Tiffin University Online Master of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology

Tiffin's online M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology is built for someone who already works and wants to finish in about a year. It's fully asynchronous, runs in seven-week terms and lets you log the 150-hour internship at your current job.

At $755 per credit it isn't cheap, and its pages don't list programmatic accreditation, which matters if your goal is the ACSM clinical exercise physiologist exam after August 15, 2027. Choose it for the schedule and the clinical coursework, not for credential certainty.

Tiffin University is a private nonprofit school in Tiffin, Ohio, and this master's is one of its online graduate programs. You study exercise testing, exercise prescription, nutrition, behavior change and human physiology in clinical settings, with a focus on people who have chronic disease. Tiffin says full-time Tiffin professors teach online students the way they teach seated students.

The program page lists 31 credits and 12 months, while the 2026-27 tuition table lists 33 credits. Admission asks for a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university, and a 3.0 undergraduate GPA is preferred. Tiffin can request extra documents if you're under 3.0. The requirements don't name a required major, so career changers can apply, but ask about prerequisite science before you count on it.

Tiffin says all coursework is 100% online and asynchronous, and you're not required to attend live classes on set days or times. You work through materials, discussions and assignments inside each course's deadlines. Courses run seven weeks, three semesters a year. The 150-hour CEP685 internship can come from your current job, prior experience or a new position.

Advisors reach out to help you register, and a student quoted on the page says attending online feels like attending in person because the faculty and advisors are the same. Twelve months across three semesters leaves little slack, so plan on studying steadily around your work schedule.

Who It Fits

• Working clinicians and wellness staff. Tiffin's own career list includes cardiovascular rehabilitation specialist, pulmonary rehabilitation specialist, exercise stress test technician and hospital-based trainer. The internship hours can come from your current employer, so you don't have to leave a paycheck to complete the degree.
• Military members, veterans and their families. Active-duty students pay $325 per credit for the master's. Retired military, veterans, reservists, National Guard members and dependents of active-duty members get $250 off per credit. You'll need documentation, and the discount can't be combined with other Tiffin discounts.
• People who want a predictable pace. Seven-week terms, six start dates a year (the next sessions start October 18 and January 11) and no live login times. Coursework is due by set deadlines, and you decide when you do it.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited degree. Nothing on Tiffin's pages lists CAAHEP accreditation, and the program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026. Browse the online exercise physiology degrees if that credential drives your decision.
• Students who learn best in a live class or a hands-on lab room. Everything here is asynchronous, and there's no cohort schedule pulling you along.
• Anyone on a tight budget. Full price is $24,915 for the 33 credits in the tuition table, so compare it against our cheapest online exercise science degrees first.

Tiffin lists nine courses with descriptions, plus the internship. CEP505 Exercise, Health, and Disease covers exercise programs for obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, arthritis and osteoporosis. CEP575 Exercise Pharmacology applies drug knowledge to cases like cardiac arrhythmias, emphysema and depression.

CEP605 Exercise Biochemistry and Metabolism looks at energy pathways during exercise. CEP535 Nutritional Health and Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease and CEP580 Behavior Change and Wellness Coaching round out the health side. CEP585 Research Seminar is student-led discussion of current research, not a thesis.

Three courses carry labs: CEP625 Advanced Exercise Physiology and Lab, CEP665 Exercise for Special Populations and Lab and CEP675 Clinical Exercise Testing and Prescription and Lab, where you design inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs. CEP685 is the internship.

Courses the School Names

• CEP505 Exercise, Health, and Disease
• CEP580 Behavior Change and Wellness Coaching
• CEP605 Exercise Biochemistry and Metabolism
• CEP585 Research Seminar
• CEP535 Nutritional Health and Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease
• CEP575 Exercise Pharmacology
• CEP625 Advanced Exercise Physiology and Lab
• CEP665 Exercise for Special Populations and Lab
• CEP675 Clinical Exercise Testing and Prescription and Lab

Standout Features

• Coursework includes Exercise Pharmacology and Exercise Biochemistry and Metabolism
• Full-time Tiffin professors interact with online students as with seated students
• Fully asynchronous with no required live sessions
• Connected to ACSM, AACVPR, CEPA and NSCA professional organizations

Full price is $755 per credit, and the technology fee is included. The program page lists 31 credits, which would be $23,405. Tiffin's 2026-27 tuition table prices the degree at 33 credits and $24,915, so budget for the higher number. Supplemental course material fees vary by class.

Military pricing changes the picture a lot. Active-duty students at $325 per credit pay $10,725 over 33 credits. A veteran or dependent with $250 off pays $505 per credit, or $16,665 over 33 credits. Ask which category you fall in, because you can't stack it with other Tiffin discounts.

31 credits at $755 a credit comes to $23,405 in tuition, before fees.

Tiffin is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accreditor. The program itself lists no CAAHEP accreditation and no certification prep. Tiffin points students to professional organizations, including ACSM, the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the Clinical Exercise Physiology Association and NSCA. Those are networking connections, not accreditation.

The ACSM clinical exercise physiologist route with a master's calls for 600 hours of hands-on clinical experience, and Tiffin's internship is 150 hours, so you'd plan the rest yourself. From August 15, 2027, ACSM candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process.

The NSCA rule starting January 1, 2030 is about the bachelor's degree behind your CSCS, not this master's. Our career research says a bachelor's is the usual entry point for exercise physiologist jobs, and a master's helps with research, clinical lead roles and pay.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Physiologist Careers, ACSM Exercise Physiologist Certification.

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

• Tiffin's pages disagree with each other on credits (31 or 33) and on starts (six a year, or January and August). The gap is about $1,510 in tuition.
• No programmatic accreditation is stated, so the ACSM exam path after August 15, 2027 depends on facts Tiffin hasn't published.
• Full price is high for a fully online program. The military rates are strong, but everyone else pays $755.
• Tiffin's federal graduation rate is 40 percent. That figure covers the whole university, not this program, but it's the only outcome number we have.

• Is the degree 31 or 33 credits, and how many credits is the CEP685 internship?
• Do classes start six times a year, or only in January and August?
• How do the CEP625, CEP665 and CEP675 labs run online, and is any in-person session ever required?
• Has the program started the CAAHEP accreditation process for ACSM candidates after August 15, 2027?
• Does my bachelor's need to be in exercise science, and are anatomy and physiology prerequisites?
• Does Tiffin document internship hours in a form ACSM accepts toward the 600-hour master's route?
• Which military discount applies to me, and does it stack with employer tuition assistance or financial aid?

Private university in Tiffin, Ohio with a large online graduate portfolio. Online courses are taught by full-time Tiffin professors and delivered asynchronously in 7-week terms.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 90 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 90 of 99, master's
• Best Online Exercise Physiology Degrees Rank 17 of 19, master's
• Best Clinical Exercise Physiology Master's Rank 15 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Online Programs Rank 34 of 46, master's
• Best for Military Students Rank 22 of 35, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 48 of 50, master's
• Best for Parents Rank 14 of 14, master's
• Best for Healthcare Workers Rank 17 of 20, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 72 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Ohio Rank 4 of 5, master's

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