The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Master of Science in Kinesiology With a Concentration in Physical Education (Accelerated Online)

This UTRGV master's is a physical education degree first and an exercise science degree a distant second. It's built for people already teaching or coaching, runs in 7-week accelerated courses, and costs a published $444.44 per credit. If you want to teach or coach and need a fast, affordable master's, it works. If you want exercise physiology, biomechanics, or exercise testing, it doesn't cover them, and you should look elsewhere.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a public UT System university in Edinburg, Texas, and this is one of three online M.S. in Kinesiology concentrations in its accelerated online portfolio. UTRGV designed the Physical Education concentration for people teaching in public, private, or religious schools.

The degree is 36 credits and 100% online. Six required courses cover the history and philosophy of kinesiology, research methods, curriculum construction, sport program administration, legal issues, and ethics. Six concentration courses add pedagogy, motor learning, special-needs curriculum, and two exercise-related courses. So how exercise-science-heavy is it? Not very. Think of it as an education degree with movement content.

UTRGV publishes $444.44 per credit hour and $1,333.32 per 3-credit course. Across 36 credits, that's $15,999.84, and the page rounds it to $16,000. UTRGV says tuition and fees will total no more than that figure, though rates can change.

There's no application fee, and the graduation fee is $50. The main program page also carries a leftover block of text for a different program, showing $325 per credit and 120 credits. Trust the dedicated tuition page, and confirm the rate in writing with an enrollment specialist before you pay.

36 credits at $444.44 a credit comes to $16,000 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• Current K-12 physical education teachers and coaches. The pedagogy, curriculum, and sport administration courses match your daily work, and the legal issues and ethics courses matter if you supervise athletes.
• Educators who want to add exercise programming knowledge. KINE 6306 Resistance and Cardiovascular Training has you build an evidence-based program for a targeted population, and KINE 6327 covers behavior analysis for physical activity interventions.
• Busy people who want a short schedule. Courses run 7 weeks, and UTRGV says you can finish in as little as 12 months.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants to work as an exercise physiologist, clinical exercise physiologist, or strength and conditioning coach. Nothing listed covers exercise physiology, biomechanics, or nutrition. Start with our online master's in kinesiology rankings for programs that do.
• Students who aren't teaching or coaching. The program is described as designed for school teachers, and the admissions package asks for a resume and statement of purpose.
• Anyone counting on CAAHEP accreditation. UTRGV's pages don't claim it, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled September 29, 2026.

The page lists twelve 3-credit courses, which adds up to the full 36 credits. The required six are KINE 6310 History and Philosophy of Kinesiology, KINE 6315 Research Methods, KINE 6340 Curriculum Construction, KINE 6360 Organizations and Administration of Sport Programs, KINE 6365 Legal Issues in Sports, and KINE 6375 Ethics in Sports.

The concentration list is KINE 6306 Resistance and Cardiovascular Training, KINE 6324 Applied Pedagogy in Physical Education and Coaching, KINE 6327 Behavioral Aspects of Physical Activity and Exercise, KINE 6335 Curriculum for Students with Special Needs, KINE 6350 Motor Learning, and HLTH 6303 Teaching Health Science Technology. The page doesn't call the last six electives, so it looks like you take all of them.

Courses the School Names

• KINE 6310 History and Philosophy of Kinesiology
• KINE 6315 Research Methods
• KINE 6340 Curriculum Construction
• KINE 6360 Organizations and Administration of Sport Programs
• KINE 6365 Legal Issues in Sports
• KINE 6375 Ethics in Sports
• KINE 6306 Resistance & Cardiovascular Training
• KINE 6324 Applied Pedagogy in Physical Education and Coaching
• KINE 6327 Behavioral Aspects of Physical Activity and Exercise
• KINE 6350 Motor Learning

Standout Features

• KINE 6306 Resistance & Cardiovascular Training covers optimized resistance and cardiovascular programming for targeted populations, personal training and coaching
• KINE 6327 Behavioral Aspects of Physical Activity and Exercise (behavior analytic skills for physical activity interventions)
• Program is a 12-month, 7-week-course accelerated format at about $16,000

Everything is online, in 7-week modules. The calendar lists starts on October 21, 2026 (apply by October 14), January 13, 2027, March 10, 2027, and May 5, 2027. You pay and register by the start date, and each module is about seven weeks long.

UTRGV says you can finish in as little as 12 months. With twelve courses and modules that start about every eight weeks, one course at a time would take longer than a year, so a 12-month finish likely means two courses at once. That's a heavy load next to a teaching job, so ask what most working students take. The page lists no practicum, thesis, or on-campus requirement.

UTRGV is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The program has no programmatic accreditation and no certification preparation, and it doesn't claim to prepare you for a state teaching license.

The 2027 and 2030 credential rules mostly don't touch this degree. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process, and this program isn't either. From January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, which is about your undergraduate degree. A personal trainer certification needs no degree at all.

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.

• It's a borderline fit for an exercise science site. Only KINE 6306 and KINE 6327 touch exercise programming, and most other courses are education, sport administration, or research methods.
• The 12-month pace likely means overlapping courses, and the page doesn't spell out the sequence.
• The main program page contains template text for another program, with different credits and per-credit cost, so you have to know which subpage to trust.
• UTRGV's federal graduation rate is 51 percent. That covers the whole university, not this program.

• Do I take all twelve listed courses, or are the concentration courses electives I can choose among?
• How many courses do students take at once to finish in 12 months, and what happens to the price if I go slower?
• Is the $444.44 rate the same for out-of-state students, and does the $16,000 total include every fee?
• Do I need to be teaching now to apply, or can a coach or trainer with a bachelor's enroll?
• Does this degree count toward a teaching certificate, salary step, or additional certification in Texas or my state?
• Which courses include real exercise programming, and will there be a project where I design and present a program?
• If my GPA is between 2.5 and 3.0, what does the required interview involve?

Public University of Texas System institution in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas; its accelerated online graduate portfolio includes three MS Kinesiology concentrations housed in the College of Health Professions, Department of Health and Human Performance.

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