Best Christian Online Exercise Science Degrees (2026)

Abilene Christian calls itself Christ-centered and educates students for Christian service and leadership. You'll pay $395 per credit with locked-in tuition, and no ACT or SAT is required. An NASM partnership can give you up to 9 credit hours for NASM certifications, plus an integrated personal training prep course inside the degree.

California Baptist University is a Baptist school tied to the California Southern Baptist Convention, and this program says its faculty is 100% Christian. You'll take eight-week terms with six starts a year at $541 per credit, and the curriculum follows NSCA and ACSM standards. The program page states no campus visits.

University of the Cumberlands was founded in 1888 by Baptist ministers, and its mission rests on Christian principles. The online rate is $220 per credit hour with books and fees included, which puts the 120-credit degree at $26,400 in tuition. That's the lowest bachelor's total among the Christian programs on this list.

University of Saint Mary is Catholic, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. This one is built for degree completion: you can transfer up to 90 credits, and students with an associate degree finish in about two years at $435 per credit. Your internship, EX 490, happens in an exercise science setting, and you'll take Applied Corrective Exercise along the way.

University of Toccoa Falls belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an interdenominational evangelical church. Faith is woven into the plan: 72 of the 126 credits are general education, including 30 hours of Bible and Theology. You'll pay a flat $400 per credit with no additional fees, or $50,400 for the whole degree.

Concordia University Chicago describes its Lutheran heritage and Christian liberal arts education. The degree is asynchronous at $440 per credit, needs no entrance exams, and welcomes first-time students as well as transfers with up to 90 credits. If you want a master's later, the 4+1 pathway adds just one more year.

Methodist University publishes its relationship to the United Methodist Church, and it runs this degree fully online and asynchronous. Six starts a year in eight-week terms, no application fee, and transfer of up to 93 of the 124 credits make it flexible. Pre-PT and pre-OT students get a guaranteed admission interview to Methodist's own programs.

Concordia University Saint Paul says its online education is guided by Lutheran principles. Coursework costs $420 per credit, and you can finish in as little as one year with transfer credit. Plan for one in-person piece, though: the KHS 498 internship has to happen at an approved local site such as a gym or rehab facility.

Montreat College is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and its kinesiology degree offers a theological view of the human body. It's set up for working adults, with six starts a year and credit for CLEP, DSST and military training. Military students pay $445 per credit. The school calls its tuition nearly 25% below the private college average.

Concordia University Texas describes a Christ-centered academic community. Every kinesiology major graduates holding at least three NASM certifications, which is the reason to look at it. The online tracks are Sports Administration, Fitness Professional and Pre-Health. At $550 per credit, the 120-credit total is $66,000, and the coaching track is on campus only.

University of the Southwest is a private Christian university built on servant leadership. You'll take a science-heavy plan with Genetics, Cell Biology, two Chemistry courses and Pathophysiology I, and the school lists cardiac rehabilitation among its career paths. It's also the priciest bachelor's here at $575 per credit, $69,000 in tuition.

Liberty is an evangelical university that applies biblical principles across its coursework. This master's is fully asynchronous with no set login times, eight-week courses and eight starts a year. At $600 per credit, 33 credits come to $19,800, and military students pay $310. You'll choose Fitness and Performance or Nutrition and Wellness, and no GRE is needed.

Liberty applies biblical principles in every course, and this degree adds four specializations, including Strength Training and Conditioning and Clinical. The catch is two required week-long intensives at Lynchburg, Virginia, where you work in human performance labs. Tuition is $21,000 across 35 credits, and Liberty itself points to its Exercise Science and Wellness degree as the fully online option.

Ouachita Baptist describes exercise science as a form of ministry. You can finish in 12 months full time, and 36 credits at $500 each total $18,000. The capstone exam can be the ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist exam. Expect a mandatory two-day campus orientation in late summer before your first term.

Concordia University Chicago is Lutheran, and this asynchronous master's was designed with ACSM, NASM, ISSN and NSCA. You choose a concentration that maps to a certification exam, and Strength and Conditioning is NSCA recognized. Track 1 takes students without an exercise science bachelor's, and up to 12 credits can move into Concordia's PhD.

Saint Xavier is a Catholic university founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1846. Its strength and conditioning master's runs 36 credits at $530 a credit, in 7-week terms, with a two-day session in the Human Performance Lab in your last semester. It prepares you for the NSCA-CSCS.

Trevecca Nazarene belongs to the Church of the Nazarene, and its faith-integrated cohort takes one course at a time over 18 months. Lab materials and books arrive at your home. The 36 credits cost $563 each, or $20,268 total. A built-in 9-credit entrepreneurship track helps if you want to run a facility, and no GRE is required.

Concordia University Irvine describes itself as a private Christian university. This coaching-focused degree runs asynchronously over 15 months at $610 per credit, with a $50 application fee. One course earns NSCA graduate credit while you prepare for the CSCS exam, and five extra courses add a Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletics Administration.

Merrimack is Catholic in the Augustinian tradition. You choose online or on campus course by course, and the Strength and Conditioning concentration is NSCA recognized. It's one of the priciest master's here at $1,180 per credit, though fellowships cover 50% to 100% of tuition. There's no GRE and no application fee, but Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs come first.

California Baptist lists a Christian perspective as a learning outcome in this master's. It holds the NSCA Education Recognition Program seal and prepares you for the CSCS exam. You can finish in 12 months full time at $737 per credit, $22,110 total. Fitness testing uses a virtual lab, and you'll need a completed exercise physiology course with a C or better.

University of Mary is Catholic and Benedictine, and it offers ten optional concentrations, including Virtue and Sport. The Strength and Conditioning concentration is CASCE accredited and ends with a capstone internship. Tuition is $670 per credit over two years, and the parent degree includes a short residency in year two. Military experience can count toward credit.

University of the Cumberlands was founded by Baptist ministers in 1888. This master's has the lowest master's total on this list: 30 credits at $355 come to $10,650, and books and fees are included. Military students pay $315 per credit. Pick Health and Fitness Promotion or Coaching and Fitness Leadership, and plan on about two years.

Concordia University Saint Paul says Lutheran principles guide its online education. This is a cohort of 11 asynchronous courses, 33 credits at $475 each, or $15,675, with no clinical placement. It prepares you for the CSCS and NASM-PES exams. You'll need a 3.0 GPA, but there's no GRE and no application fee.

The Cumberlands was founded in 1888 by Baptist ministers, and its mission is grounded in Christian principles. This is the only associate degree on the list. At $220 per credit with books and fees included, the 60-credit total comes to $13,200, and up to 75 percent of the degree plan may transfer in.

Liberty is an evangelical Christian university, and its program pages talk about applying biblical principles. It scores highest of the doctorates here. Coursework is asynchronous with no set login times, and admission asks for a master's with at least a 3.0 GPA but no standardized test. Full-time tuition is $630 per credit, or $395 for eligible service members.

Concordia Saint Paul says its online education is guided by Lutheran principles. The Ed.D. runs 61 credits at $690 each, $42,090 before transfer credit, with four emphases including strength and conditioning. Nobody asks for the GRE or a comprehensive exam. Most students finish in about four years, and up to 21 credits can transfer from DC, OTD or DPT doctorates.

This is the Ph.D. from the same Lutheran-guided school as the Ed.D., and it asks for more: 67 credits at $690 each, $46,230 before transfer credit, versus 61 credits for the Ed.D. You get the same four emphases. Admission needs a 3.0 master's GPA and a writing sample, with no GRE or GMAT.

Concordia Chicago points to its Lutheran heritage and Christian liberal arts education, and describes this doctorate as Christ-centered and faith-informed. It's asynchronous and self-paced, with entry in fall, spring or summer. It's also the priciest doctorate on this list: $775 per credit plus an $18 per credit technology fee across 69 credits, about $53,475 in tuition.