Merrimack College Online Master of Science in Exercise and Sport Science

Merrimack's M.S. in Exercise and Sport Science lets you take each course online or on campus, and full-time students can finish in nine months. Tuition is $1,180 per credit, which makes it one of the pricier online options, but fellowships can cover 33 to 100 percent of it in exchange for unpaid field placements. It's a strong fit for aspiring strength coaches and PhD applicants. It isn't a CAAHEP-accredited program.

Merrimack College is a private Catholic college in North Andover, Massachusetts, in the Augustinian tradition, with NCAA Division I athletics. The master's sits in the Department of Athletic Training and Exercise Science.

You pick one of two concentrations. Exercise Science is 32 credits and leans toward physical activity, chronic disease and technology. Strength and Conditioning is 34 credits and adds a supervised field experience and coaching theory.

Program director Scott McEnelly earned his own M.S. in Exercise and Sport Science at Merrimack. Department chair Jessica Cellucci is an exercise physiologist who studies female athlete health.

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

Merrimack says you can complete the degree 100% online or on campus, and you choose for each course. Campus students attend one to two days a week. A success coach contacts you after admission and stays with you until graduation.

Eight-week courses let you focus on fewer subjects at a time, while 15-week courses run the full semester. The page doesn't call the classes asynchronous, so ask whether online sections meet live.

The applied pieces are what you should scrutinize. The S&C field experience and every fellowship are placements in professional settings. Merrimack's page doesn't say whether online students can complete fellowships remotely, so ask before you count on a discount.

Who It Fits

• Aspiring strength and conditioning coaches. The S&C concentration is recognized by the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Education Recognition Program, and Merrimack says it prepares you to sit for the CSCS exam.
• Students who want to apply to a doctoral program. Merrimack's alumni list includes doctoral students in kinesiology, occupational therapy and rehabilitation science, and the fellowships add research and coaching experience.
• Working adults who want an accelerated schedule. Courses run 8 or 15 weeks, you can start in spring, summer I, summer II or fall, and part-time study takes about two years.
• Anyone who wants a scholarship route. Fellowships and alumni discounts can cut tuition by a quarter to all of it.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you haven't taken Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs and Exercise Physiology. All applicants need them before starting, though you can take them at any accredited school.
• Skip it if you need the ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP after August 15, 2027. Candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and Merrimack lists an NSCA recognition, not CAAHEP accreditation.
• Skip it if a $37,760 tuition bill with no fellowship would strain you. Some online exercise science master's programs charge about half as much per credit.

Both concentrations share HSC5100 Advanced Exercise Physiology, HSC5350 Research Methods, HSC5500 Exercise and Sport Psychology, HSC6200 Sport Nutrition and HSC6900, a 4-credit Capstone Experience. Every course is worth 4 credits except the field experience.

Exercise Science adds HSC6100 Physical Activity and Technology, HSC6150 Chronic Disease and Health Promotion and a 4-credit elective. Advanced Exercise Physiology looks at hydration, temperature regulation and how muscle and kidneys respond to training.

Strength and Conditioning adds HSC6300 Advanced Strength and Conditioning, HSC6350 Strength and Conditioning Coaching Theory, a course on kinesiology and sports performance, and HSC5300 Supervised Field Experience. The field experience is a 15-week course, taken as 1 credit in the fall and 1 in the spring, in a professional setting.

Courses the School Names

• HSC5100 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• HSC5350 Research Methods
• HSC5500 Exercise & Sport Psychology
• HSC6100 Physical Activity and Technology
• HSC6150 Chronic Disease and Health Promotion
• HSC6200 Sport Nutrition
• HSC6300 Advanced Strength & Conditioning
• HSC6350 Strength & Conditioning Coaching Theory
• HSC6900 Capstone Experience

Standout Features

• Strength and Conditioning concentration recognized by the NSCA Education Recognition Program
• Choose online or on-campus for each course
• Full- and half-tuition fellowships (50-100%) with 9-month field placements, including one alumna placed at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine
• Faculty include Tunde Szivak, Ph.D., CSCS, TSAC-F (military and tactical performance research) and Jessica Cellucci, Ph.D. (female athlete health)
• Success coach assigned from admission to graduation
• Presents at NSCA and NEACSM conferences with faculty mentorship

The 2026-27 rate is $1,180 per credit. The 32-credit Exercise Science track comes to $37,760 in tuition, and the 34-credit Strength and Conditioning track comes to $40,120. Merrimack also charges a comprehensive fee of $400 for 1 to 7 credit hours or $800 for 8 or more. Ask how often it's billed.

Fellowships change the math. Presidential fellowships cover 100 percent and require 25 hours a week for nine months. Health Science Sponsored covers 75 percent at 20 hours, Provost covers 50 percent at 15 hours, and Graduate Internships cover 33 percent at 10 hours. The placements are unpaid.

Merrimack alumni get 33 percent off if they graduated recently and 25 percent off if they graduated earlier. Non-alumni can apply for merit-based Dean Scholarships.

32 credits at $1,180 a credit comes to $37,760 in tuition, before fees.

Merrimack is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The S&C concentration is recognized by the NSCA Education Recognition Program. That's a recognition of the curriculum, and it's separate from CASCE accreditation and from CAAHEP accreditation.

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. Nothing on Merrimack's page claims that.

From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates for the CSCS need a bachelor's degree from a CASCE-accredited program. That rule is about your undergraduate degree. If you're planning to coach, check the bachelor's program you hold or will pursue.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• It's expensive per credit. At $1,180 you'd pay $37,760 or more, and the fellowships that reduce it come with 10 to 25 unpaid hours a week for nine months.
• The S&C course list on the program page shows HSC5500 twice, once for Exercise and Sport Psychology and once for Kinesiology and Sports Performance. Confirm the real course number.
• The page gives one comprehensive fee range without saying whether it recurs each semester or each term.
• The Exercise Science concentration lists no field experience, so hands-on practice there comes only from a fellowship.
• Merrimack's federal six-year graduation rate is 70 percent. That covers the college, not this master's.

• Can online students complete a Presidential, Health Science Sponsored, Provost or Graduate Internship fellowship, and how are placements arranged from a distance?
• How is the comprehensive fee billed, and what's my total cost for the Exercise Science concentration at full-time versus part-time?
• Do online sections meet live, or can I work through them on my own schedule?
• Where and how do online S&C students complete HSC5300, and can it be at my current job?
• Does the Exercise Science concentration prepare me for any certification exam, or only the S&C concentration?
• Which course number is Kinesiology and Sports Performance, and is it required?
• If my bachelor's is in another field, what extra prerequisites would I need before starting?

Catholic (Augustinian) college in North Andover, Massachusetts with NCAA Division I athletics. The M.S. is run by the Department of Athletic Training and Exercise Science and pairs coursework with graduate fellowships.

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