University of Cincinnati Online Master of Science in Exercise Science

Cincinnati's online M.S. in Exercise Science is a broad, science-forward master's for people already working in fitness, wellness or performance. It's 30 credits, fully asynchronous, with three starts a year and no GRE. Tuition is $746 a credit for Ohio residents and $761 for everyone else, so plan on $22,380 to $22,830. It works well for trainers and strength coaches.

Read its certification language closely, because helping you prepare for an exam isn't the same as making you eligible.

The University of Cincinnati is a large public research university, and its UC Online unit offers more than 130 degrees. Exercise science sits in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, which also runs an on-campus bachelor's in exercise science that holds CAAHEP accreditation. The online master's is a separate program.

UC built it for working professionals and recent graduates, and it's 100% online and asynchronous. You get an enrollment services advisor while you apply and a student success coordinator once you're in. UC also promotes a concurrent Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate for students who want behavior-change skills.

UC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The online master's has no CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation of its own.

UC says the program prepares you for the CSCS and CPSS exams and can help you meet the ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP requirements. Take the second claim carefully. From August 15, 2027, ACSM requires candidates to graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited exercise science or exercise physiology program, or one that has started the process. And the CSCS exam needs a bachelor's degree, which from 2030 must come from a CASCE-accredited program.

UC's careers section quotes the BLS median for exercise physiologists, $59,460 in May 2025, and notes clinical roles may need more education or certification.

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

Who It Fits

• You train clients or run wellness programs and want to move up. Electives include Health and Wellness Coaching, Motivational Interviewing, Risk Management for Exercise and Fitness Professionals and Wellness and Chronic Disease, all aimed at day-to-day practice.
• You coach athletes. Strength and Conditioning Programming and Foundations of Sport Science cover periodization, testing and athlete monitoring, and UC says the program prepares you for the NSCA CSCS and CPSS exams.
• You're changing fields. A non-exercise-science degree can be considered if you have related education, experience or certifications, and a prior CSCS or ACSM-EP also satisfies the foundation requirement.
• You're a service member or veteran. UC waives the $65 application fee for both.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if the ACSM clinical exercise physiologist exam is your target and you'd graduate after August 15, 2027. This online master's isn't on the CAAHEP list our research checked.
• Skip it if you've never taken anatomy, physiology or exercise physiology. UC expects that background before you start and links self-study resources for admitted students.
• Skip it if you want supervised clinical hours built in. The capstone is an applied project, not a clinic placement.

UC recommends two foundation courses in your first semester: EXSC6002 Research Methods and Analysis in Exercise and Sport Science and EXSC7001 Advanced Exercise Physiology, which covers responses to heat and altitude as well as training adaptations. Three required core courses follow: EXSC7002 Human Pathophysiology and Performance, EXSC7003 Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids and EXSC7085 Psychological Foundations of Exercise and Performance.

You then choose four electives, 12 credits, and at least 6 of them must be EXSC courses. Options include EXSC7084 Strength and Conditioning Programming, EXSC7010 Wellness and Chronic Disease and EXSC7080 Risk Management.

Your last course is EXSC7090 Applied Experience in Exercise and Sport Science, which UC says you must finish in your final semester.

Courses the School Names

• Research Methods and Analysis in Exercise and Sport Science
• Advanced Exercise Physiology
• Human Pathophysiology and Performance
• Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids
• Psychological Foundations of Exercise and Performance
• Foundations of Sport Science
• Health and Wellness Coaching
• Strength and Conditioning Programming
• Risk Management for Exercise and Fitness Professionals
• Applied Experience in Exercise and Sport Science

Standout Features

• Prepares for NSCA CSCS and CPSS and can help meet ACSM EP and CEP requirements
• Electives in health and wellness coaching, motivational interviewing, risk management and strength and conditioning programming
• Concurrent Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate option

UC lists $746 per credit hour for Ohio residents. That's an instructional fee of $662, a general fee of $39.80, an ITIE fee of $18 and a $26.20 distance learning fee. Non-residents add a $15 surcharge, making it $761. Thirty credits comes to $22,380 for residents and $22,830 for non-residents.

The fee table also lists a full-time rate of $7,451 a semester for residents and $7,601 for non-residents. The application fee is $65, waived for military applicants and veterans, and UC is waiving it for spring 2027 applications submitted by November 1, 2026.

30 credits at $761 a credit comes to $22,830 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $746, the same 30 credits come to $22,380.

Everything is asynchronous. UC says you can finish in as little as 3 semesters, and elsewhere on the page that it can be done in 1 year. That pace only works if you take about 10 credits a term.

Three starts a year help. Spring 2027 classes begin January 11, summer classes May 10 and fall classes August 23, with application deadlines listed as May 1 and August 15 for the last two. The spring row prints its deadline as January 5, 2026, which has to be a typo, so confirm that date.

In your last semester the capstone has you pick from a menu of applied, real-world project options.

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

• The ACSM wording is soft. "Can help meet requirements" doesn't say whether UC's online master's satisfies the 2027 CAAHEP rule, so get the answer in writing.
• The page gives two overviews of the capstone: a project or an internship, but the curriculum lists only the applied experience course.
• The program moves fast. If you follow the 3-semester pace, you're doing research methods and advanced exercise physiology in the same first term.
• The page contradicts itself twice, once on the spring deadline year and once on whether the degree takes 3 semesters or 1 year.
• Your bachelor's isn't taught here. UC expects foundational knowledge of biology, anatomy, physiology and exercise physiology, and points you to self-study resources once you're admitted.

• After August 15, 2027, would ACSM accept a graduate of this program for the exercise physiologist exam? Can you send that in writing?
• Is the capstone always a project from the menu, or can I do an internship? How many hours does it take and does my job count?
• The fee page doesn't label an academic year. Are $746 and $761 the rates for 2026-27, and does the full-time semester rate apply to me?
• What is the real application deadline for spring 2027?
• How many credits should I take in the first semester if I want to finish in 3 semesters?
• My degree is in a different field. What experience or certifications would make my application competitive?
• How much does the Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate add, and do any courses count toward both?

Large public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a UC Online unit offering more than 130 degrees. Exercise science sits in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, with a CAAHEP-accredited on-campus bachelor's.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 29 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 29 of 99, master's
• Best Clinical Exercise Physiology Master's Rank 5 of 15, master's
• Best Online Strength and Conditioning Degrees Rank 19 of 39, master's
• Accelerated Online Programs Rank 17 of 46, master's
• No-GRE Online Master's Programs Rank 17 of 44, master's
• Best for Military Students Rank 30 of 35, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 19 of 50, master's
• Best for Career Changers Rank 10 of 24, master's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 14 of 32, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 24 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Ohio Rank 1 of 5, master's

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

• University of Mississippi

  Master of Science in Exercise Science (Online)

  Mississippi Score 59.0

• Parker University

  Master of Science in Strength and Human Performance

  Texas $871 per credit Score 58.3

• University of Mary

  Master of Science in Kinesiology

  North Dakota $670 per credit Score 58.2

• University of Central Missouri

  Master of Science in Kinesiology

  Missouri $450 per credit Score 58.1