Logan University Online Master of Science in Strength & Conditioning (MSSC)

Logan's online M.S. in Strength & Conditioning asks for real field time. You take 42 credits in seven-week courses at $700 per credit, which comes to $29,400 in tuition, and you spend 300 hours coaching under a CSCS-credentialed supervisor at a site you pick.

It suits working coaches who can log that time where they already train athletes. The one-year promise needs a heavier course load than Logan's own pages describe.

Logan University is a private nonprofit in Chesterfield, Missouri, and this master's belongs to its College of Health Sciences. Logan says the courses were written and are taught by coaches still working in the field, with backgrounds in the NFL, NCAA, Major League Baseball, tactical training and private performance, and that every course maps to NSCA standards. That's the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

You don't need a science degree. Logan says it has admitted students with business and psychology degrees alongside kinesiology majors, as long as the prerequisites are done. Those are six credits in physics, kinesiology, exercise science, biomechanics or statistics, plus six in biological science, each with a C or higher. The minimum GPA is 2.5, but you have to keep a 3.0 to stay in good standing and to graduate.

Courses run seven weeks, with two back-to-back sessions in each trimester. You can start in spring, summer or fall, and the next start is January 11, 2027. Logan says part-time is an option.

Here's the timing problem. Logan says students carry 12 credit hours per trimester to finish on the accelerated schedule. Three trimesters at 12 credits is 36, and this degree is 42, so a one-year finish means 14 credits each term. At 12, you're in a fourth trimester.

The field work is separate from the classroom. Each experience is at least 150 hours over seven weeks, so plan on roughly 21 hours a week. Past students trained with Moana Pasifika rugby in New Zealand, University of Tennessee football and the Canadian Sports Institute in Calgary.

Who It Fits

• Coaches who work at a school, gym or team and want the degree without leaving. Logan's page says the program lets you keep coaching while you advance, and the field hours can be done at professional, collegiate, club, private gym or tactical sites.
• Career changers with a non-science bachelor's who can finish the prerequisites. Logan can admit you on a probationary basis with a lighter course load and regular meetings with an Academic Success Coach.
• Members of NSCA, CSCCa (the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association) or NHSSCA (the National High School Strength Coaches Association). Logan says it offers extra support for coaches in those groups.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you can't give up about 21 hours a week for seven weeks, twice. Each field experience is at least 150 hours over seven weeks, and that's on top of coursework.
• Skip it if you don't already have a coach who can supervise you. Logan makes you place yourself, so scan our online strength and conditioning degrees for programs that do more of the arranging.
• Skip it if you're counting on this degree for the CSCS after 2029. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, and a master's doesn't fill that gap.

Logan's page doesn't list course numbers or titles. It says the 42 credit hours are in seven-week courses covering sport psychology, sports nutrition, program design, program administration, and resistance training and conditioning.

The learning outcomes give you a better picture of the work. You'll develop and implement programs to enhance athletic performance, spot deficits and modify programming, and assess biomechanical movement patterns. You'll also interpret physiological adaptations to resistance training, and build a needs analysis for sport-specific programming. Logan lists communication too, including feedback for lifts and nutritional guidance for athletes.

The field experience is the second big piece. There are two separate ones, and a dedicated coordinator helps personalize your on-site training. Get a full course list from an advisor before you apply.

Courses the School Names

• Sport Psychology
• Sports Nutrition
• Program Design
• Program Administration
• Resistance Training and Conditioning

Standout Features

• Courses written and taught by coaches working in NFL, NCAA, MLB, tactical and private performance; every course maps to NSCA standards
• Past field experiences include Moana Pasifika rugby (New Zealand), University of Tennessee football, Canadian Sports Institute Calgary
• Named Intelligent.com Best Accelerated Online Master's Degree Programs, 2025

Logan's page says $700 per credit hour across 42 credit hours, which is $29,400 in program tuition. Its tuition page confirms the master's rate and says the strength and conditioning master's shares tuition and fees with Logan's other master's programs. Beyond tuition, there's a $50 activity fee each trimester, a $25 payment-plan fee, and $100 fees for late registration and late payment.

Logan gives one $1,000 scholarship each trimester to a student in this program, the Dr. Ken Leistner Memorial Scholarship. That's a single award, so don't budget around it.

42 credits at $700 a credit comes to $29,400 in tuition, before fees.

Logan is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The program lists no programmatic accreditation, and it isn't on the CASCE list we pulled.

Logan calls graduates prepared to sit for the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam, the CSCS. That's true in a narrow way. The NSCA's current rule asks for a bachelor's degree and CPR/AED certification, so anyone with a bachelor's can sit today, whether or not they earn this master's. Starting January 1, 2030, the rule requires a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program.

The field-experience supervisor must hold the CSCS, which means you'll need someone credentialed already. The degree's value is the supervised practice, not the exam eligibility.

Where this degree can lead: Strength and Conditioning Coach Careers.

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

• The one-year claim doesn't add up at 12 credits per trimester. Forty-two credits at 12 a term takes 3.5 trimesters, so you'd either carry 14 credits or take four.
• The 300 field hours are on you to arrange, and you need a CSCS-credentialed supervisor willing to take you on.
• Logan's page lists no course titles, so you can't compare the curriculum to other programs from its own website.
• This page never mentions the GRE, and only Logan's sister program page says none is required, so confirm with admissions.
• At $29,400 in tuition, it costs more than Logan's exercise physiology master's route because it has 42 credits, not 36. Compare it against the cheapest online exercise science degrees.

• Can you send me the full list of course titles and credit hours for all 42 credits?
• Do the two field experiences count toward the 42 credits, and how many credits are they?
• How many credits per trimester would I need to finish in one year, and what does part-time look like?
• Can my current coaching job count as a field site if my supervisor holds the CSCS?
• If I can't find a CSCS-credentialed supervisor, does the field experience coordinator help, and what happens if a site falls through?
• Does Logan require a GRE, and how does the probationary admission track work if my prerequisites are incomplete?
• Since the CSCS asks for a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program in 2030, what do graduates with older bachelor's degrees need to do?

Private health sciences university in Chesterfield, Missouri, best known for its Doctor of Chiropractic program, with a College of Health Sciences offering online master's programs in sport science and strength and conditioning.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 89 of 99, master's
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• Best Part-Time Programs Rank 21 of 23, master's
• Best Online Programs in Missouri Rank 9 of 9, master's

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