The University of Texas at Tyler Online Master of Science in Kinesiology

UT Tyler's Master of Science in Kinesiology is a small, exercise-science-first graduate program you can finish entirely online. Its core is advanced exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports nutrition, and motor learning, and the GRE is waived at a 3.00 GPA. The catch is scheduling. Most core courses run in one semester a year, and UT Tyler's pages disagree on 30 or 36 credits and list no online price.

The University of Texas at Tyler is a regional public university in the UT System, and this degree lives in its Department of Kinesiology. The department has eight full-time faculty and about 40 graduate students, so classes are small.

UT Tyler describes the degree as advanced study of kinesiology with a core focus on exercise science. It says the program prepares you for a range of exercise careers or for doctoral study, and that it suits clinicians such as physical therapists and athletic trainers who want more science behind their practice. You can complete it entirely online or mix face-to-face and online classes.

The department's curriculum page lists 30 credits. The 15-credit core is KINE 5301 Research Design and Analysis, KINE 5307 Motor Learning, KINE 5314 Advanced Exercise Physiology, KINE 5335 Biomechanics, and KINE 5341 Sports Nutrition.

You then pick 6 credits in Human Performance (KINE 5317 Training Methods and KINE 5318 Environmental Exercise Physiology) or Nutrition (KINE 5322 Nutrition, Health, and Disease and KINE 5325 Nutrition for Healthy Aging). Prescribed electives are Topics in Motor Performance, Aging and Physical Performance, and Ergogenic Aids.

The last piece is thesis (KINE 5395 and 5396, 6 credits) or a 3-credit internship, KINE 5370, with a comprehensive exam. Thesis students take 3 elective credits, and internship students take 6.

Courses the School Names

• KINE 5314 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• KINE 5335 Biomechanics
• KINE 5301 Research Design and Analysis
• KINE 5307 Motor Learning
• KINE 5341 Sports Nutrition
• KINE 5317 Training Methods
• KINE 5318 Environmental Exercise Physiology
• KINE 5319 Aging and Physical Performance
• KINE 5320 Ergogenic Aids

Standout Features

• Core focus on exercise science; page says it is also appropriate for clinicians such as physical therapists and athletic trainers
• Human Performance concentration with Training Methods and Environmental Exercise Physiology courses
• Department research areas include wearable sensors and AI for fall prevention in older adults and exercise training for neuromuscular disorders

Who It Fits

• Physical therapists, athletic trainers, and other clinicians who want graduate exercise science. UT Tyler names them as an audience, and courses like Advanced Exercise Physiology and Aging and Physical Performance connect to patient work.
• Coaches and trainers who want a research-oriented master's. The Human Performance concentration adds Training Methods and Environmental Exercise Physiology, and the thesis option gives you a path toward doctoral study.
• Applicants who'd rather not take the GRE. UT Tyler waives it if your upper-division undergraduate GPA is at least 3.00 or you already hold a graduate degree.

Who Should Skip It

• Career changers without a related bachelor's. UT Tyler wants a degree in a field closely related to kinesiology, and leveling courses may be required if your preparation is thin.
• Anyone who needs a fast, predictable schedule. Core courses follow a two-year rotation, so missing a semester can delay a course by a year. Compare the schedule-friendly options in our online kinesiology master's rankings.
• Students who want a CAAHEP-accredited clinical exercise physiology degree. UT Tyler's pages don't claim one, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled September 29, 2026.

UT Tyler doesn't publish an online rate on the program pages. The graduate program page says total tuition is $16,560, but it labels that an estimate for full-time, in-state, on-campus enrollment, and it lists 36 hours. That's $460 per credit. If the 30-credit plan is priced the same way, tuition would be $13,800.

The page also says tuition varies by delivery method and by the hours you take each semester. Full-time is 9 credit hours, and you can enroll part time. Use UT Tyler's tuition calculator and ask the department for an online, out-of-state quote before you count on either number.

UT Tyler says the whole degree can be completed online. The course rotation matters more than the format. Fall offers Research Design and Analysis, Environmental Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, Health, and Disease, Biomechanics, and Sports Nutrition. Spring offers Motor Learning, Advanced Exercise Physiology, Training Methods, and Nutrition for Healthy Aging.

Aging and Physical Performance appears once in the six semesters listed, in Spring 2028, and Ergogenic Aids appears once, in Summer 2027. Internship and thesis courses run every term. Deadlines are May 1 priority and August 1 final for fall, November 1 and December 1 for spring, and May 1 for summer. The syllabus list shows separate sections for several graduate courses, so ask which are the online sections.

UT Tyler holds regional accreditation from SACSCOC at the university level. The degree itself carries no programmatic accreditation, and no CAAHEP or CASCE match appears in our lists. It doesn't advertise preparation for a specific certification exam.

If you want to become an ACSM clinical exercise physiologist, note that from August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. This master's isn't listed as either. If you're a PT or athletic trainer who already holds a license, the degree adds knowledge, not a new license. The NSCA's 2030 CASCE rule affects your bachelor's, not this master's.

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.

• UT Tyler's pages disagree. The department lists 30 credits and the graduate program page lists 36. The graduate page also says the program is in the School of Nursing, while the kinesiology department sits under Health Professions.
• The two-year rotation means many courses are offered only one semester per year, and a few appear once in six semesters.
• No online tuition figure is published, and the $16,560 estimate is for on-campus, in-state students.
• UT Tyler's federal graduation rate is 54 percent. That covers the whole university, not this degree.

• Is the degree 30 or 36 credits, and which page is correct?
• What is my total online tuition and fees for the whole degree, in-state or out-of-state?
• Which sections of the fall and spring core courses are online, and are any face-to-face meetings required?
• Since Aging and Physical Performance and Ergogenic Aids are offered once in six semesters, how do I schedule the electives I want?
• How do I line up an internship site for KINE 5370 if I don't live near Tyler, and who signs the site agreement?
• Which leveling courses would I need if my bachelor's isn't exercise science?
• Do thesis students work with faculty remotely, and how many graduate students does each advisor supervise?

Regional public university in Tyler, Texas, in the University of Texas System. The Department of Kinesiology has about 350 undergraduate and 40 graduate students and eight full-time faculty, with research on fall prevention, exercise training, biomechanics, and exercise for insulin resistance.

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Also at The University of Texas at Tyler, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (bachelor's, on campus).

• East Texas Baptist University

  Master of Science in Kinesiology

  Texas $447 per credit Score 48.0

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  Master of Science in Kinesiology, Sport and Exercise Psychology Concentration (Online)

  North Carolina $660.37 per credit Score 47.5

• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

  Applied Kinesiology (M.S.)

  Wisconsin $1,280.77 per credit Score 47.4

• A T Still University of Health Sciences

  Master of Science in Athletic Training (post-professional)

  Missouri $690 per credit Score 47.2