Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Online Master of Science in Kinesiology (Sport and Exercise Science Emphasis)

This is a strong pick if strength and conditioning is your goal. The online M.S. in Kinesiology has a Strength and Conditioning option accredited by CASCE, the accreditor NSCA ties to its CSCS exam, and it's asynchronous, needs no GRE, and accepts any bachelor's major. The catch is price. No online per-credit rate is posted, and the school's pages disagree in a few places.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is a public university on Ocean Drive in Corpus Christi, Texas. The M.S. in Kinesiology, Sport and Exercise Science emphasis, is 36 credit hours and STEM-designated. You choose one of three options: Non-Thesis, Thesis, or Strength and Conditioning. The department's Sport Science Research Labs, in Island Hall, are on campus.

The school points to strength and conditioning, sport performance, healthcare, and research as destinations. It lists ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP among career paths, yet this is a sport-and-performance kinesiology degree, not a clinical exercise physiology one. The school also says graduates go on to DPT, OTD, medical, and PA programs.

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

The university is accredited by SACSCOC. The school says the Strength and Conditioning option is accredited by CASCE and calls it the only CASCE-accredited program delivered fully online and asynchronously. NSCA's find-a-program list, as recorded by our research team, has a graduate Strength and Conditioning emphasis row for the university, alongside an undergraduate one.

Read NSCA's 2030 rule carefully. It says U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's degree from a CASCE-accredited program from January 1, 2030, while the school says a degree. Ask NSCA whether a CASCE master's counts if your bachelor's wasn't from one. The program page also names ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP. Those need a CAAHEP-accredited program from August 15, 2027, and we found no CAAHEP listing for this one.

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

Who It Fits

• You want to coach strength and conditioning. That option is the CASCE-accredited one, and it ends with a comprehensive final exam built on the competencies of the CSCS exam.
• You're changing careers. Any bachelor's major is accepted, the GRE isn't required, and the department FAQ says recommendation letters aren't required either.
• You work full time or serve in the military. Courses are asynchronous, the school says you can finish while deployed, and six start windows a year mean you rarely wait long to begin.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you want a clinical exercise physiology degree. The listed courses are sport-focused, and none is about cardiac or pulmonary disease.
• Skip it if you need to know your exact price today. No online kinesiology rate is posted, so you'll be working from estimates until admissions confirms your tuition cohort.
• Skip it if you want the campus labs. Graduate assistantships require attending classes on campus, and the research labs sit in Island Hall.

Every option shares five core courses: KINE 5307 Research Design in Kinesiology, KINE 5309 Scientific Foundations of Strength and Conditioning, KINE 5311 Statistics in Kinesiology, KINE 5312 Sport Physiology, and KINE 5327 Sport Biomechanics.

The Strength and Conditioning option adds KINE 5306 Sport Nutrition, KINE 5313 Athletic Testing, KINE 5314 Applied Principles of Strength and Conditioning, KINE 5325 Program Design for Resistance Training, KINE 5340 Sport Psychology, and two field courses. KINE 5395 Professional Field Experience II is specific to strength and conditioning and prepares you for the certifications required for hiring.

The Non-Thesis option has you pick three required courses, take 9 applied elective credits, and finish KINE 5397 Graduate Research Project. It ends with a manuscript, a poster, and a defense. The Thesis option is a two-semester project with a committee and needs department approval after you pass KINE 5307.

Courses the School Names

• KINE 5309 Scientific Foundations of Strength and Conditioning
• KINE 5312 Sport Physiology
• KINE 5327 Sport Biomechanics
• KINE 5307 Research Design in Kinesiology
• KINE 5311 Statistics in Kinesiology
• KINE 5313 Athletic Testing
• KINE 5314 Applied Principles of Strength and Conditioning
• KINE 5325 Program Design for Resistance Training
• KINE 5306 Sport Nutrition
• KINE 5340 Sport Psychology

Standout Features

• School says the Strength and Conditioning specialization is the world's only CASCE-accredited program delivered fully online and asynchronously
• STEM-designated CIP code (STEM OPT eligibility noted for international students)
• Sport Science Research Labs in Island Hall: Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, Motor Learning/Development, Athletic Training
• NSCA will require a CASCE-accredited degree for CSCS exam eligibility beginning January 1, 2030 (per the school)

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi doesn't post an online per-credit rate for kinesiology. The online tuition page covers only business programs. The main-campus graduate chart for 2026-2027 shows 6 credit hours in a term at $2,626.10 for Texas residents and $5,689.82 for non-residents, with fees included.

Web-based courses add a Distance Education Fee of $50 to $100 per course, which for about 12 courses is $600 to $1,200. Six 6-credit terms on the resident chart would come to $15,756.60, or $34,138.92 on the non-resident chart, before those fees. Treat both as rough guides, because your rate depends on a tuition cohort you look up in SAIL.

The program is fully asynchronous with no campus visits, though a hybrid format also exists. Fall and spring courses run in 7-week sessions and summer courses in 5-week sessions, while research projects, thesis work, and field experiences run a full 14 weeks, or 10 in summer. The school says you can finish in three semesters.

The course rotation is the fine print. Two online courses run each 7-week term, and most required courses appear once a year. KINE 5311 and KINE 5314 run in fall Term I, KINE 5309 and KINE 5327 in fall Term II, and KINE 5306 and KINE 5307 in spring Term I. Miss one and you wait a year.

Domestic application deadlines are Aug. 12, Oct. 1, Jan. 6, Mar. 4, May 19, and June 23.

• There's no online per-credit rate, so you can't build a total from the school's own pages. The cost-of-attendance page estimates $7,178 for 12 credits a year in state, but two 6-credit terms on the tuition chart come to $5,252.20. Ask which is right.
• The pages disagree on the capstone. The department FAQ says no comprehensive final exam is required. The catalog says the Strength and Conditioning option ends with one.
• The GPA rule reads two ways. The FAQ says 3.0 in your last 60 undergraduate hours, and the catalog says a 3.0 overall cumulative GPA, with conditional admission from 2.50 to 2.99.
• Online availability isn't consistent. KINE 5308 Leadership in Kinesiology is marked online in the Thesis option and not in the Non-Thesis option, and it doesn't appear on the online rotation.
• It isn't a clinical exercise physiology degree, and its ACSM references shouldn't be read as an eligibility promise.

• What's the current online per-credit rate for my residency, and which fees apply to web-based courses?
• Does the Strength and Conditioning option end with a comprehensive exam or a research project, given that the FAQ and catalog disagree?
• Will NSCA accept this CASCE-accredited master's for CSCS eligibility after 2030 if my bachelor's isn't from a CASCE program?
• Where can I complete Professional Field Experience I and II, and can my current employer host the hours?
• If I start in spring, in what order do I take the once-a-year courses, and when would I finish?
• Does the committee measure the 3.0 GPA over my last 60 hours or my whole undergraduate record?
• Which prerequisite undergraduate courses do I need to finish first, such as anatomy and physiology and exercise physiology?

Public 'Island University' on Ocean Drive in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Department of Kinesiology runs Sport Science Research Labs in Island Hall and offers the MS in Kinesiology with a CASCE-accredited strength and conditioning option.

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