United States Sports University Online Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) in Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning)

USSU's online master's is a strength and conditioning degree for people working in sport, fitness or health. It's 33 credits at $640 each, or $21,120, and the school says you can finish in as little as 15 months. You choose an experience, thesis or course-only track and pass a comprehensive exam. It has no CAAHEP accreditation and makes no CSCS-prep claim, so treat it as advanced coursework, not a credential.

This is the graduate sibling of USSU's bachelor's in exercise science. The school is a private nonprofit in Daphne, Alabama, and this Master of Sports Science is offered online only. It emphasizes advanced exercise physiology, strength and conditioning, sport psychology and sport nutrition.

You apply with a bachelor's degree from an accredited school and a 2.75 GPA. USSU also wants one professional reference letter (two are recommended), a 2 to 3 page APA-formatted personal statement, a current CV, a government ID and official transcripts. The admission list names no required undergraduate major.

The 33 credits split into 6 core, 18 major and 9 track. The core is Contemporary Issues in Sports and Quantitative Analysis in Sports. The major is Advanced Exercise Physiology, Advanced Sports Strength & Conditioning, Application of Strength & Conditioning Principles, Sport Psychology, Sports Nutrition: Current Issues & Trends and Advanced Exercise Testing & Prescription. A 0-credit orientation comes first.

The track is your choice of three. The High Impact Experiential Learning option is 6 hours of experience plus one 3-hour elective. The thesis option is SAR 575 Professional Writing and Applied Research (3 credits) plus SPT 599 Thesis (6 credits). The non-thesis option is three electives or an emphasis area. Every path ends with a comprehensive exam.

Be realistic about the balance. Only two major courses are physiology and testing. The rest spread across performance training, psychology, nutrition and research methods.

Courses the School Names

• Advanced Exercise Physiology
• Advanced Sports Strength & Conditioning
• Application of Strength & Conditioning Principles
• Sport Psychology
• Sports Nutrition: Current Issues & Trends
• Advanced Exercise Testing & Prescription
• Contemporary Issues in Sports
• Quantitative Analysis in Sports

Standout Features

• Strength and conditioning focused master's with advanced sports nutrition, sport psychology and exercise testing courses
• Thesis, HIPE or non-thesis track choice
• DANTES-listed master's program

Who It Fits

• Working strength coaches and trainers who want advanced coursework. Two courses focus on strength and conditioning, one on testing and prescription, one on advanced exercise physiology, and there's a sports nutrition class on current issues.
• Active-duty service members. The military rate is $575 per credit, or $18,975 over 33 credits. USSU says the Department of Defense approved its master's courses for Armed Forces members, and DANTES lists the degree in its External Degree Catalog.
• Career changers and health professionals. USSU names both among who the program is for, and no specific bachelor's major is required.
• Anyone in a hurry. Fifteen months is the school's shortest timeline, and three semesters a year means you aren't waiting for a fall start.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone headed for clinical exercise physiology. Nothing here involves patient care or clinical hours, and the online clinical exercise physiology master's programs are built for that work.
• Anyone counting on this degree to qualify them for the CSCS or an ACSM credential. USSU's pages make no exam-prep claim, and the 2027 and 2030 rules focus on accredited programs.

Tuition is a flat $640 per credit, so 33 credits is $21,120, with no out-of-state surcharge. Card payments carry a 3% fee, and USSU offers two- or four-installment plans. Active-duty students pay $575 per credit, or $18,975.

USSU's military page says Tuition Assistance can pay up to $250 per semester hour. If it applies on top of the $575 rate, you'd owe $325 per credit, which is $10,725 over 33 credits. Ask before you assume that. Transfer credit could also shrink the bill: bring 15 graduate credits and you'd pay for 18, which is $11,520.

33 credits at $640 a credit comes to $21,120 in tuition, before fees.

USSU lists the master's as 100% online with no residency. Courses run 16 or 8 weeks, and the calendar shows fall and spring each with a 16-week session and two 8-week sessions, plus summer. The second fall session begins October 19, and spring starts January 11, 2027.

Fifteen months means stacking courses. The eight core and major courses alone are 24 credits, so you'll likely take two in some sessions. USSU's military page also describes competency-based programs that you complete at your own pace, while the tuition page describes fixed 16- and 8-week courses. Ask which model this degree follows.

The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The program has no programmatic accreditation, and it isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled September 29, 2026.

The strength and conditioning label doesn't come with a CSCS promise. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) will require U.S. candidates to hold a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program starting January 1, 2030, and that rule points at your undergraduate degree. Ask NSCA how it treats a master's like this one.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has its own rules. Its clinical exercise physiologist master's route names a clinical exercise physiology master's or equivalent plus 600 clinical hours, and this degree isn't clinical.

Where this degree can lead: Strength and Conditioning Coach Careers.

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

• No accreditation beyond the university's, and no exam-prep claim, so the 2027 ACSM and 2030 NSCA changes land on your bachelor's anyway.
• Only the experience track includes hands-on hours. The thesis and course-only paths are classwork and a comprehensive exam.
• USSU's pages disagree. The transfer page asks graduate applicants for a 2.5 GPA, while the master's admission page says 2.75, and the military page promises self-paced learning that the tuition page doesn't describe.
• Transfer credit is capped at 15 graduate credits, evaluated case by case, so most of the 33 credits are yours to take and pay for.

• Is the minimum GPA 2.75 or 2.5 for my application?
• If I choose the experience track, where do the 6 hours happen and who approves my site?
• What does the comprehensive exam cover, how is it proctored, and what happens if I need a retake?
• Do courses run at my own pace or on fixed dates, and how many can I take in one 8-week session?
• Does the $575 military rate stack with Tuition Assistance, and what would I owe per credit?
• Has USSU sought CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation, and would ACSM accept this degree for its master's route?
• Would earlier graduate courses or certifications count toward the 15-credit transfer limit?

Sports-focused independent university in Daphne, Alabama (formerly United States Sports Academy) with online-first delivery for bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs. Its exercise science faculty are led by a program director credentialed CSCS, and the school operates campus human performance labs.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 53 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 53 of 99, master's
• Best Online Strength and Conditioning Degrees Rank 29 of 39, master's
• Best for Military Students Rank 14 of 35, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 31 of 50, master's
• Best for Career Changers Rank 17 of 24, master's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 23 of 32, master's
• Best for Coaches Rank 24 of 43, master's
• Best for Healthcare Workers Rank 10 of 20, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 42 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Alabama Rank 4 of 4, master's

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