Liberty University Online PhD in Health Sciences, Exercise and Sport Science

Liberty's online PhD in Health Sciences with an Exercise and Sport Science specialization is a research doctorate for people who already hold a master's. It's 60 credits at $630 each, needs no GRE, and runs asynchronously in 8-week terms with 8 starts a year.

Choose it if you want to teach, lead a human performance program, or run original research. Skip it if you're after a license or a practitioner credential.

This is a Doctor of Philosophy from Liberty University's School of Health Sciences, delivered through Liberty University Online. Liberty is a large private nonprofit Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the program page pitches "a private Christian education." The degree is 100% online.

The page splits the 60 credits into four parts: core courses, research and statistics, a dissertation, and the exercise and sport science specialization. In the 2026-2027 catalog that works out to 24 credits of research core, 6 of electives, 15 in the specialization, and 15 of dissertation.

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

Courses run in 8-week sub-terms, with some full-semester courses, and there are 8 start dates a year. The next starts are October 26, 2026, January 18, 2027, and February 15, 2027. Liberty describes the format as asynchronous with no set login times, and the sample plan averages about 6 credits a semester.

Asynchronous has an exception. The page says some courses may be required in intensive or alternative formats, which can include scheduled meeting times, travel to campus, or required login sessions.

The plan puts Dissertation I in the eighth semester. From there you must stay continuously enrolled in Fall, Spring, and Summer until you finish. You need a 3.0 GPA, no grade below B-, and completion within seven years.

Who It Fits

• You hold a master's degree with at least a 3.0 GPA and want a terminal degree. The page speaks to allied health professionals and names professor, scientist, scholar, and industry leader as directions.
• You coach strength and conditioning, work as a military performance specialist, or serve in emergency or occupational performance and want the science behind it. The specialization names those roles, and EXSC 680 covers occupational stressors and recovery for tactical populations.
• You're a service member, veteran, or spouse. Eligible students pay $395 per credit instead of $630, more than a third off.
• You'd rather not sit a test. Admission uses no GRE or other standardized testing, and there's no application fee.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you don't have a master's yet. Admission requires one from an accredited U.S. institution, though Liberty takes preliminary transcripts if you're in your final term.
• Skip it if you want a license. The page says the roles you could pursue depend on the certifications and licenses you already hold.
• Skip it if five years feels too long. The sample plan runs ten semesters, and the degree must be finished within seven years.

Research comes first. Semester one is HSCI 701 Theories and Methods of Health Science Research and HSCI 702 Health Sciences Scholarship and Literature. Semester two adds HSCI 703 Quantitative Research Methods and Statistics I, HSCI 704 Research Mentorship, and HSCI 705 Ethical Issues in Health Science.

Later you take HSCI 810 Advanced Literature Review, HSCI 815 Qualitative Research Methods and Analysis, HSCI 820 Quantitative Research Methods and Statistics II, and HSCI 850 Dissertation Mentorship.

The specialization is five 3-credit courses: EXSC 645 Performance Nutrition for the Physically Active, EXSC 670 Physiological Interactions of Performance Enhancing Substances, EXSC 680 Occupational and Environmental Physiology, EXSC 750 Advanced Sport Biomechanics, and EXSC 760 Advanced Sport Performance Assessment and Programming. Two electives come from EXSC 665 Physiology of Sport Performance and Conditioning, HSCI 720, or HSCI 730, and EXSC 665 is the prerequisite for EXSC 760.

Dissertation I, II, and III are 5 credits each, followed by a zero-credit Dissertation IV.

Courses the School Names

• EXSC 665 Physiology of Sport Performance and Conditioning
• EXSC 670 Physiological Interactions of Performance Enhancing Substances
• EXSC 680 Occupational and Environmental Physiology
• EXSC 750 Advanced Sport Biomechanics

Standout Features

• Four-part structure: core health-sciences courses, research and statistics, dissertation, exercise and sport science specialization
• Specialization courses include Physiological Interactions of Performance Enhancing Substances and Occupational and Environmental Physiology
• Specialization aimed at strength and conditioning coach, military performance specialist, emergency services roles

For 2026-2027, doctoral tuition is $630 per credit full-time and $695 part-time. Eligible current and former service members and spouses pay $395. At $630, the 60 credits come to $37,800. At $695 that's $41,700, and at the military rate it's $23,700.

Transfer is the biggest lever. Liberty accepts up to 50% of the degree, so 30 transferred credits would bring the full-time price to $18,900 and the military price to $11,850.

Two cautions. The page says rates may change annually, and a five-year plan crosses several rate years. And if your dissertation chair has you repeat HSCI 989, that's 5 more credits, or $3,150 at the full-time rate.

60 credits at $630 a credit comes to $37,800 in tuition, before fees.

Liberty holds institutional accreditation from SACSCOC. This doctorate isn't a CAAHEP or CASCE program, and those accreditors list mostly bachelor's and master's programs.

Both dated rules point at earlier degrees. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program. From January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program. A doctorate doesn't change which program you graduated from, so if you don't hold those credentials yet, ask ACSM and NSCA what counts before you enroll.

Roles the page names include exercise physiologist, human performance specialist, nutritional consultant, professor, sports scientist, and strength training and conditioning coach, depending on the certifications and licenses you already have.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• Only 15 of the 60 credits are exercise and sport science. The rest is health sciences research, statistics, electives, and dissertation, so it's a Health Sciences PhD with a specialization, not a deep exercise physiology program.
• The $37,800 figure is a floor. Rates are for one academic year, and a slow dissertation adds continuously enrolled semesters at doctoral prices.
• Part-time costs $65 more per credit than full-time ($695 versus $630), and the page doesn't say which pace triggers which rate.
• Asynchronous is the default, not the guarantee. Some courses can require scheduled meetings, campus travel, or login sessions.

• How many of my master's credits count at the doctoral level, and does a Liberty master's use up part of the 50% transfer limit?
• What separates full-time from part-time for the $630 and $695 rates, and can I switch mid-program?
• The page says core courses cover teaching methods, but the 2026-2027 plan shows no teaching course by name. Which course covers it?
• Which exercise and sport science courses use intensives, campus travel, or set login sessions?
• How are dissertation chairs assigned, and how many faculty supervise exercise and sport science topics?
• What share of doctoral students in this program finish within the seven-year limit?

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.

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