University of North Carolina at Greensboro Doctor of Education in Kinesiology (Online)

UNC Greensboro's online Ed.D. in Kinesiology is a four-year professional doctorate for people already working in the field who want to lead, teach or run programs. It's a fall-start cohort that needs a master's degree, three years of experience and three campus visits. Tuition is $17,255.04 for North Carolina residents and $32,017.92 for most out-of-state students. It isn't an exercise physiology degree.

UNC Greensboro is a public university, and its Department of Kinesiology traces back to 1892. The online Ed.D. began in 2014, and UNCG says it was the first online Ed.D. in Kinesiology and is one of only two in the country. Dr. Pam Kocher Brown directs it.

You join a cohort that starts each fall and stays together for four years. Applicants need a master's degree and three years of professional experience in kinesiology or a related field, such as coaching, athletic training, physical therapy, fitness or teaching. Assistantship work during your master's doesn't count toward those three years. GRE scores aren't required.

All coursework is online through Canvas, with Google tools and Microsoft Teams for group work. Assignments have deadlines, but no regular class meeting time is required apart from small groups that pick their own hours. You take two classes each fall and spring, and summer classes run six weeks.

Every student gets an advisor from the start, plus virtual advising, colloquia and cohort events. The visits are a three-day orientation, a three-day dissertation workshop in the spring of year three and a one-day showcase in the spring of year four, where you present a visual abstract in a lightning-round format. You defend the dissertation online before that.

Who It Fits

• Clinicians and educators heading toward faculty or leadership roles. UNCG lists graduates working as university faculty, physical therapists, wellness directors, sports medicine directors and clinical education leaders. The degree centers on leadership, advocacy and teaching, so it suits people who already have the field skills.
• Coaches and performance staff who want a doctorate without leaving work. Recent dissertations include strength and conditioning competencies developed through field experiences and an evaluation of a U.S. Army human performance program. UNCG says the practicum is built around you being a working professional.
• Professionals who hold a different doctorate. The master's requirement has one exception, for applicants who already hold a doctorate such as a DPT.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants exercise physiology, lab science or a research career. UNCG describes the Ph.D. as the research degree and this Ed.D. as practice-focused. Compare online doctoral programs if research is the goal.
• Anyone without a master's degree and three years in the field, or who can't start in the fall. The program admits once a year.
• Anyone who can't make three trips to campus. If you're admitted and can't attend orientation, you defer a full year.

The 48 credits are 36 of coursework and 12 of dissertation, with at least 24 coursework hours in kinesiology. You start with KIN 750 Seminar in Kinesiology, then choose three or four courses from twelve on leadership and practice. Examples are KIN 706 Online Pedagogy, KIN 735 Program Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice in Physical Activity Programs, KIN 762 Program Design and KIN 778 Grant Writing.

Research preparation includes KIN 716 Action-Oriented Research, an advanced research seminar and one methods course in qualitative methods, statistics or applied data analysis. You also pick one 2 to 3 credit practicum, such as an internship or field practicum.

UNCG's own example says a sport and exercise psychologist wouldn't take all specialty courses, but courses on leadership, teaching and advocacy. That tells you how much exercise science to expect.

Courses the School Names

• KIN 750 Seminar in Kinesiology
• KIN 706 Online Pedagogy in Kinesiology and Related Professions
• KIN 715 Professional Ethics in Health and Human Sciences
• KIN 724 Physical Activity and Health
• KIN 735 Program Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice in Physical Activity Programs
• KIN 736 Leadership, Advocacy, and Social Justice in Kinesiology
• KIN 762 Program Design in Kinesiology and Related Professions
• KIN 778 Professional Seminar in Grant Writing

Standout Features

• Online since 2014; the school calls it the first online Ed.D. in Kinesiology and one of only two in the country
• Cohort-based professional learning communities

UNCG posts three 2026-27 rates for the 48 credits. North Carolina residents pay $359.48 per credit, or $17,255.04. Most students living outside the state pay $667.04 per credit, or $32,017.92. A non-resident who receives online education in North Carolina pays $1,235.98 per credit, or $59,327.04.

Those totals are estimated tuition and fees. They don't include travel to the three campus visits, which carry their own fees. UNCG warns that prices keep changing, so check the current year's distance-education list before you commit. Ed.D. applicants are typically not considered for assistantships.

48 credits at $667.04 a credit comes to $32,018 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $359.48, the same 48 credits come to $17,255.

This is an academic doctorate, and it leads to no certification. Programmatic accreditation isn't the issue here. CAAHEP lists exercise programs at the bachelor's and master's levels, and CASCE's list covers undergraduate strength and conditioning programs. Those rules concern the degrees you earned before this one.

From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and from January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a CASCE-accredited bachelor's. The Ed.D. builds on your master's rather than replacing it. UNCG lists community college leaders, program directors and higher education administrators among graduates, and those are roles held by alumni, not guaranteed outcomes.

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 admits one cohort a year, in the fall only. UNCG's pages give both April 1 and mid-April as the last date to apply, and spots can fill first.
• Three campus visits carry fees, and missing orientation pushes your enrollment back a year.
• The pages disagree on workload. One says two courses each semester and summer over three years, which would be 54 credits, while coursework totals 36.
• The listed dissertation range is 13 to 19 credits, but the program requires 12 dissertation hours. Ed.D. students also aren't typically considered for assistantships.

• Which summers carry courses, since two courses every fall, spring and summer would exceed the 36 coursework credits?
• What does each campus visit cost, and does the year-three visit involve a proposal defense or a workshop?
• Is the dissertation 12 credits or up to 19?
• Which tuition rate applies if I live outside North Carolina but work there?
• Is the last application date April 1 or mid-April, and do spots fill before then?
• Does my fitness, coaching or clinical experience count toward the three years, even part-time or volunteer work?

UNC Greensboro is a public university whose Department of Kinesiology, in the School of Health and Human Sciences, traces back to 1892 and offers a B.S., M.S., M.S.A.T., Ph.D. and an online Ed.D. in Kinesiology.

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• Master of Science in Kinesiology, Sport and Exercise Psychology Concentration (Online)

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $660.37 per credit Score 47.5

Also at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Master of Science in Kinesiology, Exercise Physiology and Clinical Exercise Physiology Concentrations (master's, on campus); Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Exercise Specialist; Sports Medicine and Movement Science concentrations) (bachelor's, on campus).

• A T Still University of Health Sciences

  Doctor of Athletic Training (post-professional)

  Missouri $690 per credit Score 47.3

• Temple University

  Athletic Training, Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT)

  Pennsylvania $1,225 per credit Score 46.6

• Old Dominion University

  Doctor of Applied Science in Kinesiology (DAS)

  Virginia $662 per credit Score 45.8

• Concordia University-Saint Paul

  Doctor of Education in Kinesiology (emphases: Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Sport Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning)

  Minnesota $690 per credit Score 44.5