Salem University Online Bachelor of Science in Biology, Physiology & Exercise Science Specialization

Salem's online biology degree with a Physiology & Exercise Science specialization is a science bachelor's first and an exercise degree second. The specialization is 15 credits, and only two of its five courses are about movement and exercise. The rest of the 120 credits are biology, chemistry, physics and general education.

It suits working adults heading toward physical or occupational therapy school. It isn't the degree for a certification path that requires CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation.

Salem University is a private for-profit school in Salem, West Virginia, founded in 1888 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1963. This is a B.S. in Biology that you can take fully online or blended. You take one course a month, and Salem's own estimate is about 40 months of full-time study.

The catalog spells out the credits: 42 in foundation courses, 16 in electives, 47 in the biology core and 15 in the specialization. That adds up to 120. The program page describes the same degree with 75 foundation and elective credits plus 30 core biology credits, so get your official degree plan in writing before you trust either count.

Courses are typically four weeks long and three credits each, and enrollment is on a rolling monthly basis. Salem says its online courses are built around full-time employment, and each student gets a dedicated advisor from enrollment to graduation.

Admission is open: you need to be 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and send transcripts before the end of your first semester. The page says the degree is offered on campus or online, so ask an advisor exactly how the lab courses in chemistry, biology and physics are delivered for online students.

Who It Fits

• Working adults aiming at physical therapy or occupational therapy school. Salem's page names further professional study in fields like those as the main purpose of the degree. The core includes two semesters each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry and physics, and most of them come with labs. Check each graduate school's own prerequisite list against that course sequence.
• Veterans and active-duty students. Salem's military undergraduate rate is $425 per credit, the lowest of its three per-credit rates.
• People who learn best one subject at a time. Each course runs about four weeks and a new one starts every month, so you're never juggling three classes on top of a job.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you want to become an exercise physiologist. Starting August 15, 2027, candidates for the ACSM-EP (the American College of Sports Medicine's Certified Exercise Physiologist credential) and ACSM-CEP must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, meaning one accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. This one isn't on that list.
• Skip it if the CSCS is your goal. The NSCA's Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam will require, from January 1, 2030, a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program (Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education) for U.S. candidates. Salem isn't on that list either.
• Skip it if you want most of your degree to be about training and exercise. Only 15 of your 120 credits sit in the specialization, and the rest is general education, electives and the biology core.

The biology core in the catalog is General Biology and General Biology 2 with labs, Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2 with labs, General Chemistry 1 and 2, Organic Chemistry 1 and 2, Biochemistry 1 and 2, General Physics 1 and 2 with labs, and BIO499 Senior Capstone Project.

The Physiology & Exercise Science specialization has five 3-credit courses: BIO260 Kinesiology & Biomechanics, BIO365 Physiology of Exercise & Performance Assessment, BIO442 Microbiology, BIO444 Pathophysiology and BIO460 on human nutrition. BIO365 is the most hands-on. The catalog says students learn to develop, administer and evaluate physiological tests and prescribe exercise training, and it requires BIO211 first.

The capstone has you work with a faculty mentor on a comprehensive project in the biological sciences. It's a research-style project, not a clinical placement.

Courses the School Names

• Kinesiology & Biomechanics
• Physiology of Exercise & Performance Assessment
• Human Nutrition and Physical Performance
• Pathophysiology
• Microbiology
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Organic Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• General Physics
• Senior Capstone Project

Standout Features

• Biology degree with 30 core biology credits plus chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry and physics, positioned for PT/OT pathways

Undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 is $550 per credit for students outside West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and $475 for residents of those four states. Active-duty students and veterans pay $425. Across 120 credits that's $66,000, $57,000 or $51,000 in tuition.

Fees come on top. Salem charges a $150 student activity fee and a $150 technology fee each semester, a $120 textbook charge per course (you can opt out) and a $200 lab fee for select programs. The tuition lock fixes your per-credit rate only if you enroll starting October 27, 2025 or later and stay continuously enrolled each fall and spring. Fees and books aren't locked.

120 credits at $550 a credit comes to $66,000 in tuition, before fees.

Salem holds institutional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, one of the regional accreditors. No programmatic accreditation is listed for this degree, and it doesn't appear on the CAAHEP or CASCE lists we checked on September 29, 2026.

That matters for two dates. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates need a CAAHEP-accredited program from August 15, 2027, and U.S. CSCS candidates need a CASCE-accredited bachelor's from January 1, 2030. Personal trainer exams such as the NSCA-CPT, ACSM-CPT, NASM-CPT and ACE-CPT don't require a degree, so this bachelor's isn't needed for those.

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 exercise content is thin. Kinesiology & Biomechanics and Physiology of Exercise & Performance Assessment are the two courses squarely about movement. Microbiology and Pathophysiology serve a biology track more than an exercise track.
• Salem's own pages disagree. The program page counts 30 core biology credits, while the catalog counts 47. The page calls the nutrition course Human Nutrition and Physical Performance, and the catalog calls it Advanced Topics in Human Nutrition with a molecule-and-cell emphasis.
• Federal data (IPEDS) lists a 20 percent graduation rate for Salem University overall. It's worth asking the school how many online bachelor's students finish.
• It's a long, pricey path for out-of-state students. At $550 per credit, tuition alone is $66,000, and fees and textbook charges are separate.

• Can you send the official degree plan for the Physiology & Exercise Science specialization, showing how many credits fall in foundation, elective, core and specialization?
• How are the biology, chemistry and physics labs delivered for online students, and does the $200 lab fee apply to me?
• Which physical therapy and occupational therapy programs have accepted Salem graduates in the past few years?
• How many transfer credits will you accept from my prior college work, and how do they change my 120-credit total?
• Does the textbook charge of $120 per course apply if I use my own or library materials, and how do I opt out?
• What is the online graduation rate for this bachelor's specifically, not the university overall?

Salem University is a small private for-profit university in Salem, WV, on a 100-acre Appalachian campus, with online programs delivered one course per month. It offers an online MS in Health and Human Performance and a biology bachelor's with a physiology and exercise science specialization.

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• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 33 of 34, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in West Virginia Rank 2 of 2, bachelor's

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