University of Mary Online Master of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology

University of Mary's M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology is the strongest clinical option in this batch because it holds CAAHEP accreditation, which the ACSM exercise physiologist exams require of candidates after August 15, 2027.

It's a two-year blended program, not fully online, so you'll travel to Bismarck, North Dakota for a lab week each semester. Tuition is $670 per credit, plus a $55 per credit distance fee. Choose it if clinical work like cardiac rehab is the goal, and you can meet the science prerequisites.

The University of Mary is a private Catholic, Benedictine university in Bismarck, and this master's sits in its Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences. You study how to use exercise as part of clinical treatment and wellness programs for people who are healthy, at risk or living with chronic disease.

Mary calls it the first CAAHEP-accredited program offered in a blended format, and its own career list includes cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, corporate fitness director and physiology researcher.

You start once a year in the fall, and the next start is September 6, 2027. The program runs two years, and admission is by cohort. Applications received by January 5 get priority, applying by February 15 guarantees consideration for an interview, and the school accepts applications until June 30 or until the cohort is full.

This is a blended program. You study online and come to campus in Bismarck for a week each semester, where the hands-on lab work happens. The school says you can live where you are while you acquire clinical skills.

A 2022 release describes clinical internships as part of the program too, but the online page doesn't give hours, so ask how many you must complete and where. Because it's a cohort that starts every September, you move through the sequence with the same group, so a missed year means waiting for the next cohort.

Who It Fits

• Exercise science graduates who want cardiac or pulmonary rehab work. Mary's entry requirement is a bachelor's in exercise science or a related field with a 3.0 GPA, so you'll join people with a similar background. One student quoted on the program page says the program connections led to an exercise physiologist job in cardiac rehab.
• Career changers who can finish prerequisites first. Applicants with a different major are encouraged to apply if they've completed anatomy and physiology with labs, a chemistry series with labs, exercise physiology, developmental psychology, abnormal psychology and college math.
• Working professionals who can take a week off twice a year. Everything else happens online, so you keep your job and your home.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who can't travel to North Dakota. A one-week on-site lab happens each semester, so plan flights, lodging and time off. A 2022 school release counts five on-site lab weeks over the program.
• Students who want a fully online degree. Compare online clinical exercise physiology master's programs that skip campus visits, and check their accreditation.
• Anyone without the science prerequisites or a 3.0 GPA. Mary lists a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for its exercise science applicants.

Mary's online page describes what you'll be able to do more than a course list. You learn to apply physical activity and behavioral interventions for people with clinical diseases and health conditions, to provide prevention and rehabilitation strategies across the lifespan, and to conduct clinical research. It also lists a commitment to professional standards and Benedictine values.

The hands-on part is the one-week on-site lab each semester, plus clinical internships. Those are where you practice exercise testing and programming with real equipment, so they carry most of the weight. Ask admissions for the current course sequence and total credits before you apply, because both change your bill and your plan for the 600 clinical hours ACSM asks for.

Standout Features

• CAAHEP-accredited program the school calls the first in the world offered in a blended learning format; one of only 11 accredited CEP programs in the US (as of the June 2022 release)
• Early Assurance for admitted freshmen and Priority Admissions for students with 60 bachelor's credits

The University of Mary's 2026-2027 graduate tuition page lists $670 per credit for this master's. The program page still shows $600 per credit, so trust the newer tuition page. A required Technology and Distance Learning Fee adds $55 per credit, which makes $725 per credit, or $2,175 for a 3-credit course.

There's also a $45 application fee, a $150 master's graduation fee and a $30 annual proctoring fee. Mary offers each eligible candidate up to $5,000 in scholarships, and its military services office helps with benefits, though it states no military rate. Travel for the campus weeks is on top.

The master's is accredited by CAAHEP, through the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences. Mary says CAAHEP awarded continuing accreditation in June 2022, and the next full review is due by 2032.

That matters because ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, or one that has started the process, starting August 15, 2027. Mary's page names the ACSM-CEP as its exam. The master's route to the ACSM-CEP asks for 600 clinical hours, and a bachelor's route asks for 1,200.

Mary's outcome data shows a 100 percent ACSM-CEP pass rate for 2026, against a 65 percent national first-take rate from 2024. Its cumulative 2015-2025 pass rate is 80 percent.

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.

• The program page says graduates have a 100% pass rate on the ACSM-CEP exam, while the school's accreditation page shows 100 percent for 2026 but 80 percent across 2015-2025. Use the cumulative number when you compare.
• Two prices are on Mary's own pages, $600 on the program page and $670 on the tuition page. The $55 per credit distance fee comes on top.
• The lab weeks add travel costs and require time off, which is hard for shift workers.
• It starts once a year, so there's one shot at admission each cycle and a firm June 30 cutoff.
• Mary's federal graduation rate is 67 percent, a whole-university figure.

• What is the total credit count, and how many of those credits are internship or clinical hours?
• Is the on-site lab one week each semester, or five weeks in total, and which semesters?
• Will my internship hours count toward the 600 clinical hours ACSM asks for on the master's route?
• Is the price $600 or $670 per credit, and what other fees apply besides the $55 distance fee?
• Which prerequisite courses can I finish at a community college, and how old can they be?
• What does the interview involve, and how many students are in each cohort?

University of Mary is a private Catholic, Benedictine university in Bismarck, North Dakota, with more than 3,800 students and online offerings; its Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences houses an Exercise Physiology department with a CAAHEP-accredited bachelor's in exercise science and a master's in clinical exercise physiology.

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