Sam Houston State University Online Master of Science in Kinesiology (Sport and Human Performance)

Sam Houston State's online M.S. in Kinesiology (Sport and Human Performance) is a public, research-leaning master's with a wide elective menu, from clinical exercise physiology to strength training. It's built for people who already have a kinesiology background and a 3.0 GPA, and it works well as a step toward a thesis or a doctorate.

Price depends heavily on residency. Our arithmetic for 36 non-thesis credits comes to $22,092.60 for a Texas resident and $36,672.60 for a nonresident.

Sam Houston State University is a public school in Huntsville, Texas, in the Texas State University System, and it's accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The master's is 100% online, with optional on-campus lab days. A few courses also run as live online, hybrid or face-to-face sections.

Everyone takes five core courses: Advanced Physiology of Exercise, Research in Sport and Human Performance, Applied Research Methods in Kinesiology, Advanced Biomechanics and Significance of Motor Learning. The degree is 36 credits without a thesis or 30 with one. You can start in fall, spring or summer, with applications due August 1, December 15 or May 15.

The non-thesis plan is the five core courses plus 21 elective hours. The thesis plan is the core, six thesis hours (Thesis I and Thesis II) and nine elective hours. Electives include Clinical Exercise Physiology, EKG/Cardiac Conditions, Biomechanics of Injury, Biomechanical Gait Analysis, Motor Control in Practice, Advanced Studies in Psychology of Sport and Statistical Design in Kinesiology.

Courses rotate by term. Advanced Physiology of Exercise and Research in Sport and Human Performance run in fall, and Applied Research Methods and Advanced Biomechanics run in spring. The strength training and aerobic and anaerobic training electives run in the 10-week summer term.

Non-thesis students pass a comprehensive exam. It includes research questions from two core courses, questions from two more core courses you pick, and a fourth area drawn from an elective or core course.

Courses the School Names

• Advanced Physiology of Exercise
• Research in Sport and Human Performance
• Clinical Exercise Physiology
• EKG/Cardiac Conditions
• Biomechanics of Injury
• Biomechanical Gait Analysis
• Strength Training Principles
• Aerobic and Anaerobic Training
• Exercise Science Lab Practicum
• Youth Fitness

Standout Features

• Department has four equipped research labs and two teaching labs on campus (Motor Behavior/Biomechanics, Human Performance, Muscle Physiology/Exercise Biochemistry, Strength Training); lab access is on-campus
• Graduate research and teaching assistantships (10-20 hours/week, must live near Huntsville)
• Thesis can be completed remotely with external supervision

Who It Fits

• Kinesiology graduates thinking about a doctorate. The catalog says the degree suits students continuing to doctoral programs and strongly encourages the thesis, which you can finish from out of town with remote supervision.
• Coaches and trainers who want to pick their own specialty. Electives include Strength Training Principles, Aerobic and Anaerobic Training, Youth Fitness and Management of Adult Fitness Programs.
• Students who want supervised hours. Sport and Human Performance Internship I and II each carry 200 contact hours, for up to 400 in total.
• Texas residents watching the budget. The resident tuition schedule is far lower than the nonresident one.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you're changing careers. Admission asks for a bachelor's with a major or minor in kinesiology, exercise science or a related field, plus coursework or certifications in motor learning, exercise physiology, biomechanics and research or statistics. Applicants who fall short write a letter of intent.
• Skip it if you're aiming for the ACSM-CEP, the American College of Sports Medicine's clinical exercise physiologist credential. Clinical Exercise Physiology and EKG/Cardiac Conditions are electives, but from August 15, 2027 candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and this one isn't on that list.
• Skip it if you need a live, campus-style lab experience without moving. The four research labs and assistantships are in Huntsville, and assistants must live near campus.

Sam Houston State prices graduate study by semester hours, and the tuition and fee schedule for 2026-27 shows $1,675.55 for 3 hours as a Texas resident and $2,890.55 as a nonresident in fall or spring. Summer for 3 hours is $1,619.15 resident and $2,834.15 nonresident.

Online courses add a $101 per credit hour distance learning fee. Six credit hours in a fall term cost $3,076.10 resident and $5,506.10 nonresident, before $606 in distance fees. Across six fall and spring terms of six credits, we get $22,092.60 for a resident and $36,672.60 for a nonresident. That's an illustration, not a quote, and the school doesn't publish a per-credit rate.

The program page describes the degree as mostly online with some live synchronous sections, so expect a few scheduled meetings with professors. Application deadlines are August 1 for fall, December 15 for spring and May 15 for summer.

The optional Exercise Science Lab Practicum is a summer mini-mester that needs on-campus days plus online work. If you want the department's Strength Training Lab or Human Performance Lab, you'd do that in Huntsville. Research and teaching assistantships need 10 to 20 hours a week, and you'd have to live in or near Huntsville, so they're mostly out of reach for distance students.

The university's institutional accreditor is SACSCOC. Nothing on the kinesiology pages claims programmatic accreditation, and the degree doesn't appear on the CAAHEP or CASCE lists we checked on September 29, 2026.

SHSU's own career list marks strength and conditioning coach as a role that needs additional certification. That's the honest read: this master's builds knowledge, and the NSCA's CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) is a separate exam. From January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, so a master's can't fix that gap.

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 price isn't simple to read. The catalog lists tiered semester amounts that include athletic, medical and recreation fees, then adds the distance learning fee per credit hour. Ask what an online student actually pays each term.
• The catalog contradicts itself in small ways. It says students complete a core block of four courses, but five core courses are listed. It describes a 200 to 400 hour internship inside one 3-hour course, yet a footnote gives 200 contact hours per course.
• Admission lists differ by term. Fall 2026 asks for 2 to 3 references and a statement of intent, while the Spring 2027 list omits references and names more majors.
• Some core courses run only once a year, so missing a term can delay you by months.

• Do online students pay the Texas resident or the nonresident rate, and are the athletic, medical and recreation fees waived for distance students?
• Does the $101 distance learning fee apply to every course, including internship and thesis hours?
• Is the internship 200 or 400 hours inside a single 3-hour course, and can it happen at my current workplace?
• Which admission list applies to my start term, and do I need references?
• Which electives, such as Clinical Exercise Physiology, run in a live online format?
• Can I transfer credit into the 36-hour non-thesis plan? The catalog only mentions a 6-hour limit for the 30-hour thesis plan.
• How do out-of-state thesis students find a chair and committee remotely?

SHSU is a large public university in Huntsville, TX, in the Texas State University System. Its Department of Kinesiology has four research labs and two teaching labs and offers an online master's in Sport and Human Performance.

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