University of Saint Mary Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (Online Degree Completion)

University of Saint Mary's online B.S. in Exercise Science is a degree-completion program, and it pays off most if you already hold an associate degree or a stack of college credits. You can transfer up to 90 of the 120 credits, take eight-week classes and pay $435 per credit. The school lists no programmatic accreditation for exercise science, so weigh that before you count on later ACSM or NSCA exams.

University of Saint Mary is a small private Catholic university in Leavenworth, Kansas, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. It enrolls 1,462 students, and its federal graduation rate is 48 percent, a number that covers the whole school. The major is built for working adults, transfer students and people coming back to college.

Admission asks for a 2.0 GPA on at least 12 transferable college credits. With no college behind you, a 2.75 high school GPA or a GED that shows college readiness works. Applications are due two weeks before class starts, with up to five starts a year. The online application fee is $25.

The program is 100% online, with accelerated eight-week terms and up to five starts a year. Saint Mary says classes are small and that faculty and advisors give personal support.

Program director Stephanie Moore holds a PhD and is a certified athletic trainer and ACSM certified personal trainer. The other two faculty listed are athletic trainers too, so expect an injury-prevention and rehabilitation lean. EX 490 ends the degree with a capstone project where you collect and analyze data to make decisions about exercise programs.

Who It Fits

• You hold an associate degree or a pile of old credits. Saint Mary accepts up to 90 credits in transfer and says students who arrive with an associate degree and general education done finish in about two years.
• You already coach or train and want a degree behind the work. The page names fitness professionals and coaches as intended students, and its faculty hold personal trainer, CSCS and group fitness credentials.
• You're aiming at physical therapy, occupational therapy or athletic training school. Saint Mary calls the degree a foundation for those paths but promises no prerequisites, so check each graduate program's list. Our pre-physical therapy degrees show other options.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone whose plan depends on programmatic accreditation. Saint Mary's accreditation page lists specialty accreditors for nursing, athletic training, physical therapy and others, but none for exercise science. Look at our online exercise physiology degrees instead.
• Students starting with no credits who are watching cost. All 120 credits at $435 is $52,200, and several degrees on our cheapest online exercise science degrees list charge less per credit.
• People who want big natural science courses inside the major. The listed courses don't include anatomy and physiology, chemistry or physics. Those come from transfer credit or general education.

Saint Mary's page says the major is made up of 17 courses and describes 15. Those 15 add up to 42 credits. Three are 2-credit classes: EX 150 Introduction to Health Sciences, EX 205 Introduction to Health & Wellness and EX 251 First Aid and Emergency Procedures, which covers rescue breathing, CPR and choking and awards a first aid and cardiac care certification to those who qualify.

The science core is EX 230 Exercise Physiology, EX 300 Kinesiology and EX 310 Nutrition for Health and Performance. EX 305 Methods of Fitness Assessment uses laboratory and field tests, and EX 380 Exercise Prescription for General Populations turns that data into individual plans for healthy people.

The applied end includes EX 350 Sport Injuries and Illnesses, EX 375 Concepts of Strength Training and Conditioning, EX 480 Exercise in Special Populations and EX 485 Applied Corrective Exercise, which targets postural imbalances and reconditioning after injury. EX 490 is the internship.

Courses the School Names

• EX 230 Exercise Physiology
• EX 300 Kinesiology
• EX 305 Methods of Fitness Assessment
• EX 310 Nutrition for Health and Performance
• EX 350 Sport Injuries and Illnesses
• EX 375 Concepts of Strength Training and Conditioning
• EX 380 Exercise Prescription for General Populations
• EX 480 Exercise in Special Populations
• EX 485 Applied Corrective Exercise
• EX 490 Internship in Exercise Science

Standout Features

• Transfer up to 90 credits, designed as degree completion for associate degree holders
• Curriculum blends philosophies of ACSM, NSCA, NASM and ACE across courses
• Faculty hold terminal degrees in exercise science, athletic training and dietetics with CPT, CSCS, CHES, FMS and group fitness credentials
• Includes EX 251 First Aid and Emergency Procedures with first aid and cardiac care certification for those who qualify
• Applied Corrective Exercise (EX 485) course

Saint Mary's 2026-27 tuition page charges $435 per credit hour for the online exercise science completion program. All 120 credits would be $52,200, but transferring the maximum 90 leaves 30 credits, or $13,050. There's a catch. The 15 listed major courses add up to 42 credits, or $18,270 if you took every one at Saint Mary, so ask how many your transfer credits can replace.

Fees add up too. The tuition page lists a $30 student success fee each semester, course fees from $5 to $600 and a $200 graduation fee. Tuition also follows your student classification, so an on-campus undergraduate taking an online class pays the main campus rate. Confirm you're classified as online.

120 credits at $435 a credit comes to $52,200 in tuition, before fees.

The Higher Learning Commission accredits Saint Mary as a university. None of our CAAHEP or NSCA CASCE lists include this program. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and CASCE is NSCA's Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education.

The timing matters. From August 15, 2027, candidates for the ACSM certified exercise physiologist exam (ACSM-EP) must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one that has started the process. A student starting now would likely finish after that date. The CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) exam asks only for a bachelor's until December 31, 2029. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program.

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.

• The page says 17 courses and lists 15, totaling 42 credits. With a 90-credit transfer maximum leaving 30 credits, the numbers don't fit until Saint Mary explains which courses must be taken there.
• Two fees appear for online students: a $30 student success fee per semester on the tuition page and a $25 tutor.com fee per 16-week semester on the program page.
• The page quotes an old BLS median of $50,280 for exercise physiologists. The May 2025 BLS median is $59,460, so don't budget from the page's number.
• No programmatic accreditation is listed for exercise science.

• Which of the 15 listed exercise science courses will my transfer credits replace, and how many credits must I complete at Saint Mary?
• Is it a $30 student success fee per semester or a $25 tutor.com fee per 16-week semester, and what course fees will my classes carry?
• How do EX 305 fitness assessment and EX 380 exercise prescription run online, and do I test real clients or submit videos?
• How does the EX 490 internship work: how many hours, who finds the site, and can I do it where I already work?
• Does the program plan to seek CAAHEP accreditation before August 15, 2027?
• Does the first aid and cardiac care card from EX 251 meet the CPR and AED requirement for ACSM and NSCA exams?
• Are classes asynchronous, or do any meet at set times?

University of Saint Mary is a small Catholic university in Leavenworth, Kansas, with an online adult-learner division. It positions its online exercise science degree as a completion program for working adults, transfer students and returning students.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 25 of 46, bachelor's
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• Cheapest Online Programs Rank 15 of 15, bachelor's
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• Best Pre-Physical Therapy Programs Rank 12 of 24, bachelor's
• Best Pre-Health Programs Rank 11 of 23, bachelor's
• Best Christian Programs Rank 4 of 11, bachelor's

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