Best Online Exercise Science Degrees for Pre-Health Students (2026)

Northeastern State's catalog calls this degree pre-professional preparation for allied health, and Tulsa Community College has transfer pathways with Pre-PT and Pre-OT emphases. It's asynchronous and public, at $279 per credit. Expect a practicum, a capstone and a Professional Development Site, and ask the school how online students arrange them.

Texas Tech's online page names advanced study in physical therapy, occupational therapy, strength and conditioning, and cardiac rehabilitation as where the curriculum leads. Courses run asynchronously in eight-week terms, with no campus visit stated. You'll need a 2.5 GPA to get into and stay in kinesiology courses, plus an 18-hour minor.

If occupational therapy is your target, Superior says this exercise science degree prepares you for it, along with physical therapy, athletic training, physician assistant and exercise physiology graduate study. Plan for a 450-hour minimum internship, which may be arranged locally, at $377.50 per credit. Check each graduate program's own prerequisite list, since the school doesn't map courses.

New Mexico State says the Applied Exercise Science concentration can incorporate prerequisites for physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic and athletic training, so you'd pick electives with a graduate program's list open beside you. Tuition is $395.40 per credit across 120 credits in eight-week terms, and the military rate is $250.

North Dakota's kinesiology degree has an Allied Health stream built around occupational therapy prerequisites, which gives you a defined set of courses instead of a general plan. It's asynchronous in 16-week terms, and the page says you never have to come to campus. A 10-credit internship and a criminal background check still apply.

Kansas State earns a spot because its career page names physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist and physician, while noting some of those need more education. It doesn't map prerequisites, so you'd build that plan yourself. The degree is 100% online, with no campus visit stated, at $435.71 per credit.

The University of Arizona says Nutrition and Human Performance prepares you for graduate programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, kinesiology and physician assistant studies. The nutrition focus makes this a different route into pre-health than a standard kinesiology major. It's a public degree at $525 per credit across 120 credits.

Arizona State states its kinesiology curriculum includes prerequisites for graduate study in physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, chiropractic medicine and clinical exercise physiology. That's a long list of paths from one degree. It costs $580 per credit in 7.5-week terms, and an optional three-credit internship can help you log clinical hours that some applications ask for.

Franklin lets you add optional focus areas in Pre-Medical Sciences, Pre-Physical Therapy or Pre-Occupational Therapy, each layering biology, chemistry and physics prerequisites onto the degree. It accepts up to 90 transfer credits, and the school's calculator shows about 20 months with an average of 67. Field experience is on site unless you choose the capstone.

Tarleton says its kinesiology degree is a foundation for physical therapy, occupational therapy and athletic training graduate programs. The catch is delivery. The page lists on-campus, hybrid and 100% online formats without saying which concentrations run fully online, so confirm yours before counting on it. Labs and internships are part of the curriculum.

University of Saint Mary calls this degree a foundation for graduate study in physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training and exercise physiology, but claims no prerequisites, so you'd check each graduate program's list yourself. It's built for completion: up to 90 transfer credits, about two years with an associate degree, $435 per credit, and an internship in EX 490.

Toccoa Falls describes its exercise science degree as a foundation for athletic training, occupational therapy and physical therapy pathways, but only with intentional planning and additional preparation. That means you'd map the missing prerequisites yourself. The school has a Christian and Missionary Alliance affiliation, and tuition is $400 per credit over 126 credits.

Georgia State's associate pathway says it provides prerequisites toward physical therapy, occupational therapy and other allied health professions. At $105 per credit for 60 credits, total tuition is $6,300, a low-cost way to start. Some pathway courses may require attending a specific location, so confirm online availability with an adviser before you register.

Georgia Military College's associate degree is a transfer route more than a prerequisite list. The school names guaranteed-acceptance partners including Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Mercer, and mentions later paths like physical therapy and occupational therapy. Tuition is $169 per credit, and kinesiology majors take BIO 123 or BIO 211.

Florida's site says some graduates take this master's toward medical school, a Ph.D. or advanced healthcare training. It wants a bachelor's in any major with a 3.0 upper-division GPA, and non-STEM majors should show math or science coursework. GRE is not required. At $585.75 per credit for 30 credits, tuition totals $17,572.50, fully online.

Liberty's master's page names occupational therapist in the same sentence as its other career paths. Admission needs a 3.0 bachelor's GPA plus prerequisites in physiology, biomechanics or physics, and statistics, or you take EXSC 505 first. No GRE. At $600 per credit over 33 credits, tuition is $19,800, with a $310 military rate.

Ole Miss positions its online master's for doctoral or professional study, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, nursing and medical school. Admission asks for a 3.0 undergraduate GPA in a related field, and you can submit GRE scores if you fall below it. It's asynchronous, 31 credits, in 16-week terms, and as little as a year full time.

University of Mary lists students preparing for medical school among those this master's serves. The concentration is online, but the parent MS in Kinesiology has a short residency in year two, so verify that with the school. Admission asks for a 2.75 cumulative GPA, the degree takes about two years, and it costs $670 per credit.

Hardin-Simmons lists physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic and athletic training among paths its graduates pursue, without claiming prerequisite coverage. Admission includes a 2.75 GPA, three recommendation letters and an interview with the program director. At $595 per credit over 30 credits, or $17,850, and about 1.5 years on average, it fits someone who already holds a bachelor's.

Canisius is a graduate route for someone who already holds a bachelor's and wants a stronger record before applying to medical, PA, OT or DPT school. The catalog says students have used it that way. You'll need anatomy and physiology and exercise physiology on your transcript first. It runs 33 credits at $945 each, about $31,185.

Southern Miss says this degree gives foundational content to people applying to PT, OT, PA and medical programs, so it fits the list on the school's own words. Online students don't pay out-of-state tuition. The 30 credits cost $578.12 each, and delivery and course fees are extra. Expect to bring prior physiology and nutrition coursework plus a chemistry or biology class.