University of West Alabama Online Master of Science (MS) in Exercise Science

UWA's online M.S. in Exercise Science is a low-cost, fast master's: 33 credits at $429 comes to $14,157 in tuition, and most students finish in about a year.

You pick an exercise science track or a strength training and conditioning track, then a thesis or a practicum. It suits coaches and health workers who want a graduate degree without relocating. It won't qualify you for any credential that requires a CAAHEP or CASCE accredited program.

The University of West Alabama is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Its online degrees are marketed through UWA Online, a site Risepoint maintains for the university, while UWA keeps responsibility for curriculum, tuition, and accreditation.

The master's is 33 credits across 11 courses, delivered fully online and asynchronously in eight-week terms with six start dates a year. Those credits break down as 12 core, 9 concentration, 3 or 6 for a practicum or thesis, and 6 to 9 electives.

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

Every course is asynchronous and runs eight weeks. The program page lists January 11 as the next start. UWA's FAQ calls two classes a term a full load, so 11 courses is about six terms, which matches the one-year estimate. An enrollment counselor guides your application, and a personal success coach helps once you're in.

Plan for proctored exams. UWA's technical requirements include a webcam, a microphone, and permission to install Respondus LockDown Browser, and some exams may need a second camera. A Chromebook or iPad isn't recommended as your only device.

The applied piece is your choice. The 3-credit practicum offers hands-on preparation, and the 6-credit thesis deepens research experience.

Who It Fits

• You coach and want to keep coaching. The page says the strength training and conditioning concentration lets you stay in your job while you finish, and it aims at leading performance training for high school, collegiate, and professional athletes.
• You work in community or corporate health and want the exercise science concentration, which covers fitness assessment, biomechanics, and exercise for chronic diseases and special populations.
• You're active military, Guard, reserve, a veteran, a spouse, or a dependent. The Military Connect Scholarship lowers graduate tuition to $329 per credit, and GI Bill programs are accepted.
• You want to try research before a doctorate. The thesis path is 6 credits of proposal and defense.

Who Should Skip It

• Skip it if you live in California. UWA says state authorization rules keep it from accepting online applications from California residents.
• Skip it if you want ACSM exercise physiologist eligibility. This M.S. isn't on CAAHEP's list of accredited programs.
• Skip it if you need a live class schedule and classmates who meet together. Courses are asynchronous, and UWA's own FAQ says successful online students are self-disciplined.

The core is 12 credits: EX 515 Measurement, Evaluation and Applied Statistics in Kinesiology, EX 541 Research Methods in Exercise Science, EX 543 Sport Nutrition for Health and Performance, and EX 548 Advanced Exercise Physiology.

Exercise Science concentrators take EX 552 Fitness Assessment and Management, EX 559 Exercise Management for Chronic Diseases and Special Population, and EX 566 Advanced Biomechanics. Strength Training and Conditioning concentrators take EX 545 The Nature and Basis of Movement, EX 572 Performance Enhancement Specialist, and EX 575 Advanced Strength and Conditioning Programs.

You finish with a thesis, EX 598 Thesis Proposal and Design plus EX 599 Thesis Defense at 3 credits each, or with EX 507 Practicum in Exercise Science for 3. Electives fill the remainder, 6 credits with a thesis or 9 with the practicum.

Courses the School Names

• EX 515 Measurement, Evaluation and Applied Statistics in Kinesiology
• EX 541 Research Methods in Exercise Science
• EX 543 Sport Nutrition for Health and Performance
• EX 548 Advanced Exercise Physiology
• EX 552 Fitness Assessment and Management
• EX 559 Exercise Management for Chronic Diseases and Special Population
• EX 566 Advanced Biomechanics
• EX 545 The Nature and Basis of Movement
• EX 572 Performance Enhancement Specialist
• EX 575 Advanced Strength and Conditioning Programs

Standout Features

• Two concentrations: Exercise Science (chronic disease, biomechanics) and Strength Training and Conditioning
• Choose thesis or practicum
• Personal success coach and enrollment counselor
• Around 1-year completion at 6 starts a year

Graduate tuition is $429 per credit hour, so 33 credits come to $14,157. A $120 technology fee is charged each semester and isn't part of that $429, so the total climbs with every semester you're enrolled.

Military Connect drops the rate to $329, or $10,857 for the degree. DoD Tuition Assistance covers up to $250 per credit for eligible active-duty students. Stacked, that leaves $79 a credit, or $2,607, though your service branch decides what it actually pays.

Transfer credit trims more. The program page allows up to 15 graduate hours and UWA's transfer page says up to 9 for most programs, which at $429 is between $3,861 and $6,435 off.

33 credits at $429 a credit comes to $14,157 in tuition, before fees.

UWA holds institutional accreditation from SACSCOC. The degree has no programmatic accreditation, so two dated rules matter for certification plans.

From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and this M.S. isn't one. NSCA's rule points at your bachelor's instead: from January 1, 2030, U.S. CSCS candidates need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program, so a master's here can't change which bachelor's you hold. Until December 31, 2029, a bachelor's plus CPR/AED is enough.

Careers the page names include exercise physiologist, wellness director, and community health program manager for the Exercise Science concentration, and strength and conditioning coach for the other.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs.

• The technology fee repeats every semester, so the real price is $14,157 plus $120 times however many semesters you're enrolled.
• Federal data shows a 35% graduation rate for UWA overall. That figure mostly covers first-time undergraduates, so ask for completion numbers for this master's.
• The site disagrees with itself on transfer credit: 15 graduate hours on the program page, 9 on the transfer page, and a nine-year age limit on transferred credit.
• Your first contacts are enrollment counselors working through a marketing site Risepoint runs, so get the academic answers from UWA's exercise science faculty in writing.

• What do the School of Graduate Studies requirements say about minimum GPA, GRE, and whether my bachelor's field matters?
• Will UWA accept 9 or 15 graduate hours for transfer, and how old can those credits be?
• Which electives can I choose, and which run in my first two terms?
• Which certification exams, if any, do the coursework and the strength training and conditioning track prepare me for?
• Who approves practicum sites and advises theses, and can I change my mind after I start?
• Can I start before January 11, such as the October 19 start UWA advertises?

Public university in Livingston, Alabama. Its online degrees are marketed through UWA Online, which Risepoint maintains on the university's behalf; UWA keeps responsibility for curriculum, tuition and accreditation.

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• Best Online Programs in Alabama Rank 2 of 4, master's

• Saint Xavier University

  Master of Science in Exercise Science - Strength and Conditioning (Accelerated, Traditional and 4+1 options)

  Illinois $530 per credit Score 62.2

• University of West Florida

  Movement Sciences & Health, M.S. - Sports Performance and Coaching Specialization

  Florida $494.22 per credit Score 62.2

• Concordia University-Chicago

  Applied Exercise Science (MS), online

  Illinois $575 per credit Score 62.4

• Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania

  Master of Science in Applied Exercise Physiology

  Pennsylvania $613 per credit Score 61.8