Lionel University Online Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science

Lionel's online Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science is a career-flavored degree for trainers, gym leaders, and coaches who want a four-year credential without leaving their jobs. It costs a flat $333 a credit, and digital books are included. But it holds no CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation, so it won't open the ACSM or CSCS doors once the 2027 and 2030 rules take effect.

Lionel University is a for-profit school in Carpinteria, California, with about 403 students. It has focused on nothing but exercise science and fitness education since 1988. The bachelor's is 180 quarter credits, which equals 120 semester credits: 36 in core degree courses, 48 in general education, 36 in a concentration, and 60 in an exercise science core.

You choose a concentration in Strength and Conditioning, Fitness Leadership and Management, Personal Training, or Wellness. Admission asks for a high school diploma or GED and a photo ID. There's no application fee and no test score.

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

Everything is online, in 5 to 10 week courses on a quarter calendar. The 2027 quarters begin January 4, April 5, July 5, and October 4. The Winter 2027 application deadline is December 13, 2026. If you'd rather start sooner, fall Session B begins November 9, 2026, with an application deadline of October 21.

The program page says the degree takes four years in one spot and 4 to 5 years in the FAQ, which is easy to square: 45 credits a year is exactly four years, and part-time pacing stretches it. Career Connect offers career coaching, resume help, and job search tools. It's a small school, so expect a personal touch. Don't expect campus labs, because there aren't any.

Who It Fits

• Certified trainers who want a degree. Up to four NCCA-accredited or ISSA personal training certifications can transfer into the bachelor's, each after a proctored competency exam scored at 75% or higher. Up to 120 of the 180 credits can transfer in total.
• Gym managers and studio owners. The Fitness Leadership and Management concentration adds Business Communications, Customer Service Principles, Motivating for Performance, and XSCI280 Exercise Facility Administration and Leadership.
• Working adults and military-connected students. Lionel evaluates Joint Service Transcripts, courses run 5 to 10 weeks with 24/7 access, and its class-start page says 86% of students hold a job while enrolled.

Who Should Skip It

• Future physical therapists and occupational therapists. The general education list has one chemistry survey course, no physics, and an anatomy and physiology course whose description reads like a trainer certification. Check your target program's prerequisites against our pre-physical therapy list first.
• Anyone who wants the ACSM-EP, ACSM-CEP, or CSCS after the rule changes. Both need an accredited program, and Lionel isn't on either list.
• Students who may transfer later to a regionally accredited school. DEAC is a national accreditor, and the school you're moving to decides what counts.

The nine core courses are all four credits: History and Evolution of the Profession, Functional Anatomy and Physiology, Applied Biomechanics, Training Principles and Program Design, Movement and Performance Assessment, Cellular Nutrition, Exercise Programming for Special Populations, The Science of Behavior Change, and Client Acquisition and Practice Development.

The 60-credit exercise science core is twelve five-credit courses, including XSCI253 Continuum of Care and Return-to-Performance, XSCI254 Youth Athletic Development, XSCI256 Exercise Programming for Aging and Longevity, XSCI481 Principles of Biomechanics, and XSCI482 Physiology of Exercise.

Concentration courses get niche. Strength and Conditioning includes XSCI277 Obstacle Course and Tactical Performance Training and XSCI367 Hypertrophy Science and Physique Development. Wellness includes XSCI369 Respiratory Physiology and Performance Breathing Strategies.

The capstone, XSCI498, is a five-credit research project. There's no internship or practicum. Several course descriptions on the school's page still read as pending.

Courses the School Names

• XSCI371 Principles of Kinesiology
• XSCI376 Research Methods
• XSCI481 Principles of Biomechanics
• XSCI482 Physiology of Exercise
• XSCI259 Advanced Nutrition and Metabolism for Human Performance
• XSCI253 Continuum of Care and Return-to-Performance Principles
• XSCI254 Youth Athletic Development
• XSCI256 Exercise Programming for Aging and Longevity
• XSCI498 Capstone in Exercise Science

Standout Features

• Structure: 36 core + 48 general education + 36 concentration + 60 exercise science core credits
• Concentration and elective courses include Respiratory Physiology and Performance Breathing Strategies (XSCI369), Hypertrophy Science and Physique Development (XSCI367), Obstacle Course and Tactical Performance Training (XSCI277), Youth Athletic Development (XSCI254)
• Career paths cited: strength coach, exercise physiologist, clinical exercise specialist, corporate wellness

Tuition is $333 a quarter credit for U.S. residents. Over 180 credits that's $59,940. Lionel's own estimate for the full bachelor's before transfer credit is $62,254, which adds $1,194 for six $199 certification courses, $720 in technology fees, and $400 in wellness fees.

Transfer changes the math. If 120 credits come in, the remaining 60 credits cost $19,980 in tuition, plus the quarterly fees while you're enrolled. Experience and exam credit is capped at 25 percent of the degree, or 45 credits. A full-time year of 45 credits is $14,985 in tuition. Online proctoring carries a $22.50 fee, and the FAQ says the program is eligible for federal aid through the FAFSA.

180 quarter credits at $333 a credit comes to $59,940 in tuition, before fees.

The Distance Education Accrediting Commission has accredited Lionel since 2009. The school also says NSCA designates it an Educational Recognition Program institution. NSCA no longer publishes an ERP list, and CASCE is its current accreditation, which Lionel doesn't hold. The bachelor's includes Lionel's own certifications: Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Those come from Lionel, and the last isn't the NSCA's CSCS.

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. Lionel's page lists clinical exercise physiologist as a career, so ask how it squares with that ACSM rule. Lionel's federal graduation rate is 67 percent.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• It holds neither CAAHEP nor CASCE accreditation. Unless that changes, the ACSM exams close to its graduates after August 15, 2027, and the CSCS closes after January 1, 2030.
• The full price is $62,254 before any transfer credit, and the $333 sticker rate is per quarter credit, so it's steeper than it looks per semester credit.
• The pages disagree on transfer. The program and tuition pages say up to 120 of 180 credits, while the FAQ says up to 70%.
• Some course descriptions are unfinished, and BIO105 Anatomy and Physiology has a description that lists client assessment, program design, and injury prevention rather than anatomy.
• Lionel is a for-profit school with a national accreditor, and your transfer options later are the receiving school's decision.

• Which credentials are issued by Lionel, which by outside bodies, and are any of them NCCA-accredited?
• Has Lionel started the CAAHEP or CASCE process for this degree?
• Is BIO105 a full college anatomy and physiology course, and will a physical therapy program accept BIO105, BIO105L, and CHEM303?
• Is the transfer maximum 120 of 180 credits or 70%, and what's my exact number after an evaluation?
• Which of the six $199 certification courses does my concentration actually require?
• How long does a typical working student take, and what pace do the 5 to 10 week courses expect each week?

Private for-profit, fully online university in Carpinteria, CA founded in 1988 by Dr. Fred Hatfield and Dr. Sal Arria and built exclusively around exercise science, with associate, bachelor's and master's degrees plus personal trainer certificates. Chancellor is fitness coach Martin Rooney.

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• Best Online Programs in California Rank 1 of 3, bachelor's

• Master of Science in Exercise Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $440 per quarter credit Score 61.3

• Associate of Science in Exercise Science

  A.S., Associate

  Fully Online $333 per quarter credit Score 66.3

• University of Louisiana at Lafayette

  Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Online)

  Louisiana $380 per credit Score 68.7

• Northeastern State University

  Health and Human Performance

  Oklahoma $279 per credit Score 67.7

• Texas Tech University

  Online Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology

  Texas Score 67.2

• University of Wisconsin-Superior

  Exercise Science, B.S. (listed by Universities of Wisconsin Online as Physical Education - Exercise Science Concentration)

  Wisconsin $377.50 per credit Score 65.5