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

Maryville's online M.S. in Exercise Science is 33 credits, fully asynchronous, $625 per credit, with no GRE and three starts a year. Its courses lean toward performance, program design, tactical fitness and research rather than clinical exercise physiology. It fits a working coach or trainer who wants a graduate degree from a regionally accredited nonprofit. It's a weaker fit if you need a CAAHEP-accredited program for the ACSM exams.

Maryville University is a private nonprofit school in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1872, with a large online student body. The master's is one of its fully online graduate programs, and you can start in January, May or August.

The program director, Victor Kizer, also runs Maryville's on-campus Human Performance Lab. He holds a doctorate of science from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, chairs the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Educators' special interest group, and served in the U.S. Army for more than 25 years, mostly in the Reserve.

The program page says you can apply with no GRE. It doesn't spell out a GPA minimum or a required undergraduate major, so ask before you assume either way.

Maryville describes the program as asynchronous and lets you study anywhere, anytime, with 24/7 access. Nothing on the program page mentions a residency, campus visit or live class time.

The pieces to ask about are the two applied ones. EXSC 501 is a field experience in a professional setting, and the capstone runs 16 weeks. Because the catalog doesn't state hours or how placements get arranged for online students, get that in writing. The Human Performance Lab is on the St. Louis campus, so ask what remote students actually get to use.

Enrolling three times a year means you don't have to wait long for a start, and you're not locked into one cohort calendar.

Who It Fits

• Strength coaches and personal trainers who want a graduate degree. The required courses include Advanced Program Design, which uses case studies to compare resistance training programs, and the electives include Applied Sport Science.
• Military, law enforcement and fire service staff. EXSC 581 Tactical Performance Optimization is an elective on improving performance for those jobs, and Kizer's own background is in Army fitness training.
• Working adults who need to study on their own hours. Maryville calls the program 100% online with 24/7 access, and it lists no on-campus visits.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if your goal is to become a clinical exercise physiologist. The course list has no clinical exercise testing course, and the one chronic disease elective, EXSC 550, is optional.
• Skip it if you need the ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP certification after August 15, 2027. Those candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and Maryville's pages don't list CAAHEP accreditation for this master's.
• Skip it if you want a set finish date. The program page gives 33 credits and start months but no time to completion.

The 2025-2026 catalog splits the degree into required courses, application-of-theory courses and electives. The required four are EXSC 510 Applied Exercise Physiology, EXSC 530 Applied Nutrition, EXSC 540 Biomechanics and Technologies in Exercise Science, and EXSC 580 Advanced Program Design. EXSC 540 covers the laws of human motion and how technology measures performance.

The application-of-theory group lists EXSC 591 EBP and Research Methods, EXSC 592 Research Design, EXSC 501 Imbedded Applied Field Experience, and EXSC 691 Capstone. The capstone is a 16-week course where you tackle a real-world problem in exercise science and present your findings and recommendations. EXSC 501 places you in a professional setting alongside experienced professionals.

Electives are a real menu. Exercise choices include Applied Sport Science, Tactical Performance Optimization, Integrated Performance for return to play after injury, Cognitive Performance Science, Epidemiology and Prevention of Chronic Diseases, and Integrative Health Coaching. You can also take Organizational Communication, R Programming, Python or Data Visualization. Two catalog details don't line up, and we've turned them into questions below.

Standout Features

• Curriculum split into 4 core courses (12 credits), 4 electives (12 credits) and 3 theory and application courses (9 credits)
• Program director Victor Kizer (doctorate from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions) also directs the Human Performance Lab

Tuition is $625 per credit. Over 33 credits that's $20,625 before fees. Every semester adds a $775 technology fee, so three semesters would add $2,325. Maryville's online tuition page says some programs carry extra fees and that an enrollment specialist can explain them.

One thing to check is the rate year. The online tuition page still lists 2025-2026 rates, and the university's 2026-27 graduate tuition page doesn't list this program, so confirm the current rate in writing.

Federal graduate loan rules changed on July 1, 2026. Maryville says Grad PLUS loans ended for new borrowers and most graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 per year. That's a yearly cap, and this degree's tuition is $20,625, so a fast pace with fees on top can run into it.

33 credits at $625 a credit comes to $20,625 in tuition, before fees.

Maryville is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accreditor. It has held that accreditation since 1941, and it was reaffirmed in 2025. That's institutional accreditation. The master's doesn't appear on the CAAHEP list, and its pages list no certification exam prep.

Two rules matter if you keep going in the field. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited program, or one in the process.

From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates for the NSCA's CSCS need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, so that rule is about your undergraduate degree, not this master's. See our accreditation guide before you decide.

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.

• The program page and the catalog describe the degree differently. The page says three theory and application courses for nine credits, while the catalog lists four courses in that group at three credits each.
• EXSC 591 is titled EBP and Research Methods, but its catalog description is about integrative health coaching, stress management and behavior change. It's unclear what you'd actually study.
• Rates and fees are tied to 2025-2026, and there's no stated finish time. It's hard to budget for the total without asking.
• Maryville's federal six-year graduation rate is 66 percent. That covers the university, not this master's, and it's the only outcome number we have for it.
• The clinical side is thin. There's no exercise testing course and no lab course listed, so this isn't the path to hospital cardiac rehab jobs.

• How many credits is the degree in the 2026-27 catalog, and how many courses are in the application-of-theory group?
• What does EXSC 591 actually cover, given that its catalog description reads like a health coaching course?
• How many hours is EXSC 501, and can I set it up at my current job or gym?
• What's the current per-credit rate and technology fee for the term I'd start, and will the rate change during the program?
• Does my bachelor's need to be in exercise science, and is there a GPA minimum?
• Has this master's started the CAAHEP accreditation process, and does Maryville plan to?
• How long do students usually take to finish 33 credits while working full time?

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 3 of 9, master's

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