University of Wisconsin-River Falls Online Clinical Exercise Physiology (M.S.)

UWRF's online M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology is built around the heart and lungs: cardiac anatomy, electrocardiography, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and a clinical internship. It costs $567 per credit whether you live in Wisconsin or not, and you can finish in as little as 12 to 16 months. The trade-offs are a lab weekend on campus every semester and no listed CAAHEP accreditation, which matters after August 15, 2027.

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is a public university in River Falls, Wisconsin, and this master's sits in its Health and Human Performance Department. UWRF pitches it to working professionals and recent graduates who want to help people prevent and manage chronic disease with exercise, in hospitals, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation centers and community wellness programs.

Admission asks for a bachelor's degree, a 2.75 GPA (overall, in your last half, or across 12 graduate credits), one recommendation, a two-to-three-page statement of interest, a resume and the $56 application fee. Statistics and physiology of exercise are prerequisites. If your degree isn't in exercise science, add exercise testing and prescription. UWRF can admit you provisionally while you finish them.

UWRF calls this a blended format. Courses are online and asynchronous, and once a semester you go to River Falls for a lab-based weekend of hands-on exercise testing, prescription and clinical practice. You can start in fall, spring or summer.

The clinical internship, EXSS 774, is 3 to 6 credits, and UWRF's rule is 50 work hours per credit. That's 150 to 300 hours at a regional hospital or rehabilitation center in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation. UWRF says its graduation rate is 93% and its job placement in the field is 93%.

Who It Fits

• Rehab staff and other allied health workers who want a clinical credential. The coursework centers on cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, and UWRF assigns your internship site based on your background and career goals.
• Bachelor's graduates who need a master's for ACSM's clinical route. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) accepts a master's in clinical exercise physiology plus 600 hands-on clinical hours toward the ACSM-CEP, its clinical exercise physiologist certification. This degree is one.
• Career changers with a different major. Exercise testing and prescription is the only extra prerequisite, and the program director can approve provisional admission. See our online clinical exercise physiology master's programs for comparison.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who needs a CAAHEP-accredited degree. UWRF's pages list none, and the CAAHEP list we pulled on September 29, 2026 has no UWRF program.
• Anyone who can't travel. Every semester includes a hands-on lab weekend in River Falls, so budget the trip and the time off.
• Students who want a fixed cohort schedule. Several required courses run in only one term a year, so your start term decides your order.

The catalog lists 34 credits. EXSS 700 Cardiac Anatomy and Physiology is 4 credits and includes laboratory exercises on basic cardiac function.

Eight 3-credit courses follow: EXSS 701 Advanced Physiology of Exercise, EXSS 710 Statistical Methods in Human Performance, EXSS 715 Statistics and Research Methods in Health and Human Performance, EXSS 720 Clinical Patient Behavior Change, EXSS 740 Advanced Exercise Testing and Prescription, EXSS 745 Chronic Disease in Health and Human Performance, EXSS 755 Electrocardiography and EXSS 785 Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation.

Term codes matter. EXSS 701 is a summer course and a prerequisite for EXSS 740, a spring course. EXSS 720 and EXSS 745 run in fall. Electrocardiography runs in summer.

The program page also lists Medical Pharmacology, but the catalog's course list doesn't include it. Thesis is optional, at 3 credits. The remaining 6 credits come from the internship, or from 3 internship credits plus the thesis.

Courses the School Names

• Cardiac Anatomy and Physiology
• Advanced Physiology of Exercise
• Advanced Exercise Testing and Prescription
• Chronic Disease in Health and Human Performance
• Electrocardiography
• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation
• Clinical Patient Behavior Change
• Statistical Methods in Human Performance
• Clinical Internship

Standout Features

• Built-in supervised clinical internship in cardiac or pulmonary rehab
• Reported 93% graduation rate and 93% job placement in the field
• Dedicated Electrocardiography (EXSS 755) and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation (EXSS 785) coursework

UWRF's billing page lists 2026-27 tuition for Clinical Exercise Physiology at $567 per credit in fall and spring, the same for every residency. The program page still shows $550, the 2025-26 rate. At $567, 34 credits come to $19,278. At $550 they'd be $18,700, so the outdated page understates the bill by $578.

Segregated fees are extra. A fall or spring term of 8 credits costs $4,536 in tuition plus $883.67 in fees, or $5,419.67. Summer 2026 tuition is $556 per credit, and 6 summer credits with fees come to $3,765.82. Textbooks and course fees vary, and you'll need travel money for the lab weekends.

34 credits at $567 a credit comes to $19,278 in tuition, before fees.

UWRF is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditor. The program page says you'll graduate ready to sit for the ACSM-CEP, but it lists no programmatic accreditation.

The ACSM-CEP master's route calls for 600 hours of hands-on clinical experience. UWRF's internship covers at most 300 of them at 50 hours per credit, so you'd plan the other 300 yourself, likely through work.

From August 15, 2027, ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates must graduate from a program accredited by CAAHEP (the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) or one that has started the process. A 12 to 16 month plan that starts in January 2027 ends after that date, so ask about accreditation before you enroll.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Physiologist Careers, ACSM Exercise Physiologist Certification.

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

• The program page says $550 per credit and the billing page says $567. Over 34 credits, that gap is $578.
• The program page lists Medical Pharmacology, while the catalog's 34-credit list doesn't.
• Summer-only courses chain together. EXSS 701 has to come before EXSS 740, so a fall start can stretch past 16 months.
• The 93% graduation and placement figures come from the program page alone. Federal data show 14 master's awards a year in this field at UWRF, shared with the strength and conditioning master's.

• Which start term puts EXSS 701 ahead of EXSS 740, and does that keep me inside 12 to 16 months?
• Is Medical Pharmacology part of the 34 credits, and where does it fit?
• Which hospitals host EXSS 774 students, and can I complete the internship at my own workplace?
• How many of ACSM's 600 clinical hours does the internship cover, and who verifies them?
• Has the program applied for CAAHEP accreditation or started the process?
• How is the 93% graduation rate calculated, and how many students are in a class?
• What are the lab weekend dates, and are they set a semester ahead?

Public university in River Falls, Wisconsin (Universities of Wisconsin). Its Health and Human Performance Department, in the College of Education, Business and Allied Health, offers the online clinical exercise physiology and strength and conditioning master's programs.

• Best Online Exercise Science Degrees Rank 36 of 99, master's
• Best Online Master's Programs Rank 36 of 99, master's
• Best Online Exercise Physiology Degrees Rank 5 of 19, master's
• Best Clinical Exercise Physiology Master's Rank 7 of 15, master's
• Accelerated Online Programs Rank 18 of 46, master's
• Best for Healthcare Workers Rank 5 of 20, master's
• Best Online Programs in Wisconsin Rank 1 of 3, master's

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