University of the Cumberlands Exercise & Sport Science, A.A.S. (Online)

Cumberlands' online Associate of Applied Science in Exercise and Sport Science is a low-cost degree. It's 60 credits at $220 each, with books and fees included, and up to 45 credits can transfer in. Only 18 of the credits are exercise science, and no internship or certification prep is listed. Choose it as a low-cost first degree or a stepping stone to Cumberlands' bachelor's, not as a complete credential.

University of the Cumberlands is a private nonprofit university in Williamsburg, Kentucky, with 22,120 students and a large online division. Its federal graduation rate is 50 percent for the whole school. The exercise science programs sit in the Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Science.

Cumberlands is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate through doctoral degrees. It has no application fee for online undergraduates, and it guarantees admission to students holding a completed AA, AS or AAS degree from a regionally accredited school. Rolling admission means you're never too late to apply.

Each online course lasts eight weeks, called a bi-term. There are two bi-terms per semester and three semesters a year in fall, spring and summer. Many classes are asynchronous, so there's no set meeting time and you finish assignments by due dates.

There's one wrinkle. The exercise and sport science page lists an online location and an associate tab. But its header names only bachelor and minor as types, and it shows $9,875, which is the on-campus annual block tuition, not the online rate. The tuition page does price associate degrees online at $220. Ask Cumberlands to confirm in writing that this A.A.S. is offered fully online and when you can start.

Who It Fits

• Adults who want a first college degree on a tight budget. The rate is $220 per credit hour, and the school says tuition covers technology fees, library access, counseling services, fees and books. Sixty credits comes to $13,200.
• People with certifications or work history in fitness. Cumberlands runs prior learning through knowledge exams, experiential credit and certification credit, and the school lists no cost for the experiential or certification routes. That can shrink the 60 credits.
• Students who plan to finish a bachelor's at Cumberlands. All six associate core courses are also among the 11 required courses in the school's B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science, so they cover 18 of its 33 major credits. See the bachelor's review.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants to become a personal trainer with school-provided prep. The page lists no certification preparation, and the associate core has no exercise prescription or group exercise course. Try our online exercise science degrees for personal trainers list.
• Students who need hands-on hours. No internship, practicum or capstone appears for the associate degree.
• Anyone who expects an associate of applied science to transfer like an arts degree. The school says the degree focuses on specific industry skills. If you plan to move to another university, get that school's credit evaluation in writing first.

The associate core is 18 credits, or six courses: ESS 131 Introduction to Health, Exercise and Sport Science, ESS 330 Kinesiology, ESS 435 Physiology of Exercise, ESS 437 Tests and Measurements, HESS 233 Functional Human Anatomy and Physiology and HESS 330 Influences on Contemporary Issues in Health and Performance.

The rest of the 60 credits is general education and electives. Cumberlands says the credit hours on its page cover only the program requirements, and that the degree needs a minimum of 60 credits, which transfer and prior learning credit can count toward.

Be realistic about the scope. Physiology, kinesiology and measurement are here. Nutrition, exercise prescription, group exercise and behavior change are in the bachelor's, not the associate core.

Courses the School Names

• ESS 131 Introduction to Health, Exercise and Sport Science
• ESS 330 Kinesiology
• ESS 435 Physiology of Exercise
• ESS 437 Tests and Measurements
• HESS 233 Functional Human Anatomy and Physiology
• HESS 330 Influences on Contemporary Issues in Health and Performance

Cumberlands' online undergraduate rate is $220 per credit hour, and the tuition page lists associate and bachelor's degrees at that price. Sixty credits is $13,200. The school prices a 15-credit semester at $3,300, or $6,600 a year, so the full degree is four semesters at the full course load.

Transfer can cut it sharply. Up to 75 percent of the degree plan may transfer, or 45 of 60 credits. The other 15 credits would cost $3,300. The school says online students get free rental textbooks under its One Price Promise. Tuition rates were announced in April 2023 and carry no academic year, so confirm the price when you apply.

60 credits at $220 a credit comes to $13,200 in tuition, before fees.

The associate degree carries the university's regional accreditation, and no programmatic accreditation is listed. That's expected at this level. The ACSM exercise physiologist exam (ACSM-EP) needs a bachelor's and, from August 15, 2027, a CAAHEP-accredited program. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

The CSCS exam (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) from NSCA needs a bachelor's too. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need that bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program. So an associate degree alone opens neither exam.

Personal trainer exams from ACSM, NSCA, NASM and ACE don't require a degree, and Cumberlands lists no prep for them. Its prior learning page shows a certification can earn credit, with a nutrition course as an example.

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.

• Only 18 of the 60 credits are exercise science, so the degree is a thin slice of the field.
• The program page shows a $9,875 cost and a bachelor's and minor type, which doesn't match the $220 online associate rate on the tuition page.
• The A.A.S. is built around specific job skills, and the page lists no internship, capstone or certification prep.
• Tuition rates date from April 2023, and the university's federal graduation rate is 50 percent.

• Is the Exercise and Sport Science A.A.S. offered fully online, and which of the 60 credits have online sections?
• How many of my credits, certifications and work experiences can be counted through transfer, knowledge exams or experiential credit?
• If I continue at Cumberlands, do all 60 credits apply to the B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science?
• How often can I start, and do the eight-week bi-terms begin every term?
• Will another university accept this Applied Science degree in transfer, and can I get that in writing?
• Do free rental textbooks cover every course, and what happens if I need a book I keep?

Private university in Williamsburg, KY with a large online arm (UCumberlands Online) built on a flat One Price Promise rate. Exercise science sits in the Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Science (HESS), which also runs the online M.S. in Health & Human Performance.

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• Exercise & Sport Science, B.S. (online)

  B.S., Bachelor's

  Fully Online $220 per credit Score 62.6

• Master of Science in Health & Human Performance (MSHHP)

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $355 per credit Score 58.0

• Angelina College

  Associate of Arts in Health and Physical Education

  Texas $210 per credit Score 49.8

• Eastern Iowa Community College District

  Exercise Science & Kinesiology Transfer Major

  Iowa $230 per credit Score 48.4

• Lake Region State College

  Fitness Trainer Technician (Associate in Applied Science)

  North Dakota $238.65 per credit Score 64.2

• Bryan University

  Associate of Arts in Applied Exercise and Fitness

  Arizona $538.75 per credit Score 47.5