Louisiana State University Online Master of Science in Kinesiology, Concentration in Health Promotion and Sport Performance

LSU's online kinesiology master's is a health promotion and sport-behavior degree from a public flagship, not an exercise science degree. You pay a flat $644 per credit with no out-of-state surcharge, so 36 credits come to $23,184, and you never visit Baton Rouge.

Only a couple of the twelve courses deal with training, and none deal with exercise testing or physiology. It fits coaches, recreation staff and program directors, not clinical careers.

Louisiana State University is a public flagship in Baton Rouge, and this degree is a concentration in Health Promotion and Sport Performance inside its School of Kinesiology, delivered through LSU Online. Students get the same diploma as on-campus classmates, and it doesn't say online.

Be clear about what it is. LSU's on-campus M.S. in Kinesiology offers directed coursework in exercise physiology, motor behavior, and behavioral, psychological and pedagogical sciences. The online version is a separate concentration with its own course list. If you're comparing it with an exercise physiology master's, you're comparing different degrees.

Admission asks for a bachelor's from a regionally accredited school and a 3.0 GPA.

LSU says there are no set class times, no live lectures and no required login times. You get 24/7 access to course materials, use Moodle as the delivery system, and work through weekly goals. Nothing requires you on campus.

The page shows a class start of October 19, 2026 and an application deadline of October 5, 2026, which is less than a week away. It doesn't say how many starts there are per year, how long each course runs or how long the degree takes.

LSU says Moodle shows class information 10 to 14 days before class begins.

Who It Fits

• Recreation professionals, youth program directors, aquatics directors and adapted physical activity staff. LSU's own career list names them, along with personal trainers, fitness and health club instructors, and allied health professionals. The coursework leans toward program design, behavior change and administration.
• Coaches interested in the mental side of performance. You'll take Sport Psychology and Theories of Achievement Motivation in Physical Activity, plus Motor Learning.
• Working adults who want a big-name public university at a fixed price. Tuition is pay as you go by course, and you get a dedicated Student Success Coach.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants to work with patients or test fitness. There's no exercise physiology, exercise testing or prescription course, no internship and no certification prep listed. Our online exercise physiology degrees list is the better place to start.
• Anyone chasing the ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP credential. After August 15, 2027, those candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and this one isn't on the CAAHEP list we checked.
• Anyone who dislikes research writing. Two of the twelve courses are research methods, one of them qualitative.

All 36 credits are required, in twelve 3-credit courses. The sport side includes KIN 7518 Social Issues in Sport, KIN 7528 Sport Psychology, KIN 4518 Governance and Policy in Sport and KIN 7511 Administrative Problems in Kinesiology.

The health promotion side includes KIN 4601 Community Health Issues, KIN 7601 Changing Health Behavior and KIN 7602 Social-Ecological Influences on Physical Activity and Health.

The applied training course is KIN 4530 Essentials in Sport Performance, which the catalog titles Essentials of Sport Performance Training. It covers basic principles and methods of testing, training and programming for sport performance. Its prerequisites are KIN 2500, KIN 2504, KIN 3515 or permission of the instructor, which are undergraduate courses.

KIN 7510 Motor Learning, KIN 7900 Introduction to Research Methods and KIN 7574 Qualitative Research in Kinesiology finish the list.

Courses the School Names

• KIN 4530 Essentials in Sport Performance
• KIN 7528 Sport Psychology
• KIN 7601 Changing Health Behavior
• KIN 4601 Community Health Issues
• KIN 7515 Theories of Achievement Motivation in Physical Activity
• KIN 7602 Social-Ecological Influences on Physical Activity and Health
• KIN 7510 Motor Learning
• KIN 7900 Introduction to Research Methods
• KIN 7574 Qualitative Research in Kinesiology
• KIN 7518 Social Issues in Sport

Standout Features

• Flat-rate tuition of $644 per credit with no out-of-state surcharge
• Diploma is the same as on-campus peers and does not say online
• Dedicated Student Success Coach for enrolled students and credit for prior learning (PLA) available
• Curriculum blends sport performance (KIN 4530 Essentials in Sport Performance) with public-health-style behavior change courses (KIN 7601 Changing Health Behavior, KIN 4601 Community Health Issues)

LSU Online charges $644 per credit hour, and its page lists $23,184 as the total cost with fees. That's exactly 36 credits times $644, so the fees are either included or the page leaves them out. A three-credit course costs $1,932.

You pay as you go for each course you register for that term, rather than in one payment. Transfer credit and financial aid aren't subtracted from the $23,184. LSU also says fees vary by program because of course-specific proctoring and book charges, and it lists credit for prior learning, financial aid and veteran education benefits as ways to pay. There's no specific military rate.

36 credits at $644 a credit comes to $23,184 in tuition, before fees.

LSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, a regional accreditor, to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. The program itself lists no programmatic accreditation and no certification prep.

That matters for two rules. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program starting August 15, 2027, and U.S. NSCA-CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program starting January 1, 2030. The second rule concerns your bachelor's, not this master's.

What the degree does give you is a flagship credential in kinesiology, which suits work in recreation, youth programs and sport administration.

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.

• It isn't an exercise science master's. Only KIN 4530 Essentials in Sport Performance and Motor Learning deal with training or movement directly.
• KIN 4530 lists undergraduate prerequisites, KIN 2500, KIN 2504 and KIN 3515, and the online page doesn't say how career changers handle them.
• The admissions rule asks for a target GRE score of 295 or a waiver, and it's not clear how easy the waiver is. It applies to applicants with a 3.0 GPA in their last 60 undergraduate hours.
• The page gives no duration, start schedule or transfer limit, which makes planning hard.
• There's no practicum or internship, so you won't graduate with supervised hours on your resume.

• Which of KIN 2500, KIN 2504 and KIN 3515 do I need before KIN 4530, and can I take the course with permission of the instructor?
• Does the $23,184 total include technology, proctoring or book fees, or will those be added?
• How many starts are there each year, and how long is each course term?
• How many credits can I transfer or receive through credit for prior learning?
• Do I automatically qualify for the GRE waiver with a 3.0 in my last 60 hours, or does the School of Kinesiology decide case by case?
• Does this concentration allow a research project or thesis option, and how much writing should I expect?
• Do any of the 4000-level courses carry graduate credit, and how do they differ from the 7000-level courses?

S. S. in Kinesiology with directed coursework in Exercise Physiology, Motor Behavior, and Behavioral, Psychological, and Pedagogical Sciences. Its only online degree in the kinesiology family is a separate master's concentration in Health Promotion and Sport Performance delivered through LSU Online.

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