $716 for graduate books and online content. Tuition, fees, and books at the $600 rate total $21,912. Transfer credit can shorten the bill, since Liberty lets you transfer up to half the degree.

33 credits at $600 a credit comes to $19,800 in tuition, before fees.

Liberty is accredited by SACSCOC, the regional accreditor. No programmatic accreditation is listed, and the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026 shows only Liberty's residential bachelor's in exercise science, not this master's. ACSM (the American College of Sports Medicine) is tightening its exercise physiologist rule. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process.

The ACSM clinical route with a master's also asks for 600 clinical hours, and this degree has none built in. The NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) CSCS rule from January 1, 2030 concerns the bachelor's behind your exam, not this master's. Liberty's page lists physical therapist among possible careers, but physical therapy takes a separate doctoral program.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• There's no hands-on piece. No lab, thesis, or internship means you finish with coursework and no supervised practice on your transcript.
• The extras add $2,112 to the $600-a-credit price: $1,396 in technology fees and an estimated $716 for books.
• The $665 part-time rate hits students who stretch the degree out, and the program page never says where part time begins.
• Missing prerequisites mean extra credit. If you lack physiology, biomechanics or physics, or statistics, you'll add courses or start with a three-credit foundations class.
• Liberty's federal graduation rate is 65 percent for the whole university, which is the only outcome number we have.

• How many credits per term qualify me for the $600 rate, and what happens to my rate if I drop to one eight-week course?
• Does EXSC 505 count toward my 33 credits, or does it add three?
• Are the specific courses I plan to take ever run in an intensive format with scheduled sessions or campus travel?
• Which sub-term does each course in my specialization run in, and are any offered only in one semester a year?
• How much of my earlier graduate work can I transfer, and does it lower the 33 credits or just the bill?
• Could I switch from this degree to the Human Performance master's if I decide I want a thesis or internship?

Large private nonprofit Christian university in Lynchburg, VA whose Liberty University Online division offers 600+ online degrees. The School of Health Sciences runs online exercise-science master's programs with 8-week terms, 8 starts a year, and a PhD in exercise and sport science.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 5 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 5 of 99, master's
• Accelerated Online Programs Rank 43 of 46, master's
• No-GRE Online Master's Programs Rank 5 of 44, master's
• Best for Military Students Rank 2 of 35, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 4 of 50, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 2 of 14, master's
• Best Pre-Physical Therapy Programs Rank 1 of 12, master's
• Best Pre-Health Programs Rank 2 of 7, master's
• Best Christian Programs Rank 1 of 27, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 5 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Virginia Rank 1 of 2, master's

• Master of Science in Human Performance

  M.S., Master's

  Online With Campus Requirements $600 per credit Score 68.8

• PhD in Health Sciences, Exercise and Sport Science

  Ph.D., Doctorate

  Fully Online $630 per credit Score 68.1

• Southern Utah University

  Master of Science in Sports Conditioning and Performance (MSSCP)

  Utah $393 per credit Score 68.9

• American Public University System

  Master of Science in Sports and Health Sciences

  West Virginia $470 per credit Score 71.9

• Texas State University

  Master of Science, Major in Exercise Science, Sport Coaching Concentration

  Texas $502 per credit Score 67.6

• Ouachita Baptist University

  Master of Science in Exercise Science (online)

  Arkansas $500 per credit Score 67.4