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

Cumberlands' online Exercise and Sport Science B.S. is a price play. At $220 per credit hour with books and fees folded in, it has the lowest per-credit rate of any online exercise science bachelor's we track, and up to 75 percent of the degree can transfer. The trade is a short 33-credit major, no listed internship and no programmatic accreditation, so match it to your goal first.

University of the Cumberlands is a private nonprofit school in Williamsburg, Kentucky, founded in 1888 by Baptist ministers. Its Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Science runs this degree, and the program page lists a 16-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. That same page also covers an on-campus version, a minor and an associate degree, so lean on the tuition and online-experience pages for the rules that apply to you.

The degree totals 120 credits. The exercise major is 33 of them, which leaves roughly 87 credits for general education and electives. A Bachelor of Arts version adds four foreign language courses, 12 credit hours, on top of the same major.

The full rubric is on the methodology page. A factor marked Peer Median had no published input, so it counts at half weight.

Cumberlands calls its rate the One Price Promise: $220 per credit hour for online undergraduates. Multiply by 120 credits and you get $26,400. The school also quotes $3,300 per semester, or $6,600 a year, for a 15-hour load. If you transfer the maximum 90 credits, the remaining 30 credits cost $6,600.

Two cautions. The tuition page says the rates were announced in April 2023, carries no academic-year label and can change with board approval, so ask for the current figure in writing. And the tuition page lists a $30 application fee while the transfer page says online undergraduates pay no application fee. Digital textbooks are included, though you can opt out.

120 credits at $220 a credit comes to $26,400 in tuition, before fees.

Who It Fits

• You're watching every dollar. Tuition for all 120 credits comes to $26,400, and Cumberlands says the rate already covers technology, fees and books. The $9,875 on the program page is the on-campus price without housing, so ignore it when you compare online costs.
• You already have college credit. Up to 75 percent of the degree plan can transfer, which means the most you'd take at Cumberlands is 30 credits. Anyone with a finished associate degree from a regionally accredited school is guaranteed admission, and the transcript review is free.
• You train clients or teach classes and want the degree on paper. The major includes ESS 334 Methods of Group Exercise and a capstone called Strategies and Practices for Fitness Professionals, and most online classes are asynchronous, so you can study around your shifts.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you're aiming at the ACSM exercise physiologist exam after August 15, 2027. This program isn't on the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026. Our certification-ready online exercise science degrees list is the better starting point.
• Skip it if physical therapy school is the goal. The major has one anatomy and physiology course, HESS 233, and lists no chemistry or physics. Compare it with our pre-physical therapy online degrees before you commit.
• Skip it if you want supervised hands-on hours. The program page lists no internship or practicum.

The major is 11 courses. ESS 131 Introduction to Health, Exercise and Sport Science opens it, followed by ESS 330 Kinesiology, ESS 435 Physiology of Exercise, ESS 336 Exercise Prescription and ESS 437 Tests and Measurements. HESS 233 Functional Human Anatomy and Physiology and HESS 333 Nutrition cover the body science.

Two courses lean toward coaching and behavior: ESS 334 Methods of Group Exercise and HESS 403 Behavior Change for Lifestyle Wellness. HESS 330 Influences on Contemporary Issues in Health and Performance rounds out the list, and ESS 490 Strategies and Practices for Fitness Professionals closes it.

Notice what's missing by title: a stand-alone strength and conditioning course, a special populations course and any lab science. Ask whether ESS 336 covers those topics.

Courses the School Names

• ESS 131 Introduction to Health, Exercise and Sport Science
• ESS 330 Kinesiology
• ESS 334 Methods of Group Exercise
• ESS 336 Exercise Prescription
• ESS 435 Physiology of Exercise
• ESS 437 Tests and Measurements
• HESS 233 Functional Human Anatomy and Physiology
• HESS 403 Behavior Change for Lifestyle Wellness
• ESS 490 Strategies and Practices for Fitness Professionals

Standout Features

• One Price Promise: online undergraduate rate of $220 per credit hour includes books and fees
• Student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1 listed on program page
• Behavior-change and lifestyle-wellness coursework (HESS 403) and group-exercise methods (ESS 334) in the core

Each course lasts eight weeks, which Cumberlands calls a bi-term. There are two bi-terms per semester and three semesters a year, fall, spring and summer. Many classes are asynchronous, so there's no set meeting time and you finish work by the due date. Admission is rolling, and the school says you're never too late to apply.

Online students get free rental textbooks and a named online admissions team. The program page says a full-time bachelor's typically takes four years, and transfer credit or prior learning can shorten that.

The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, a regional accreditor. The program has no programmatic accreditation stated, and it doesn't appear on our CAAHEP or CASCE lists. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and CASCE is the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education.

Those lists matter for two dates. From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program or one in the process. From January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates for the CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program.

Today's ACSM-EP rule asks for an exercise science major or an equivalent with at least 21 semester hours across seven content areas, including strength and conditioning and special populations. Compare Cumberlands' course list against those areas.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• The major is short. Thirty-three credits with no listed practicum leave you thinner on strength and conditioning and special populations than a longer clinical-track major.
• The program page mixes on-campus and online details, from the $9,875 price to an FAQ that talks about online options at "many institutions." Confirm in writing that every major course runs online.
• The rate is a 2023 announcement with no academic-year label, and the application fee is $30 on one page and free on another.
• Prior learning credit is capped. Transfer and prior learning together can't pass 75 percent, so 25 percent of the degree has to be Cumberlands coursework, and prior learning credit won't move to another school.
• The university's federal graduation rate is 50 percent. That number covers the whole school, not this degree.

• Is every course in the 33-credit major offered online each year, and how many eight-week terms will I need to finish it?
• Does the department exit exam listed in the catalog apply to online students, and how is it given?
• Which courses cover strength and conditioning, special populations and health risk appraisal, and has anyone used this degree to meet ACSM's equivalent-major list?
• Is there an application fee for online undergraduates, $30 or none?
• If I transfer 90 credits, how many major courses must I still take at Cumberlands, given the one-third rule for the major?
• Will the $220 rate hold through my graduation date, and what changes if I opt out of the digital textbooks?
• Can I arrange volunteer or work hours at a gym or clinic near me that the department will sign off on?

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

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $355 per credit Score 58.0

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

  A.A.S., Associate

  Fully Online $220 per credit Score 56.0

• University of North Dakota

  Kinesiology (B.S.)

  North Dakota $432.45 per credit Score 62.6

• California Baptist University

  Kinesiology, BS (Online)

  California $541 per credit Score 62.9

• New Mexico State University

  Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (concentration in Applied Exercise Science)

  New Mexico $395.40 per credit Score 63.7

• Abilene Christian University

  Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (online)

  Texas $395 per credit Score 64.0