The University of Texas Permian Basin MS in Kinesiology (Online)

UT Permian Basin's online Master of Science in Kinesiology is one of the lower-priced options in our data and needs no GRE. It has three tracks, and only one is exercise physiology. The other two target teachers, coaches, and sport psychology. It fits a coach or trainer who wants a research-flavored master's. Pick the exercise physiology track only after mapping its summer-only lab courses onto your start date.

The University of Texas Permian Basin is a public UT System campus in Odessa, Texas. This master's sits in the Department of Human Performance in the College of Health Sciences and Human Performance. It's 100% online and asynchronous, with 16-week semesters and starts in fall, spring, and summer.

The program page speaks to people already working as coaches, trainers, or teachers. You choose Teaching, Coaching, and Administration, Psychology of Sport, or Exercise Physiology. The first two need 30 credits. The exercise physiology track has a research project option (30), a research thesis option (33), and a non-research option (30), which is why the school says 30 to 33 credits.

Every track starts with 9 core credits, and the exercise physiology core is KINE 6361 Exercise Physiology Laboratory Methods-Procedures, KINE 6362 Training and Conditioning Methods, and KINE 6363 Methods and Procedures for Coronary Heart Disease Risk Detection and Reduction. Then you add options from the track, such as KINE 6364 Hostile Environments, a practicum, and a project or thesis.

Statistics for Researchers and Research Methods appear as core courses in the other tracks and as electives in exercise physiology. KINE 6360 Advanced Sports Physiology, which includes laboratory experiences, is offered in fall and is an elective in the teaching and sport psychology tracks. The practicum, KINE 6392, is supervised field work.

Courses the School Names

• KINE 6310 Statistics for Researchers
• KINE 6312 Research Methods
• KINE 6340 Sport and Society
• KINE 6360 Advanced Sports Physiology
• KINE 6361 Exercise Physiology Laboratory Methods-Procedures
• KINE 6362 Training and Conditioning Methods
• KINE 6363 Methods and Procedures for Coronary Heart Disease Risk Detection and Reduction
• KINE 6364 Hostile Environments
• KINE 6322 Applied Sport Psychology
• KINE 6382 Administration of Physical Education and Athletics

Standout Features

• Three tracks including Exercise Physiology with thesis, research project or non-research options
• Courses in 12-lead EKG and graded exercise stress testing for coronary heart disease risk (KINE 6363) and hostile-environment thermoregulation (KINE 6364)
• Faculty collaborate with students to create publishable work from program research
• Graduate coordinator Dr. Omer Baris Kaya, PhD; Professor Moran Sciamama-Saghiv researches exercise and Klotho levels

Who It Fits

• Coaches and physical educators who want a master's without moving. The Teaching, Coaching, and Administration track includes Training and Conditioning Methods, Analysis of Teaching and Coaching Behavior, and Administration of Physical Education and Athletics.
• Trainers and athletes who want the exercise physiology track. It includes an exercise physiology laboratory methods course, a coronary heart disease risk course that covers 12-lead EKG and graded exercise stress testing, and a heat stress course called Hostile Environments.
• Working adults who need the price and pacing. Courses are asynchronous, and UTPB says you can finish in less than two years.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants an all-exercise-science curriculum. Two of the three tracks are teaching, coaching, and sport psychology, and even the exercise physiology track borrows elective credits from sport psychology courses.
• Students who want a clinical exercise physiology degree. Nothing on the page claims CAAHEP accreditation, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled September 29, 2026. See our online clinical exercise physiology master's rankings for programs built for that route.
• People who need to start this fall. The fall 2026 application deadline was August 10, so your next start is January 11, 2027.

UTPB's program page lists $11,729.70 to $12,902.67 in total tuition for 30 to 33 credits, with additional fees possible. Those totals are 30 and 33 times $390.99, which is the price of a single credit hour with the whole $35 term fee included. The real bill is lower.

UTPB's online graduate table lists tuition of $274.87 per credit, so 30 credits is $8,246.10 in tuition. With online program fees and the $35 term fee added, six credits in a semester cost $2,170.94, so five semesters of six credits total $10,854.70. UTPB says in-state and out-of-state students pay the same rate.

Courses run 16 weeks and are asynchronous. Fall 2026 classes began August 24. Spring 2027 begins January 11 (apply by December 28), and Summer 2027 begins June 1 (apply by May 17). The program page advertises no GRE and finishing in less than two years, and its faculty say they work with you to create publishable work from program research.

The program's graduate coordinator, Dr. Omer Baris Kaya, researches the acute effects of exercise on movement abilities in elite athletes. Professor Moran Sciamama-Saghiv holds a PhD in exercise physiology and researches exercise and Klotho levels. UTPB also offers payment plans, including a 25 percent down payment option for new students.

UTPB is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The program has no CAAHEP accreditation, and it doesn't list certification preparation. The page lists the UT System, Texas A&M University, and IDEA Public Schools among employers of its graduates.

If you're aiming for the ACSM clinical exercise physiologist credential, note that candidates after August 15, 2027 must come from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. UTPB doesn't claim either. For the NSCA's CSCS, the January 1, 2030 CASCE rule applies to your bachelor's degree, so a master's here doesn't change it.

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 lab-style exercise physiology courses are tight on timing. KINE 6361 and KINE 6363 are both listed for Summer 2027 only, and KINE 6361 lists KINE 6360, its equivalent, or instructor permission as a prerequisite. KINE 6360 runs in fall.
• Only one of three tracks centers on exercise physiology. The exercise content in the other two is a few electives.
• The program page's price totals overstate what the tuition table implies, so you'd have to do the math yourself to compare with other schools.
• UTPB's federal graduation rate is 40 percent. That covers the whole university, not this program.

• If I start in spring 2027 in the exercise physiology track, can I take KINE 6361 in Summer 2027 without KINE 6360, or will you grant permission?
• How are the laboratory methods and EKG procedures in KINE 6361 and KINE 6363 taught and assessed in an asynchronous online course?
• What's the difference in workload between the research project, thesis, and non-research options in the exercise physiology track?
• How do I find a supervised site for the KINE 6392 practicum, and does the school help place students?
• What are the exact fees per term beyond the $35 term fee, and do they change in summer?
• Are courses offered on a schedule that lets a part-time student finish in less than two years?
• Which exercise physiology track courses count toward doctoral study, and which schools have accepted your graduates?

Public University of Texas System campus in Odessa, Texas. The online MS in Kinesiology sits in the College of Health Sciences and Human Performance, Department of Human Performance.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 70 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 70 of 99, master's
• Best Online Kinesiology Degrees Rank 19 of 28, master's
• Best Online Kinesiology Master's Rank 19 of 28, master's
• Best Online Exercise Physiology Degrees Rank 11 of 19, master's
• No-GRE Online Master's Programs Rank 30 of 44, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 40 of 50, master's
• Best for Career Changers Rank 19 of 24, master's
• Best for Coaches Rank 30 of 43, master's
• Best for Athletes Rank 11 of 15, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 56 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Texas Rank 9 of 12, master's

• Tennessee Technological University

  Exercise Science, M.A. (online; Lifetime Wellness concentration plus PE and sport concentrations)

  Tennessee $882 per credit Score 46.7

• A T Still University of Health Sciences

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• Avila University

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• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

  Applied Kinesiology (M.S.)

  Wisconsin $1,280.77 per credit Score 47.4