University of Southern Mississippi Online Coaching and Sport Performance, M.S.

Southern Miss's online M.S. in Coaching and Sport Performance is a coaching degree first and an exercise science degree second. You get 30 credits at $578.12 each, no GRE, no face-to-face classes and a choice between a practicum and a thesis. It fits coaches and strength staff who want leadership and athlete development. Look at the school's Kinesiology master's instead if you want a deeper physiology core.

The University of Southern Mississippi is a public research university in Hattiesburg. The School of Kinesiology and Nutrition runs this degree, and the school describes its master's students as getting close contact with faculty and regular interaction in online classes. The federal graduation rate for the whole university is 49 percent.

The program page says no GRE is required. It doesn't state a GPA or the other application pieces, so plan to check the graduate school's requirements before you apply. You can start in fall, spring or summer. This isn't a teaching degree, and the page says it leads to no teaching license.

The page names NCACE as the program's accreditation and lists no CAAHEP or CASCE status. That's normal for a coaching degree, because our CAAHEP list covers exercise science and exercise physiology programs. It also means this master's isn't a route into the ACSM exam that requires a CAAHEP graduate after August 15, 2027.

The NSCA CSCS exam asks for a bachelor's degree, and from January 1, 2030, that bachelor's must come from a CASCE-accredited program for U.S. candidates. A master's doesn't change that rule. CSCS stands for Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. The page mentions no certification prep, so plan any exam separately.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

Who It Fits

• Working coaches. The page lists high school coach, college coach, youth coach, youth sports instructor, college scout and fitness coach for kids among jobs graduates took. Part-time study is the design, with two courses a semester.
• Strength and conditioning staff who want a graduate credential. The list includes strength and conditioning coach and athletic performance coach, and the core has Strength and Conditioning Training and Technology plus Applied Physiology for Sport, Physical Activity, and Nutrition.
• Applicants who dislike entrance exams. No GRE is required, and no class has face-to-face requirements. Our online master's in exercise science without the GRE list has more options.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants a physiology-heavy master's. Only two of the ten requirements are physiology or strength courses. Southern Miss's Kinesiology master's has Advanced Clinical Exercise Physiology and Advanced Biomechanics.
• Students who need a clinical or certification path. The page lists no clinical hours and no exam prep, and the accreditation it names is NCACE, which is coaching-specific rather than CAAHEP.
• Anyone who wants a teaching license. The page says this degree won't lead to one.

Nine courses are required, each 3 credits: Dynamics of Skill Acquisition, Applied Sport Psychology, Strength and Conditioning Training and Technology, Advanced Sport Coaching Methodology, Applied Physiology for Sport, Physical Activity, and Nutrition, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Kinesiology and Nutrition, Motivation and Behavior in Kinesiology and Nutrition, and two evidence-based practice courses, Foundations and Applying.

You finish with one more 3-credit course, either a practicum or a thesis. That makes 30 credits.

Here's how exercise-science-heavy it is. Two courses, physiology and strength, are core exercise science. Skill acquisition, sport psychology, motivation and coaching methodology are about how athletes learn and how coaches lead. Two research courses teach you to read and apply evidence. If your goal is testing, prescription or clinical work, this isn't the closest match.

Courses the School Names

• Dynamics of Skill Acquisition
• Applied Sport Psychology
• Strength and Conditioning Training and Technology
• Advanced Sport Coaching Methodology
• Applied Physiology for Sport, Physical Activity, and Nutrition
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Kinesiology and Nutrition
• Motivation and Behavior in Kinesiology and Nutrition
• Practicum

Standout Features

• Includes Strength and Conditioning Training and Technology and Applied Physiology for Sport
• Alumni jobs listed include strength and conditioning coach and athletic performance coach

Southern Miss lists $578.12 per credit hour, the part-time graduate rate for 1 to 8 hours. A 3-credit course is $1,734.36, and 30 credits is $17,343.60. Full-time graduate students, at 9 to 13 hours, pay a flat $5,197 per semester. Ten credits in each of three semesters would total $15,591.

The page says course fees run $20 to $60, and the tuition figures leave out the online delivery fee. Out-of-state tuition is waived for online programs, so all online students pay resident tuition. The school's graduate assistantships waive general tuition and non-resident fees, but they ask for full-time status and a B average, so ask whether online students can get one.

30 credits at $578.12 a credit comes to $17,344 in tuition, before fees.

Every class is online, and none has a face-to-face requirement. You follow the standard academic calendar, starting and ending on the same dates as in-person students, with two courses a semester in fall, spring and summer. The stated goal is graduation in two years, and full-time students can finish sooner. Nine hours counts as full-time in fall and spring.

Proctoring is up to each instructor. If an exam needs one, you file an application at least 15 days ahead. Classes not listed in the requirements can count toward your degree after your transcript is evaluated.

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 gives the length two ways: 1 to 2 years at a glance, and two years part-time in the FAQ. Full-time study means 9 credits a semester.
• The $578.12 rate is the part-time price, and fees for courses and online delivery are extra.
• Only two courses are physiology or strength, so exercise science depth is limited.
• The page doesn't explain NCACE accreditation, and it lists no clinical or certification pathway.

• What GPA, transcripts and other documents does the graduate school require, since the program page lists only no GRE?
• Is the practicum or the thesis the better choice for my goals, and how many hours does the practicum take?
• How are practicum sites approved for an online student, and can I use the team I already coach?
• What is NCACE, is the accreditation current, and what does it mean for hiring?
• Can online students win graduate assistantships that waive tuition, and does full-time status apply?
• Which exams need proctoring, and where can I take them near me?

Public research university in Hattiesburg, MS. The School of Kinesiology and Nutrition (College of Education and Human Sciences) has 20+ faculty and 500+ majors and teaches in biomechanics, exercise physiology and sports pedagogy; Online at Southern Miss offers asynchronous programs at a rate that waives out-of-state tuition.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 52 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 52 of 99, master's
• Best Online Sport Science Degrees Rank 12 of 17, master's
• Accelerated Online Programs Rank 23 of 46, master's
• No-GRE Online Master's Programs Rank 26 of 44, master's
• Best for Working Adults Rank 30 of 50, master's
• Best for Coaches Rank 23 of 43, master's
• Best Part-Time Programs Rank 14 of 23, master's
• Best 100% Online Programs Rank 41 of 78, master's
• Best Online Programs in Mississippi Rank 2 of 3, master's

• Fitness and Nutrition, B.S.

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $433.59 per credit Score 60.2

• Kinesiology (Exercise Science), M.S.

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $578.12 per credit Score 45.9

Also at University of Southern Mississippi, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Kinesiology (Exercise Science), B.S. (bachelor's, on campus); Kinesiology, Ph.D. (doctorate, on campus).

• United States Sports University

  Master of Sports Science (M.S.S.) in Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning)

  Alabama $640 per credit Score 53.4

• Canisius University

  Master of Science in Exercise Science

  New York $945 per credit Score 53.2

• Corban University

  Master of Science in Kinesiology (MSK)

  Oregon $750 per credit Score 53.2

• University of Connecticut

  Master of Science in Exercise Prescription

  Connecticut $925 per credit Score 53.7