Maryville University of Saint Louis Online Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science

Maryville's online B.S. in Exercise Science is a full four-year degree with a lab-based core, a strength and conditioning track with a tactical elective, and two supervised practicum courses you complete near home. It's $575 per credit, but Maryville's own pages list 120, 127 and 128 credits, so get the total in writing before you budget.

The catch is credentials. Its NSCA recognition is outdated, and it isn't on the CASCE list we checked, which matters for the CSCS from 2030.

Maryville University is a private nonprofit school in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1872. Its online exercise science degree is led by Victor Kizer, a military Master Fitness Trainer and Army member since 2000 who is also the NSCA's Missouri state director. Maryville lists no SAT or ACT requirement. Freshmen need a 2.5 high school GPA, and transfer students need a 2.0 for most programs.

You choose Strength and Conditioning or Wellness Management, each 21 credits. Two courses were built with EXOS, a human performance company, and you get remote access to Maryville's Human Performance Lab through app and video technology.

Maryville has held Higher Learning Commission accreditation since 1941. The program pages say it's recognized by the NSCA Education Recognition Program. NSCA no longer publishes an ERP list and its program is now CASCE, the Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education. Maryville isn't in the CASCE list we pulled, so treat that recognition as dated.

Maryville says the curriculum helps you pursue the CSCS, NSCA-CPT, Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator, EXOS Performance Specialist and EXOS Fitness Specialist credentials. The personal trainer credentials don't need a degree at all.

The practicum is far short of the clinical hours ACSM asks for on its clinical exercise physiologist route, and the degree lists no CAAHEP accreditation.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs, CSCS Certification Requirements.

Who It Fits

• Future military, police and fire trainers. EXSC 481 Tactical Strength & Conditioning covers performance for military, law enforcement and fire department settings. Maryville also calls itself a Military Friendly School and takes Joint Services Transcripts.
• Students with an associate degree or scattered credits. Maryville accepts transfer credit from regionally accredited schools, CLEP, AP, DSST and military coursework, and it requests your transcripts for you at no charge.
• Working adults who want a lab-based bachelor's. You'll take exercise physiology, biomechanics with a lab, exercise testing with a lab and exercise pharmacology, and Maryville says courses can be completed on your own time within weekly milestones.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited degree for the ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP credentials after August 15, 2027. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and this program isn't on our match. See our online exercise physiology degrees.
• Anyone planning to sit for the CSCS after 2029. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, and Maryville isn't on the list we pulled.
• Anyone who wants a fast finish. Undergraduate programs are designed for a part-time pace, and most students take one 8-week course at a time.

Maryville's core courses include EXSC 309 Exercise Physiology I and EXSC 310 Exercise Physiology II (with a lab), EXSC 320 Biomechanics/Kinesiology with lab, EXSC 410 Exercise Testing and Prescription with lab, EXSC 431 Exercise Related Pharmacology, EXSC 330 Nutrition of Exercise Management and EXSC 353 Virtual Fitness and Health. That last one covers online fitness consultations, motivational interviewing and video analysis of exercise prescription.

The Strength and Conditioning track adds EXSC 240 Methods and Programming in Strength, EXSC 343 Multi-Directional Speed and a choice between EXSC 480 Advanced Program Design and EXSC 481. Wellness Management adds EXSC 350 Health Program Planning & Evaluation and EXSC 450 Health Promotion, Disease & Disability Prevention.

Electives include General Fitness Training and Human & Sport Performance Training, both built around EXOS's four pillars of mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery.

Courses the School Names

• EXSC 110 Introduction to Exercise Science
• EXSC 309 Exercise Physiology I
• EXSC 310 Exercise Physiology II
• EXSC 320 Biomechanics / Kinesiology w/lab
• EXSC 353 Virtual Fitness and Health
• EXSC 410 Exercise Testing and Prescription w/lab
• EXSC 431 Exercise Related Pharmacology
• EXSC 240 Methods and Programming in Strength
• EXSC 481 Tactical Strength & Conditioning
• EXSC 491 Exercise Science Capstone

Standout Features

• Two courses created through an educational agreement with human performance company EXOS (EXOS Education)
• Remote access to the Human Performance Lab using app-based and video technology
• Program recognized by the NSCA Education Recognition Program
• Taught by military Master Fitness Trainers and NSCA exam prep educators; Program Director Victor Kizer is Missouri NSCA state director per page, an Army member since 2000
• Tactical Strength and Conditioning course (EXSC 481) for military, law enforcement and fire department settings
• Early Access lets qualified undergraduates (75+ credits, 3.25 GPA) earn up to 12 graduate credits toward MBA, MHA or MA in Management and Leadership
• Educational agreements also named with Aetna and the St. Louis Blues

Maryville's tuition page lists $575 per credit for the B.S. in Exercise Science and a $475 technology fee each semester. Those are 2025-2026 rates, and Maryville says they're subject to change. We didn't find a 2026-2027 rate.

The credit total is where it gets messy. The tuition page says 127 credits, or $73,025. The curriculum page says 128, or $73,600. The program page says 120, or $69,000. Budget for the highest number until an advisor puts the total in writing.

Every 30 credits you transfer saves about $17,250, which is why the transfer evaluation is the most important early step.

Classes are 100 percent online and mostly asynchronous. Maryville says you can log in whenever you want, though exams, due dates and group work can require set times. Courses are 8 weeks and 3 credits, and Maryville suggests 10 to 15 hours of work per week for each one. Most online students take one class at a time, and average class size is 14.

Do the math before you enroll. At one 3-credit course per 8 weeks, a 128-credit degree with no transfer credit is about 43 courses, or about 6.6 years. Transfer credit and heavier loads shorten that.

The practicum runs in a setting of your choice from a list of designated university partners.

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

• Maryville's pages disagree on credits (120, 127 and 128), and the curriculum page's core list adds up to 57 credits, not the 54 in its heading.
• The program page advertises a 400-hour practicum, but the practicum courses are 120 hours plus 200 hours, which is 320.
• The exercise science page's first Early Access bullet mentions forensic psychology degrees, while its lower section names the MBA, MHA and MA in Management and Leadership. Ask which is right.
• The NSCA recognition Maryville cites is outdated, and no CASCE or CAAHEP accreditation shows up.
• At one class at a time, finishing takes years. The published rates are for 2025-2026, and prices can change.

• How many credits will I actually need: 120, 127 or 128, and what is my total in writing?
• Which practicum is right: 400 hours as advertised, or 120 plus 200 hours as the course descriptions say?
• Has Maryville applied for CASCE or CAAHEP accreditation, and when do you expect a decision?
• How many of my credits will Maryville accept, and is there a transfer cap for this degree?
• What is the 2026-2027 tuition rate, and how many technology fees would I pay on my planned schedule?
• Can I finish the practicum at my current workplace, or must the site be on the designated partner list?
• Does the Early Access program apply to exercise science students, and which master's degrees can I pair?

Maryville is a private university in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1872, with a large fully online student body (online site says 10,000 students). Its exercise science program is led by Victor Kizer, who also directs the on-campus Human Performance Lab that online students access remotely.

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

• Master of Science in Exercise Science

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $625 per credit Score 54.5

• University of Missouri

  Bachelor of Science in Sport Science with an Emphasis in Strength and Conditioning (Online)

  Missouri $841.70 per credit Score 55.9

• University of Arizona

  Nutrition & Human Performance (BS)

  Arizona $525 per credit Score 56.3

• Arizona State University

  Kinesiology (BS)

  Arizona $580 per credit Score 55.6

• Arizona State University

  Health Sciences - Healthy Lifestyles and Fitness Science (BS)

  Arizona $580 per credit Score 56.6