University of North Carolina at Greensboro Master of Science in Kinesiology, Sport and Exercise Psychology Concentration (Online)

UNCG's online master's is a sport and exercise psychology degree, not an exercise physiology one. It suits coaches, trainers and strength staff who want mental skills and behavior change added to what they already do. It's fully online, asynchronous and coursework only, and it ends with a written exam. Outside North Carolina it's $660.37 per credit at six credits. It won't prepare you for clinical exercise testing.

UNC Greensboro is a public university, and this master's sits inside its Department of Kinesiology, which traces back to 1892. The department runs three sport and exercise psychology tracks, two in person on the Greensboro campus and this online coursework-only one, which UNCG calls one of the few online-only programs of its kind.

You take 30 credits, six a semester including summer, so plan on two years. Applications received by January 15 get priority, and UNCG says it considers applications through July 1 if there's room. Donna Duffy is the faculty advisor for the track, and you study with a peer cohort without relocating.

UNCG describes the courses as asynchronous, so you don't log in at set times. You move through the program with a cohort and take two courses each semester, including summer, so there's no long break from coursework.

The focus is applied. UNCG says students apply psychological theories and skills in physical activity settings, and it's authorized to offer online education in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

One thing is missing: supervised practice. Any hands-on experience with athletes or clients comes from your own job or coaching role.

Who It Fits

• Coaches who want a mental skills toolkit. The concentration core includes KIN 680 Mental Skills for Coaching Athletes, and UNCG lists sport coaching and mental skills consulting among the careers the degree supports.
• Personal trainers and strength coaches who hold a bachelor's degree in kinesiology or psychology. UNCG says students typically come from those two majors, and its career list includes personal training and strength and conditioning.
• North Carolina residents watching the price. The resident rate is $352.81 per credit at six credits, about half the outside-state rate.
• Working adults who want a steady pace. It's six credits a semester, the courses are asynchronous, and no campus visit is listed.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone aiming for clinical exercise physiology. UNCG's accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) belongs to its on-campus exercise physiology master's with a clinical concentration and its on-campus exercise specialist bachelor's, not to this track. Start with the online exercise physiology degrees instead.
• Anyone who wants to become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant. UNCG ties that credential from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology to its in-person applied track, which includes a practicum. This online track is described as foundational knowledge.
• Anyone counting on an assistantship. UNCG says students in the fully online track are typically not considered.
• Anyone who can't start in the fall, since the track has one intake a year.

The catalog lists the concentration at 30 to 33 credits, and the online track page says 30. You begin with KIN 601 Applying Research to Professional Practice. Then you pick one required course, either KIN 644 Psychology of Sport and Exercise or KIN 745 Social Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. The catalog's grade rule for online students names KIN 745, so expect that one.

Six more credits come from a list that includes KIN 645 Exercise Psychology, KIN 649 Principles of Physical Activity Behavior Change, KIN 680 Mental Skills for Coaching Athletes, KIN 743 Psychological Aspects of Sport Injury and KIN 744 Applied Sport Psychology. Eighteen credits are advisor-approved electives. If you didn't major or minor in kinesiology, you'll add one breadth elective.

There's no thesis and no practicum. The finish line is a comprehensive exam. Your advisor and two other faculty members write one question tied to your professional focus, and you have six weeks to submit your answer.

Only part of it is about exercise itself. KIN 645 looks at how exercise affects stress and mood, and KIN 649 covers the theories behind physical activity programs. No listed core course covers anatomy or exercise testing.

Standout Features

• School describes it as one of the few online-only sport and exercise psychology programs in the nation; ranked #2 by SportsDegreesOnline.org for 2026-27 (school-stated)

UNCG's 2026-27 distance table gives three per-credit totals: $359.48 for North Carolina residents, $667.04 for students living outside the state who take only online courses, and $1,235.98 for non-residents receiving online education in North Carolina. Each includes a $20 per credit online service fee.

At six credits the rate falls to $352.81 for residents and $660.37 outside the state, so the total is lower than 30 times the one-credit rate. Five semesters of six credits come to $10,584.40 for residents and $19,811.20 at the outside-state rate. The third rate would total $36,879.40.

Two extras to check. The fee schedule lists a $200 per credit differential for Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology, which would add $6,000 if it reaches this online track, and a $21 per credit book rental, or $630. Rates aren't final until the North Carolina General Assembly approves them.

30 credits at $660.37 a credit comes to $19,811 in tuition, before fees. At the in-state rate of $352.81, the same 30 credits come to $10,584.

UNCG is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The online track has no programmatic accreditation and no certification prep listed.

That matters if you're weighing exercise credentials. From August 15, 2027, candidates for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) exercise physiologist and clinical exercise physiologist credentials must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process, and this track isn't one.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) rule that starts January 1, 2030 is about the bachelor's degree behind the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential, so it doesn't apply to this master's.

UNCG says SportsDegreesOnline.org ranked the track second for 2026-27. That's a ranking site's opinion, not an accreditation.

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.

• UNCG's pages disagree on length. The track page says 30 credits, while the catalog lists 30 to 33, with an added breadth elective for students without a kinesiology major or minor.
• The outside-state rate has conditions. You must live outside North Carolina, be a non-resident for tuition purposes and take only online courses in an online program.
• There's no supervised practice. The exam replaces a practicum, so you graduate without documented hands-on hours.
• You get one start a year, and assistantships aren't typically offered here.
• UNCG's federal graduation rate is 56 percent. That figure covers the whole university, not this program.

• Which rate will I be billed if I live outside North Carolina but work at a campus or facility in the state?
• Does the $200 per credit differential for Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology apply to the online track, and does the $21 per credit book rental apply to me?
• Is the degree 30 credits for me, or 33 if I didn't major or minor in kinesiology?
• Which core and elective courses run online each semester, and can I take KIN 649 or KIN 680 in my first year?
• Can I choose the 3-credit independent study or practicum in place of the exam, and would it change my tuition?
• Would any of this coursework count toward Certified Mental Performance Consultant requirements, and what would I still need?

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.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 67 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 67 of 99, master's
• Best Online Kinesiology Degrees Rank 17 of 28, master's
• Best Online Kinesiology Master's Rank 17 of 28, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 38 of 50, master's
• Best for Personal Trainers Rank 28 of 32, master's
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• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 53 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in North Carolina Rank 3 of 5, master's

• Doctor of Education in Kinesiology (Online)

  Ed.D., Doctorate

  Online With Campus Requirements $667.04 per credit Score 49.1

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).

• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

  Applied Kinesiology (M.S.)

  Wisconsin $1,280.77 per credit Score 47.4

• A T Still University of Health Sciences

  Master of Science in Athletic Training (post-professional)

  Missouri $690 per credit Score 47.2

• East Texas Baptist University

  Master of Science in Kinesiology

  Texas $447 per credit Score 48.0

• The University of Texas at Tyler

  Master of Science in Kinesiology

  Texas Score 48.2